Today, June 19, a major chess tournament kicked off in Almaty, where Kazakhstan’s strongest school teams are battling for the chance to represent the country at the FIDE World Schools Team Championship 2025, DKnews.kz reports.
The top six teams will earn coveted spots at the global event, set to take place from August 2–7, 2025, in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. The competition is being held at the Republican Physics and Mathematics School (RPMS) at 36 Bukhar Zhyrau Boulevard and will run through June 20, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation reports.
The national qualifier features 21 teams in the Under-12 (U12) category and 20 teams in the Under-18 (U18) category. Each team is made up of three boys and one girl, all attending the same school during the 2024–2025 academic year.
The event follows a Swiss system format with 9 rounds — five on Day 1 and four on Day 2 — with rapid time control: 10 minutes + 5 seconds increment per move.
The top three teams in each age category will receive cash prizes:
- 1st place – 350,000 KZT
- 2nd place – 250,000 KZT
- 3rd place – 150,000 KZT
U18 Front-Runners
Five standout teams are emerging as top contenders in the senior U18 category:
- RPMS Almaty (rating 2215): Edgar Mamedov (2324), Zarina Nurgalieva (2081), and Imangali Akhilbay (2288), all participants of the recent World Rapid & Blitz Team Championship in London.
- RPMS Astana (2042): Yergali Suleymen (2336), gold medalist on Board 7 at the 2025 World Blitz Team Championship, and Islam Ayten (2037), silver medalist in the amateur category at the same event.
- Lyceum No. 92 named after M. Gandhi, Almaty (1992): Miras Asylov (2268), silver medalist in rapid and bronze medalist in blitz at the 2024 World U16 Championship.
- Lyceum No. 173, Almaty (1953): Yerlan Tleukhanov (2078) and Yelnaz Kaliahmet (2238), 2025 national women’s champion.
- SEED Educational Complex, Astana (1941): Danis Kuandykuly (2069), 2023 World U10 Champion, and Maria Kholyavko (1953), 2024 Asian G14 Champion.
U12 Favorites
In the U12 division, RPMS Astana (1690) leads the field, powered by Amirzhan Anetov (1926), 2025 World Rapid & Blitz Champion (U10).
Close challengers include:
- D. Kunaev Gymnasium, Aktobe (1576) with Amanbek Otetileu (1859).
- IT Lyceum No. 9 named after O. Zholdasbekov, Shymkent (1562) featuring Nursaia Zhumabek (1642).
The opening ceremony featured remarks from Almaz Kungozhin, Deputy Chairman of the Board of RPMS; Meirlan Meirbek, Director of RPMS Almaty; and Adiya Nurmanova, Deputy Director of Educational Projects at KazChess.
The event opened with a symbolic first move between leaders of both U18 and U12 categories. Chief Arbiter Sergey Kim officially launched the tournament.
In August 2023, Kazakhstan hosted the first-ever World Schools Team Championship in Aktau, drawing over 300 players from 53 countries.
One year later, Timur Turlov, President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, founded the International School Chess Federation (ISCF) and now leads it.
FIDE and ISCF are co-hosting the 2025 global event in Alexandria, a city located just outside Washington, D.C.
The Almaty qualifier is a showcase of rising talent fighting for the chance to shine on the world stage. Six teams will fly to the U.S. to prove the strength of Kazakh chess — and the competition is fierce.
Many of the participants are future stars who have already made their mark in international play.
