Almaty to host one of the year's biggest youth chess events.
Almaty is set to become the stage for one of the most exciting chess events of the year. On August 4–5, Kazakhstan's top young chess players will take on the World Youth Team in a unique international match held alongside the final stage of the 2026 FIDE World University Team Chess Championship, DKNews.kz reports.
The event will feature some of the world's strongest players aged 8 to 18, including reigning world champions, World Cup winners, and medalists from major international tournaments. The teams will first compete in rapid chess, followed by blitz. The total prize fund is 15 million tenge.
Kazakhstan's lineup
Each team consists of six players, one in each age category: U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, and U18.
Kazakhstan Boys Team:
- Grandmaster Edgar Mamedov — 2025 World Champion (U16), 2024 World Championship silver medalist (U14), 2024 Asian Champion.
- International Master Sauat Nurgaliyev — 2025 World Championship silver medalist, World Championship bronze medalist, 2026 Kazakhstan Champion.
- International Master Mark Smirnov — two-time World Champion and World Championship silver medalist.
- FIDE Master Alimzhan Zhauynbay — World School Champion and World Blitz Championship medalist.
- FIDE Candidate Master Rizat Ulan — two-time World Cup winner.
- Aslan Yendibayev — World Rapid Champion in the Under-8 category.
Kazakhstan Girls Team:
- Woman International Master Zarina Nurgaliyeva — World Champion, two-time World Blitz Champion, Kazakhstan Champion.
- Woman International Master Yelnaz Kaliakhmet — World Rapid and Blitz Champion, Honored Master of Sport of Kazakhstan, the youngest national classical chess champion in the country's history.
- Woman FIDE Master Alanna Berikkyzy — World Champion and Kazakhstan Blitz Champion.
- Woman Candidate Master Zhansaya Sholpanbek — World Rapid and Blitz Championship medalist.
- Woman Candidate Master Alisha Bisaliyeva — Absolute World Champion, World Cup winner, and World Blitz Champion.
- Venera Zhakisheva — World Blitz Champion and Absolute Champion of Kazakhstan.
The world's best juniors to challenge Kazakhstan
The World Boys Team includes leading young players from China, Uzbekistan, France, Belarus, Canada, and Spain. Among them are 2026 World Cup winner Jin Yuxin (China), World Championship silver medalists Damir Bulgak (Belarus) and Emanuel Kot (Canada), along with other top-ranked junior players.
The World Girls Team features World Cup winners and World Champions from China, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and the FIDE team. The lineup includes Sun Yunjin, Chen Zhihan, Alisa Henrietta Junker, Valeria Kleymyonova, Veronika Abramkina, and Zahra Allahverdi.
Team captain
Both Kazakhstan's boys' and girls' teams will be led by Grandmaster Boris Grachev, head coach of the national youth team.
The organizers have also named a reserve squad consisting of Danis Kuandykuly, Ramazan Tulegen, Adinur Adilbek, Adelina Nurkhankyzy, and Sara Nurmukhamet.
Why this match matters
The event is expected to become one of the strongest youth chess competitions of the year. Dozens of reigning world champions, World Cup winners, and the world's leading young talents will compete across the boards.
For Kazakhstan, the match provides another opportunity to showcase the strength of its rapidly growing chess school, whose players have consistently claimed titles at world and Asian championships in recent years.
It will also give fans a rare chance to watch future global stars before they make the transition to elite adult competition.
Organizers and partners
The tournament is organized by FIDE, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, and the Almaty City Administration.
The Freedom Group is the General Partner of the event.
Official partners include:
- Al-Farabi Kazakh National University;
- Almaty Tourism Bureau;
- Visit Almaty;
- Herbalife;
- Lichess.org;
- Zigi-Zagi;
- Qutty Band.
Media partners include First Channel Eurasia, Qazsport, Khabar Agency, 24.kz, Jibek Joly, Silk Way, 7tv, Astana TV, MIR TV, Sport+, Kursiv, Kazinform, Tengrinews, TengriSport, Vesti.kz, Amanat Media Group, NewTimes, Bes.media, Aikyn.kz, Liter.kz, DK News, Ult.kz, Sportinform.kz, Azattyq Ruhy, Turkystan.kz, Zhuldyz FM, Radio NS, Orda.fm, Toppress, Today Info, Chessno Govorya, and ChessBase.
