THE KAZAKHSTAN CUP WRAPPED UP

Yevgeny Yegorov (2nd place, 4.5 points) and Arystanbek Urazayev (3rd place, 4 points) also went up on the podium at the end of the competition. There was unsuccessful tournament for the current champion of Kazakhstan Petr Kostenko, who took only seventh place in the standings.

Among women there was quite a fierce/tight competition in the framework of the Cup. The winner was only revealed when the final game of the last round had ended. FIDE Master Alfiya Nasybullina from Russia (5.5 points) won the Cup and prize money of 400 thousand tenge. By the way, the parents of Alfiya are originally from Astana and they were professionally engaged in chess. Guliskhan Nakhbayeva (2nd place), Sholpan Zhylkaidarova (3rd place) and Yelena Ankudinova (4th place) followed the leader with 5 points.

12-year-old Astana resident Kazybek Nogerbek got the Cup of the country among the young men. He scored 7.5 points out of 9. The winner of the competition among girls was Amina Kairbekova (6.5 points). Young chess player had earlier won the title of World Champion under 9 years old. The Cup holders in the youth tournaments received 90 thousand tenge each.

– The Cup of the Republic, stages of which were held throughout the year gathered the strongest participants. The Cup consisted of four tournaments – among men, women, boys under 14 and girls under 14 years old. The competition was fierce, especially between women. Youngsters demonstrated excellent results.  The competition showed the strongest chess players in the country in 2016, – shared with us after the ceremony the Chief Arbiter of the tournament Yerzhan Shakenov.

– Kazybek Nogerbek and Amina Kairbekova – winners of the Cup – have been educated at the “Astana” Central Chess Club. They will go to the World Chess Championship in Brazil and Uruguay being held in 2017. Organization of travel, meals and accommodation at the competitions for them will be provided by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KCF), – Irina Grishchenko, KCF Executive Director told us.

9-year-old Alikhan Galymbek was the youngest participant of the final of the Cup, and World Champion among seniors International Grandmaster Yelena Ankudinova were the eldest. According to the Cup’s regulations even the representatives of the other countries have their right to participate in the tournament, and the winner in the Women’s final Alfiya Nasybullina is one of them.

The competitions were organized by the National Committee for Physical Culture and Sports, Kazakhstan Chess Federation and the “Astana” Central Chess Club. The general sponsor of the finals were Shakhmardan Yessenov Foundation. The tournament passed on circular system with calculations of the international rating. The total prize fund of the tournament amounted to 3 million tenge.