Timur Turlov kicks off World Chess Championship in US
Kazakh schoolchildren are competing in the World Chess Championship, currently underway in the U.S.
The tournament runs from Aug. 3 to 6 on the campus of Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia. This year’s World Schools Team Championship features 286 young players across 55 teams representing 48 countries. Among them are six teams of Kazakhstani students from the Republican School of Physics and Mathematics, the SEED Educational Complex in Astana, Zholdasbekov IT Lyceum No. 9 in Shymkent and Konayev Gymnasium School in Aktobe.
The opening ceremony was attended by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, International School Chess Federation (ISCF) President Timur Turlov, who also leads the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KazChess), and Chad Blackman, Barbados’ minister of educational transformation and former head of the country’s mission to the United Nations.
In his remarks, Turlov emphasized that chess is more than just a sport.
«It’s a way of thinking,» he said. «Chess teaches discipline, decision-making, and the ability to see the consequences of your actions. It’s a game that shapes the kind of thinking every person needs in life, in career, in society.»
He added that he spoke not only as the head of a federation but also as a father whose children play chess.
On Aug. 4-5, the Smart Moves Summit 2025 will be held in Alexandria, focusing on how chess can transform education. Key speakers include FIDE Deputy Chair Dana Reizniece-Ozola (Latvia), KazChess President Timur Turlov, U.S. Chair of FIDE’s Chess in Education Commission Jerry Nash, FIDE senior trainer and psychologist José Francisco «Pep» Suárez (Spain) and Jenny Ingber, president of the U.S.-based nonprofit Chess in the Schools, among others.
Meanwhile, in Kazakhstan, the international chess festival Almaty Region Open: Qonaev Cup 2025 is taking place from Aug. 4 to 12. The festival’s main event will be the final stage of the Kazakhstan Cup 2025.
