Kazakhstan Selects Six School Teams for the FIDE World Schools Team Championship 2025, DKnews.kz reports.
The national qualifying chess tournament in Almaty has concluded, with six school teams earning the right to represent Kazakhstan at the 2025 FIDE World Schools Team Championship, to be held from August 2–7, 2025, in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., reports DKnews.kz.
In the Under-12 (U12) category, the qualifying teams are:
- RPMS Astana
- IT Lyceum No. 9 named after O. A. Zholdasbekov (Shymkent)
- D. A. Kunaev Gymnasium (Aktobe)
In the Under-18 (U18) category:
- RPMS Almaty
- RPMS Astana
- SEED Educational Complex (Astana)
Tournament Overview
Held on June 19–20 at the Republican Physics and Mathematics School (RPMS) in Almaty, the tournament brought together the top school teams from across the country to compete for six coveted spots at the World Championship.
Teams competed in 9 rounds of Swiss-system play over two days with a rapid time control of 10+5 (10 minutes per game with a 5-second increment per move). From the first round, the competition was intense and full of surprises, with several lower-rated teams upsetting the favorites.
U12 Category Highlights
In the U12 division (players born in 2013 or later), the battle for qualification lasted until the very final round, despite the top three teams entering as favorites. The tournament winners went undefeated with a perfect 9-match score.
Amirzhan Anetov, reigning World Rapid & Blitz Champion (U10), led RPMS Astana with an impressive 8.5/9, his only draw coming against Dias Amanbek, who also scored 8.5/9 while playing board 1 for School No. 23 named after A. Bokeikhanov (Kentau, Turkestan Region) — unfortunately, his team missed the podium.
Final U12 Team Standings:
- RPMS Astana – 18 match points, 29 individual points
- IT Lyceum No. 9, Shymkent – 15 MP, 25.5 IP
- D. A. Kunaev Gymnasium, Aktobe – 13 MP, 23 IP
- School No. 23, Kentau – 12 MP, 21 IP
- “Bobek” National Center, Almaty – 10 MP, 21.5 IP
21 teams participated in the U12 category.
U18 Category Highlights
The U18 division (players born in 2007 or later) was even more tightly contested. With two rounds to go, no fewer than seven teams were still in contention for three qualification spots.
Entering the final round, RPMS Almaty took the lead, one point ahead of RPMS Astana and two ahead of SEED Educational Complex, Lyceum No. 173 (Almaty), and NIS FMN-1 (Almaty).
In the decisive matches, SEED won convincingly against Kostanay, while the derbies — Lyceum No. 173 vs. Lyceum No. 92 and NIS Almaty vs. NIS Pavlodar — ended with razor-thin margins.
Interestingly, many underdog teams adopted unique strategies, such as placing their strongest players on boards 2 and 3 instead of board 1, aiming for an overall team advantage.
Final U18 Team Standings:
- RPMS Almaty – 15 match points, 28 individual points
- RPMS Astana – 14 MP, 26 IP
- SEED Educational Complex, Astana – 13 MP, 25.5 IP
- Lyceum No. 173, Almaty – 13 MP, 23 IP
- NIS FMN-1, Almaty – 13 MP, 22 IP
20 teams competed in the U18 category.
Awards and Board Prizes
In addition to earning a place at the World Championship, each of the six qualifying teams received cash prizes:
- 1st place – 350,000 KZT
- 2nd place – 250,000 KZT
- 3rd place – 150,000 KZT
Individual board prizes were also awarded. Top performers by board included:
U12 Category:
- Board 1: Amirzhan Anetov (RPMS Astana)
- Board 2: Akhmediyar Sugraliev (IT Lyceum No. 9, Shymkent)
- Board 3: Arystan Zhanabayev (RPMS Astana)
- Board 4: Maryam Taubasar (Zerdesh School, Almaty)
U18 Category:
- Board 1: Beibarys Bekbol (OSFMLI, Aktobe)
- Board 2: Aldiyar Sailaubai (SEED Educational Complex)
- Board 3: Alikhan Daulet (RPMS Almaty)
- Board 4: Zarina Nurgalieva (RPMS Almaty)
Toward the World Stage
The 2023 FIDE World Schools Team Championship, held in Aktau, Kazakhstan, was the first tournament of its kind and welcomed over 300 young chess players from 53 countries.
A year later, Kazakhstan Chess Federation President Timur Turlov founded the International School Chess Federation (ISCF) and now serves as its head.
Together with FIDE, ISCF will organize the next championship in Alexandria, Virginia, from August 2–7, 2025.
This tournament in Almaty has not only showcased Kazakhstan’s rising chess talent — it has also reaffirmed the country’s position as a global leader in youth chess development.
