Kazakhstani chess players won the Continental Asian Blitz Chess Championship in Almaty.

Asian Continental Blitz Chess Championship

On Saturday, June 3, 2023, the Continental Asian Blitz Chess Championship took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Blitz chess is one of the fastest variants of chess, where each player is given 3 minutes for the entire game, with an additional 2 seconds added for each move.

After nine rounds of intense competition, Kazakhstani athletes emerged victorious. The champion of the open blitz tournament was FIDE Master Arystan Isanzhulov from Semey, a 20-year-old player with a standard rating of 2408 and a blitz rating of 2450. Second place went to chess player Venkatesh Pranav from India, while our compatriot Denis Makhnev secured the third position.

Among the women, the gold medal was awarded to the Women’s International Master Kseniya Balabaeva from Almaty, an 18-year-old player with a standard rating of 2186 and a blitz rating of 2113. Divya Deshmukh from India claimed the silver medal, and Turmunhiin Munkhzuul from Mongolia took home the bronze.

The blitz championship took place at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace and gathered 116 chess players from nearly 20 countries around the world. Our winners outperformed all the more renowned opponents—37 participants in the tournament had a blitz rating above 2300, with six of them having a rating above 2500.

According to Gulmira Dauletova, the Executive Director of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KCF), the annual blitz championships are traditionally held in Asia alongside classical chess competitions. Last year, Kazakhstan also secured the gold medal in the blitz tournament among the continent’s chess players, with Rinat Dzhumabaev taking the first place.

As tradition dictates, the tournament opened with the ceremonial first move. This honorary right was granted to the First Vice President of the KCF, Darman Sadvakasov, and the Vice President of the Federation, Marat Yesenov. Additionally, in one of the rounds, the General Secretary of the Asian Chess Federation, Hisham Al-Taher, made the first move.

On Sunday, June 4, 2023, the Continental Asian Chess Championship will commence in Almaty. The grand opening ceremony will start at 14:30, and admission is free. The general partner for both tournaments is Freedom Holding Corp. The organizers of the tournaments are the Akimat of Almaty, the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan, the KCF, the Asian Chess Federation, and FIDE. The competition partners are the Baluan Sholak
Sports Palace, Shymbulak Water, and Lichess.com.

– Kazakhstan Chess Federation Press Release