On Sunday, June 11, the final, ninth round, and closing ceremony of the Asian Continental Chess Championship took place at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace. The event was supported by the FIDE Planning and Development Commission.
For just over a week, from June 3 to June 11, the intellectual battles of the strongest chess players from 18 countries took place. Breathless, fans from around the world watched every round of the championship. And now the results are known.
The title of “Chess King of Asia” rightfully went to Uzbekistani grandmaster Shamsiddin Vokhidov (FIDE rating 2583), who scored the highest number of points – 7. The silver medal went to Iranian grandmaster Bardia Daneshvar (FIDE rating 2555) with 6.5 points, while the bronze went to Kazakhstani chess player Alisher Suleimenov (FIDE rating 2463), who also scored 6.5 points. Fourth place was taken by Indian grandmaster Abhimanyu Puranik (FIDE rating 2555, 6.5 points).
Among the women, the “Chess Crown of Asia” was awarded to Indian chess player Divya Deshmukh (FIDE rating 2389), who earned 7.5 points. The silver went to Indian grandmaster Mari Ann Gomez (FIDE rating 2315) with 6.5 points. The bronze was awarded to Mongolian grandmaster Batchimeg Mongontuul (FIDE rating 2397, 6.5 points). Kazakhstani Kseniya Balabaeva (FIDE rating 2186) and Amina Kairbekova (FIDE rating 2146) made it into the top 5 participants of the women’s championship. Although they missed out on just half a point to step onto the podium, the Kazakhstani chess players showed a brilliant game.
Six winners, four among men and two among women have secured a spot in the FIDE World Cup 2023, which will start in Baku next month, from July 29 to August 25. If any of them advance to the final of this prestigious event, it will pave the way for them to compete in the Candidates Tournament and, from there, to the match for the title of World Chess Champion.
The award ceremony opened with the song “Elim dep soqsyn zhyregim” by the Kazakh group “JasStars.” The festive atmosphere was brought to the participants by the well-known hosts Aigerim Uzembayeva and Kirill Meister. The popular group “KeshYOU” performed the composition “Qazaqstan” for the audience.
The event was addressed by Asem Nusupova, Deputy Akim of Almaty, and Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, President of the Asian Chess Federation (ACF).
Asem Nusupova noted that the eight days of the Asian Continental Chess Championship flew by like one. “All participants from 18 countries were charged for success, the chess games were intense and uncompromising, but at the same time, an atmosphere of friendliness and respect
prevailed in the hall, and this is very important because without sharing experiences, there is no development. It is gratifying to note that the event attracted not only specialists but also numerous enthusiasts. The championship provided an additional boost to popularizing the most intellectual sport among the younger generation,” she said. On behalf of the Akim of Almaty, Erbolat Askarbekovich Dossaev, she thanked the Asian Chess Federation for choosing Almaty as the host of this tournament, and the organizers and sponsors of the championship for conducting the tournament at the highest level.
Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan also highly praised the tournament in terms of organization, reception of foreign guests, and professional broadcasting of all events within the championship. The head of the ACF announced that in 2024, the Republic of Kazakhstan will host the Asian Youth Chess Championship. He thanked the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym- Jomart Tokayev, the Akim of Almaty, Erbolat Dossaev, and the head of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation Timur Turlov for their contributions to the development of chess and their active support of this sport.
The award ceremony was attended by the First Vice President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KCF), Darman Sadvakasov, and the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Freedom Broker, Tusup Nukenov.
As part of the tournament, two simultaneous sessions of classical chess took place: on June 5, the students of the regional children’s home No. 1 played with the renowned Moldovan chess player Viorel Bologan, and on June 7, the strongest grandmaster from Kazakhstan, the world champion among juniors under 20, Darman Sadvakasov, conducted a simultaneous game on 14 boards.
It should be recalled that about 130 athletes from 18 countries participated in the Asian Continental Chess Championship. The tournament’s prize fund amounted to $100,000.
In addition to the classical chess tournament, the Asian Blitz Championship took place in Almaty on June 3. The winner was Arystan Isanzhulov from Semey, a FIDE master, 20 years old (standard rating 2408, blitz rating 2450). Second place went to Indian chess player Venkatesh Pranav, and third place to the grandmaster from Kazakhstan, Denis Makhnev. Among women, the gold also went to a representative of Kazakhstan, FIDE International Master Kseniya Balabaeva (standard rating 2186, blitz rating 2113), silver to Indian chess player Divya Deshmukh, and bronze to Mongolian chess player Turmunkhiiin Munkhchuluu.
The Asian Continental Chess Championship in Almaty was organized by the Asian Chess Federation and the Kazakhstan Chess Federation with the support of the Akimat of Almaty and the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The general partner of the tournament is Freedom Holding Corp.