From August 16 to 22, 2025, the Youth Chess Olympiad for players under 16 (born in 2009 or later) was held in Barranquilla, Colombia, DKNews.kz reports.
The Kazakhstan-2 team delivered a strong performance and won the bronze medal.
Under the guidance of Grandmaster Alexander Moiseenko, the team included:
- FM Artyom Bogdanov (rating 2368)
- FM Aldiyar Zhauenbay (2195)
- CM Danis Kuandykuly (2156)
- WIM Zarina Nurgaliyeva (2152)
In the decisive ninth round, Kazakhstan-2 confidently defeated Colombia-1 with a score of 2½–1½. Artyom Bogdanov drew against Andres Santiago Garzon Camelo (½–½). Danis Kuandykuly defeated Santiago Lopez Rayo (1–0). Zarina Nurgaliyeva also won against Lopez Rayo (1–0). This victory secured the team 14 match points, 260 EMGSB (Cut-1) coefficient points, and 25½ individual points, earning them third place.
Kazakhstan fielded two teams.
The Kazakhstan-1 lineup, coached by Grandmaster Boris Grachev, included:
- IM Sauat Nurgaliyev (2225)
- FM Mark Smirnov (2265)
- FM Alan Petukhov (2310)
- WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet (2266)
In the individual standings, Kazakh players added two more medals to the team bronze. Alan Petukhov won silver on the third board, showing the fifth-best performance of the tournament (2374). Sauat Nurgaliyev earned bronze on the first board.
Final team standings:
- FIDE-1: 18 pts, 339 EMGSB, 30½ individual pts
- Uzbekistan: 14, 287, 27
- Kazakhstan-2: 14, 260, 25½
- China: 14, 232, 24
- India: 13, 240.5, 24
- FIDE-2: 13, 224.5, 22½
- Cuba-2: 13, 203, 21½
- Mexico: 13, 175, 20½
- Kazakhstan-1: 12, 266.5, 26½
The EMGSB (Cut-1) coefficient is calculated simply: opponents’ points (excluding the weakest result) multiplied by their individual points. The tournament featured 85 teams from 41 countries. Colombia fielded 30 teams, Peru five, and Venezuela and Chile three each.
Two years ago in Eindhoven (Netherlands), the best Kazakh team finished fourth behind China, Turkey, and Greece. The bronze by Kazakhstan-2 and two individual medals in Barranquilla show that the country’s young chess players continue to progress and are confidently making their mark on the world stage.
