Chess Enthusiasts Gather at the Banks of Ulba and Irtysh for the Oskemen Open 2025 Tournament
The international chess festival "Oskemen Open 2025" concluded in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, with several exciting finishes across its three tournaments.
In the main event, the Masters tournament, 19-year-old Alexei Grebnev from Russia clinched the top spot with 7 points out of 9. Grebnev edged out top seed Richard Rapport on tiebreaks, with S. P. Sethuraman from India securing third place with 6.5 points. Notable Kazakhstani finishers included Denis Makhnev, Daniyal Sapenov, and Alisher Suleimenov, who finished in 6th to 8th places, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the Open tournament, 16-year-old Beibarys Muzzaphar held the lead with five points, but a series of losses allowed Arlan Abujarov, Nariman Tleshev, and Ernazar Isumbayev to overtake him. In the end, Isumbayev from Taldykorgan led the Open tournament.
The most significant victory of the festival, however, went to 16-year-old Konstantin Kornienko from Volgograd, who won the Challengers tournament with 7.5 points out of 9. Kornienko, who is currently rated FIDE 2141, secured a prize of $4,000 from the tournament's guaranteed prize fund of $15,000.
The "Oskemen Open 2025" was organised by KazChess/Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KCF) with the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan and the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of East Kazakhstan Region. The event was part of the international chess festival and the second stage of the Kazakhstan Cup.
The 1st stage of the Kazakhstan Chess Cup 2025, known as the "Vladimir Dvorkovich Memorial - Aktobe Open 2025", took place in Aktobe at the end of June. The 3rd and final stage, "Almaty Region Open. Qonaev Cup 2025", will begin on July 3rd at the Olympic Training Center near Almaty. The final of the Kazakhstan Chess Cup 2025 will be held in Almaty from November 9th to 19th.
The festival also saw impressive performances from several international players. FM Naranbold Sodbileg from Mongolia, IM Konstantin Kazakov from Kyrgyzstan, IM Elidar Orózbaev, WCM Bat-Erdene Mungunzul, and WIM Ekaterina Smirnova all finished with six points each in the Challengers tournament. Richard Rapport, a 29-year-old Hungarian super Grandmaster, participated in the main tournament.
In the Masters tournament, IM Meruert Kamalidenova from Kazakhstan had a tough time, despite her impressive performance at the World Cup in Batumi.
The festival concluded with a sense of anticipation for the upcoming stages of the Kazakhstan Chess Cup and the final in Almaty.
- The organizers of the "Oskemen Open 2025", KazChess/Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KCF), aimed to host more events like sports-analysis tournaments in the future, in addition to their pool of international chess events.
- Despite the impressive finishes in the international chess festival "Oskemen Open 2025", sports-analysis reports indicated a potential need for training camps and workshops to strengthen the training and strategy of young talents in chess sports.
