Aiaru Altynbek, a 13-year-old chess player from Kazakhstan, has won a gold medal at the FIDE World School Championship in Lima, Peru.
«Even though Aiaru secured the first place for herself ahead of the final game she continued to push and won. With a score of 8½, she played nine match games and outperformed her competitor by 1.5 points,» the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (Kazchess) said in a statement.
Felow Kazakhstani Iman Nabiyev (1,636, #8 in the ranking) has won a bronze medal in the age category under 9 years. Iman scored 7½ points like his competitor but lost in a tiebreaker.
«I am genuinely proud of what our young Kazakhstani chess players have done. They once again showed the highest level of commitment and mastership. This achievement is a result of the hard work of coaches, parents and of course the perseverance and ambitions of the children themselves. This high-end performance makes me believe that Kazakhstani chess has a bright future and proves that we are doing the right thing by supporting young talents,» said President of Kazchess Timur Turlov.
The 2024 FIDE World School Championship (90 minutes per match game plus 30 seconds per each move) was organized under the Swiss system separately for boys in open and girls in six age groups (7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17). Twenty-six countries including Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Columbia and Mongolia sent 1,174 young chess players to take part in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Kazchess continues opening new chess classes for children. The last one was opened in a school for talented children in Kyzylorda. This happened with the support of Freedom Broker and Freedom Shapagat Corporate Fund.
As Kursiv reported in late April, Kazakhstani diplomats took first place during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization International Team Chess Tournament in Beijing, followed by teams from Azerbaijan and Nepal. Currently, Kazchess is preparing a tournament for MPs, journalists and public figures.
