ASTANA – Kazakh chess players won 25 medals, including 12 gold, eight silver and five bronze ones, at the 26th Asian Youth Championship, which took place on June 10-20 in Almaty.
Photo credit: Kazakhstan Chess Federation
According to the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, nearly 650 players from 33 countries aged between 7 and 18 years took part in the event. This is a record-breaking number of participants at an international chess tournament hosted by Kazakhstan. Young chess players competed in all time controls – classic, rapid and blitz.
“The event holds significant image value for Kazakhstan. It is a sign of confidence in the global chess community, and for us, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, it has become a test of professionalism. According to the number of honors received by Kazakh players and excellent feedback from participants from 33 nations, we completed this exam with flying colors,” said Timur Turlov, President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, who personally congratulated the winners at the closing ceremony.
Turlov also presented the newly crowned world chess champion under 20 years, Kazybek Nogerbek, with the keys to the electric car and personally congratulated him on the great victory, which opened a new page in the history of the development of Kazakh chess.
The championship was held under the motto of environmental friendliness and sustainable development. All plastic used at the tournament was recycled, and the participants themselves contributed to this by riding a special bicycle shredder. The winners’ cups were also made from recycled plastic.
