The battle for the first-ever FIDE World University Team Chess Championship title has reached its decisive stage in Almaty.
Four teams remain in contention for the medals, with Kazakhstan’s Kazakh National University of Sports (KNUS) set to fight for bronze on August 9, DKNews.kz reports.
The championship will conclude with two final matches determining the gold, silver and bronze medalists, according to the Kazakhstan Chess Federation.
Four teams left in the medal race
Sixteen university teams started the final stage in Almaty, but only four made it through to the semifinals:
- Ural State Mining University;
- Kazakh National University of Sports;
- University of Texas at Dallas;
- Saint Louis University.
Saint Louis University booked its place in the final in convincing fashion, defeating the University of Texas at Dallas twice — 3.5–0.5 in the first match and 3–1 in the second.
That result means the American team from Texas will now face Kazakhstan’s KNUS in the bronze-medal showdown.
KNUS falls just short of the final
The other semifinal proved far more competitive.
KNUS had previously defeated Greece’s National Technical University of Athens to reach the last four, where the Kazakh team faced Ural State Mining University.
The first encounter ended in a 2–2 draw, leaving everything to be decided in the return match. This time, Ural State Mining University took control and won 3–1.
The overall score finished 5–3 in favor of the Russian university team.
Despite the defeat, several KNUS players delivered notable performances against highly decorated opponents.
Grandmaster Kazybek Nogerbek scored one point for Kazakhstan after drawing both of his games against Arseniy Nesterov, the runner-up at the 2023 World Junior Chess Championship in the U20 category.
International Master Satbek Akhmedinov added half a point with a draw against Rudik Makarian, the 2019 U16 world junior champion.
Meruert Kamalidenova produced one of KNUS’s strongest individual performances. Facing Leia Garifullina, the 2019 U16 girls’ world champion, Kamalidenova collected 1.5 points from two games — winning one and drawing the other.
International Master Arystan Isanzhulov faced Grandmaster Sergey Lobanov twice, with Lobanov winning both games.
Who will play for the title?
Ural State Mining University will now face Saint Louis University in the championship final.
Meanwhile, KNUS will have one more opportunity to finish the tournament on the podium when it meets the University of Texas at Dallas in the match for third place.
The decisive clashes are scheduled for August 9.
The first games of both the final and bronze-medal match begin at 11:00, followed by the second games at 15:00. If the overall score remains level, tie-breaks will determine the winners.
€50,000 prize pool at stake
There is more than prestige on the line.
The championship has a total prize fund of €50,000:
- €25,000 for the champions;
- €15,000 for the runners-up;
- €10,000 for the bronze medalists.
For KNUS, victory over the University of Texas at Dallas would therefore mean not only a historic podium finish on home soil, but also a €10,000 prize.
Why the Almaty tournament is historic
The FIDE World University Team Chess Championship is being held for the first time, giving the event additional significance for both the players and the host city.
Competition for a place in the final stage was substantial: 79 university teams from 49 countries entered the qualification process.
Eight of the strongest teams advanced through online qualifying, while another eight received invitations from the organizers.
That brought 16 university teams to Almaty.
Following the group stage, the top eight advanced to the knockout rounds, which consisted of the quarterfinals, semifinals, bronze-medal match and final.
The championship is taking place at Farabi Hub at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty.
The tournament is organized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation and the Almaty city administration.
The main partners are Freedom Group and the Shapagat Corporate Foundation.
Official partners include Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty Tourism Bureau and Visit Almaty, Herbalife, Lichess.org, Zigi-Zagi and Qutty Band.
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