Kazakhstani juniors secure silver and bronze medals at World Chess Championship

Kazakhstani juniors have earned one bronze and two silver medals at the FIDE World Youth Chess Championships 2024 in Brazil. The U14-U18 tournament took place in Florianopolis from Oct. 29 through Nov. 9, according to the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KazChess). 

In the category for boys under 14 years, Edgar Mamedov took second place and Amina Kairbekova won in the category for women under 18. Aldiyar Ansat won a silver medal, playing in the category for men under 18, and Sauat Nurgaliyev won bronze among boys under 14.

The youth championships united more than 500 young chess players from more than 63 countries. Kazakhstan was represented by 20 juniors led by Grandmaster Anton Filippov, senior trainer of children’s and youth teams in the country.

“The impressive performance of our juniors at the world championship once again proves that our strategy aimed at supporting talents is legitimate. I have no doubts that these young players are the future of Kazakhstani chess; they are going to be world champions and winners of the most prestigious tournaments. My congratulations to them and all chess enthusiasts in Kazakhstan!” President of KazChess Timur Turlov paid tribute to the chess players.

At the final stages of the championship, more Kazakhstani players could have also won medals. For example, Daniyal Sapenov (under 16) succumbed to Germany’s Bennet Hagner after exhausting 88 moves, while Zarina Nurgaliyeva (also under 16) was defeated by Afruza Khamdamova of Uzbekistan.

«It’s wonderful that almost all Kazakhstani players reached their finals, competing for the top positions. Notably, we hold the second-highest medal count at this championship. I’d call this result decent, but there’s even more potential ahead,» Filippov said. 

The U14-U18 tournament featured 11 rounds played under the Swiss System with classic time controls, similar to adult competitions: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes until the game ends, with a 30-second increment per move starting from the first.

In August, Kazakhstani school students won seven gold medals at the World Championship, with the rapid and blitz chess tournaments held from Aug. 2 to Aug. 4 in Tashkent.

Additionally, 13 Kazakhstani players medaled in rapid and blitz chess at the Team Chess Championship in Astana. This tournament brought together 315 professional players from all over the world, including the top-ranked men’s and women’s champions.