Having reached the final of the International Chess Federation World Women’s Team Championship (FIDE WWTC) 2023 for the first time, Kazakh chess players took the silver medal, FIDE’s press service reported on Sept. 12.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated the Kazakhstan women’s chess team on their win, calling it a breakthrough in domestic chess.

“I am sure that your triumphant performance will give a powerful impetus to the popularization of chess among the younger generation,” he wrote on his Instagram page.

Tokayev added that the government will continue to provide full support to the chess development, wishing all Kazakh professionals and chess fans new achievements.

After entering the knockout stage as one of the top seeds, Kazakhstan’s team beat France in the semifinals, completely dominating the pool stage.

In the final matches, Kazakh chess players lost to Georgia with scores of 1.5 – 2.5 and 0.5 – 3.5.

The national team, consisting of Bibisara Assaubayeva, Xeniya Balabayeva, Assel Serikbay, Meruert Kamalidenova, Alua Nurmanova and Amina Kairbekova brought Kazakhstan the “praiseworthy silver medal.”

Assaubayeva was also awarded the bronze of the first board among the individual medals, which were decided by tournament performance.

The FIDE WWTC 2023 took place from Sept. 5 to 12 in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

astanatimes.com