ASTANA – Kazakh chess star Bibisara Assaubayeva has become the third woman in history to receive a rare invitation to compete in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, a top-tier closed tournament traditionally dominated by male players. The event will take place from July 16 to 20 in Las Vegas.
Photo credit: Bibisara Assaubayeva’s personal archive.
Assaubayeva shared the news on her Instagram page, expressing her excitement and disbelief.
“To receive an invitation to a closed men’s super tournament at 21, with [Magnus] Carlsen, [Fabiano] Caruana, [Hikaru] Nakamura, and other top players in the world? It sounds like an unreal dream…,” she wrote on June 23.
Previously, legendary Judit Polgár of Hungary and China’s Hou Yifan, both icons of women’s chess, participated in this tournament.
Recently, Assaubayeva became the second female grandmaster from Kazakhstan after Zhansaya Abdumalik.
