International Chess Festival "Oskemen Open 2025" Concludes in Ust-Kamenogorsk

In the “Masters” tournament, 19-year-old Aleksei Grebnev emerged victorious, while Kazakhstan’s Denis Makhnev, Daniyal Sapenov, and Alisher Suleimenov secured 6th to 8th places, DKnews.kz reports.

The final stretch of a tournament can unfold in many ways. Sometimes the winner can be congratulated ahead of time. Sometimes a draw in the final round is enough for victory. And sometimes — as in the main event of the international chess festival “Oskemen Open 2025” (which also served as the 2nd stage of the Kazakhstan Cup) — the top spot is determined in several key matchups: Anton Demchenko vs. Richard Rapport, Aleksei Grebnev vs. Narayanan S. L., and our own Denis Makhnev vs. Sethuraman S. P.

Grebnev was the first to finish, forcing his opponent to resign on move 52. Rapport had to win his game essentially twice — after squandering a clear advantage — but ultimately pulled it off! As for Makhnev and Sethuraman, playing in added time, they left no room for error — resulting in a draw.

As a result, first place went to Aleksei Grebnev, the two-time U18 World Champion (2023, 2024) and recent winner of the Dubai Open 2025, who celebrated his 19th birthday during the tournament. The top-seeded 29-year-old Richard Rapport, despite scoring the same number of points, lost out on first place due to an inferior truncated Buchholz tiebreak. Third place went to 32-year-old Sethuraman S. P.

Though the finishes of WIM Zeynip Sultanbek (2067) and IM Kseniya Balabayeva (2332) were less than ideal (Zeynip, in fact, lost both of her last two games), none of their rivals managed to overtake them — both finished with 4½ points. The $1,000 first prize went to the 21-year-old player from Shymkent, who also achieved an IM norm.

The guaranteed prize fund for the Masters tournament was $78,000, of which the winner received $18,000, second place $14,000, and third place $10,000. Prizes extended down to 15th place, who earned $1,000.

Oskemen Open 2025 / Masters

1. GM Aleksei Grebnev (2582, FIDE) – 7 pts

2. GM Richard Rapport (2715, Hungary) – 7

3. GM Sethuraman S. P. (2554, India) – 6½

4. GM Dmitry Bocharov (2522, FIDE) – 6½

5. GM Anton Demchenko (2610, Slovenia) – 6

6. GM Denis Makhnev (2535) – 6

7. IM Daniyal Sapenov (2414) – 6

8. GM Alisher Suleimenov (2497) – 6

9. GM Artyom Uskov (2500, FIDE) – 6

10. GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2629, Bulgaria) – 6

11. IM Ilamparthi A. R. (2500, India) – 5½

12. IM Zhandos Agmanov (2483) – 5½

13. IM Ethan Vaz (2429, India) – 5½

14. GM Narayanan Sunilduth Lyna (2597, India) – 5½

15. IM Arash Tahbaz (2462, Iran) – 5½

It took only 17 moves for Ekaterina Smirnova and Konstantin Kornienko to agree to a draw — a result that secured victory in the second most prestigious tournament, the “Challengers,” for the 16-year-old Kornienko. The guaranteed prize fund for the Challengers tournament was $15,000, with $4,000 going to the winner. Konstantin Kazakov received $2,000, while the 6th-place prize — $800 — went to the top-rated Indian contender.

Oskemen Open 2025 / Challengers

1. CM Konstantin Kornienko (2141, FIDE) – 7½ pts

2. IM Eldiyar Orozbaev (2367, Kyrgyzstan) – 7

3. IM Konstantin Kazakov (2288) – 6½

4. FM Naranbold Sodbilegt (2363, Mongolia) – 6½

5. WCM Bat-Erdene Mungunzul (2337, Mongolia) – 6½

6. IM Aaditya Dhingra (2398, India) – 6½

In the Open tournament, 19-year-old Ernazar Isumbaev from Taldykorgan made a strategic error by agreeing to a quick draw with Kyrgyzstani guest Azamat Nurdinov. That decision cost him the title, as 20-year-old Nariman Tleshev from Karaganda — now a student at Astana IT University — caught up with him and surpassed him on truncated Buchholz. The winner took home $2,000, while the fifth prize — $700 — went to the winner’s 14-year-old fellow townsman, Dmitry Gein.

Oskemen Open 2025 / Open

1. Nariman Tleshev (1839) – 7½ pts

2. Ernazar Isumbaev (1813) – 7½

3. Alrami Mukashev (1663) – 7

4. Azamat Nurdinov (1784, Kyrgyzstan) – 7

5. Dmitry Gein (1830) – 7

It is worth noting that the international chess festival “Oskemen Open 2025” served as the 2nd stage of the Kazakhstan Chess Cup 2025 for classical chess among men and women. This year, the competition includes three stages (Swiss system) and a final (12-player round-robin):

• Stage 1 – Vladimir Dvorkovich Memorial – Aktobe Open 2025 (Aktobe, June 22–30)
• Stage 2 – Oskemen Open 2025 (Ust-Kamenogorsk, July 21–29)
• Stage 3 – Almaty Region Open. Qonaev Cup 2025 (TsOP, Almalybak village, Karasai district, Almaty region, August 4–12)
• Final – Kazakhstan Chess Cup 2025 – Final (Almaty, November 9–19)