ALMATY – Kazakh chess player Bibisara Assaubayeva has been shortlisted for the inaugural FIDE Excellence Awards, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced on July 16, as Kazakhstan marks International Chess Day on July 20 with one of the world’s fastest-growing chess communities.
Bibisara Assaubayeva. Photo credit: Norway Chess
The 22-year-old grandmaster was nominated in the Best Chess Player (Female) category alongside reigning world champion Ju Wenjun, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Koneru Humpy, Tan Zhongyi, Lei Tingjie, Anna Muzychuk, Divya Deshmukh, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Zhu Jiner.
Kazakhstan also received nominations in two additional categories. The Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KazChess) was shortlisted for Best Federation, while Kazakhstan’s men’s and women’s national teams were nominated for Best Team.
Established this year, the biennial FIDE Excellence Awards recognize outstanding achievements across the global chess community over a two-year cycle. Winners will be selected by an expert panel and announced during the awards ceremony in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in September alongside the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad.
Chess continues to grow in Kazakhstan
The nominations coincide with International Chess Day, celebrated annually on July 20. According to the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, more than 278,000 people play chess regularly across the country, including approximately 128,000 in rural areas. Kazakhstan has more than 7,000 specialized chess clubs, while chess is taught as a compulsory or elective subject in 1,500 schools, reaching over 50,000 children.
More than 5,500 Kazakh players hold official FIDE ratings, which is the highest number in Central Asia, and participate regularly in international competitions. The country also hosts more than 3,800 domestic tournaments annually, attracting around 118,000 registered competitors. Experts estimate that more than 400,000 accounts from Kazakhstan are registered on the online chess platforms Chess.com and Lichess.
