On August 28, 2025, Astana will host the final of the 2nd Open Cup “Senat Open” in chess, DKNews.kz reports.
More than 200 participants will compete for awards. Chess players from 17 regions and 3 cities of republican significance, as well as deputies of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, will take part. The competition will be held in both individual and team standings.
The tournament will take place in the ballroom of The Ritz-Carlton Astana hotel at 16 Dostyk Street. The idea of the tournament was proposed by the Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, Maulen Ashimbayev. The President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, Timur Turlov, supported this initiative. In 2024, more than 2,000 chess enthusiasts participated in the qualifying rapid tournaments. In 2025, the Cup is being held for the second time. The scheme includes three stages. From February 21 to May 27, 20 qualifying tournaments were held. From June 25 to August 9, five zonal semifinals took place: South, Center, North, West, and East. The final will conclude the cycle.
More than 2,100 players took part in the qualifiers. Including veteran tournaments, the number of participants exceeded 3,000. The semifinals began on June 25 in Turkestan (South zone). Then tournaments were held on June 29 in Semey (Center zone), July 4 in Kokshetau (North zone), July 23 in Oral (West zone), and August 9 in Taldykorgan (East zone).
Accreditation will begin at 9:00. The opening ceremony will take place at 10:00. The closing ceremony is scheduled for 19:00. The tournament will be held in a Swiss system of 9 rounds. Time control — rapid 10+5 (10 minutes per game with 5 seconds increment per move). Participants must have an Elo rating below 2000 as of January 1, 2025.
In 2024, the winners in the individual standings were Kairat Kurmangaliyev (Astana), Sultan Sadykov (Shymkent), and Almas Sarmurzaev (Ulytau region). The Astana team won the challenge cup.
The final of the “Senat Open” will gather the strongest chess players of Kazakhstan. The tournament will strengthen interest in chess and spectators can expect exciting battles.
