IM Aldiyar Ansat of Kazakhstan and WIM Afruza Khamdamova of Uzbekistan grabbed solo lead after seven rounds of the Men’s and Women’s Zone 3.4 Zonals, respectively, in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Three men follow with 5.5 points each, namely IM Saparmyrat Atabayev of Turkmenistan, GM Alisher Suleymenov of Kazakhstan and GM Abdimalik Abdisalimov of Uzbekistan. The top four players shall qualify into the FIDE World Cup. Nine players are within striking distance at 5 points apiece.
Khamdanova beat Rejepova, Jahan of Turkmenistan in the seventh round to grab solo lead, a full point ahead of WFM Elnaz Kaliakhmet and WGM Alua Nurman, both of Kazakhstan. The top three shall qualify into the FIDE Women’s World Cup.
Three players are close behind at 5 points each, namely IM Meruert Kamalidenova and WFM Mariya Kholyavko, both of Kazakhstan, and WCM Bagul Ezizova of Turkmenistan.
Although tournament and match statistics show that White wins more often than Black, many chess analysts believe that the advantage of the first move is more psychological than real. That’s what makes the results of Round 7 at the Asian Zonal 3.4 Chess Championship in Almaty all the more surprising. It is not difficult to calculate that today, among the games played by tournament leaders (those with 50% or more of the possible points), one Black victory contrasted with five White wins. Pleasingly, among those winners were 14-year-old Elnaz Kaliakhmet and 13-year-old Maria Kholyavko.
Of course, both still have to endure the final two rounds, but the way they are playing is admirable. Elnaz has already faced four national team players from different years: she lost to Alua Nurman but defeated Assel Serikbay, Meruert Kamalidenova and Liya Kurmangaliyeva.
Special praise goes to 16-year-old Aldiyar Ansat, who defeated Mukhiddin Madaminov to become the tournament’s sole leader.
In February 2025, 18-year-old Madaminov sensationally won the Second Al-Beruniy International Chess Tournament in Tashkent in the “Masters” category. Despite ranking third from the bottom (2521) and starting with a loss in Round 1, he ended the event with 6½ points, defeating top-rated grandmasters such as Shant Sargsyan (2660) and Haik Martirosyan (2645) of Armenia, Vladislav Artemiev (2691) and Volodar Murzin (2657) of Russia, Ma Qun (2645) of China, and Sanan Sjugirov (2643) of Hungary.
Aldiyar has not yet secured his coveted World Cup ticket, but with 6½ points, he is likely to finish in the top four. A draw in Round 8 – and even more so a win – would greatly improve his chances. Alisher Suleymenov is also well positioned as the finish line approaches. However, the leading quartet is being closely pursued by nine ambitious challengers…