From August 4 to 12, 2025, the international chess festival “Almaty Region Open. Qonaev Cup 2025” kicked off at the Olympic Training Center near Almaty. The main tournament is the third and final stage of the Kazakhstan Cup 2025, DKNews.kz reports.
Since 2023, when KazChess — the Kazakhstan Chess Federation — introduced a new Kazakhstan Cup format in classical chess (Swiss-system stages followed by a knockout final), winners have included Manuel Petrosyan (Armenia), Denis Makhnev (Kazakhstan), Alua Nurman (Kazakhstan), and Ekaterina Goltseva (FIDE).
This year's Kazakhstan Cup calendar features three Swiss-system stages and a final round-robin event (with 12 participants). The first stage, the “Vladimir Dvorkovich Memorial – Aktobe Open 2025” (June 22–30), was won by GM Alexey Sarana (2686, Serbia). The second stage, “Oskemen Open 2025” (July 21–29), saw GM Alexey Grebnev (FIDE) take the title. The final lineup of participants will mostly be determined following the third stage — “Almaty Region Open. Qonaev Cup 2025,” held at the Olympic Training Center in the village of Almalibak, Karasay District, Almaty Region.
Festival Format
Organized by KazChess with support from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Almaty Region Department of Physical Culture and Sports, the chess festival includes three main tournaments:
- Masters – for players rated 2400 and above
- Challengers – for players rated 1900–2399
- Open – for players rated 1400–1899
All events will be held in 9 rounds using the Swiss system, with a classical time control of 90 minutes per game plus a 30-second increment per move, starting from move one.
The opening ceremony takes place on August 4 at 14:00, immediately followed by the first round in all three tournaments. Rounds 2 through 9 will be played from August 5 to 12.
Masters Tournament Highlights
The “Masters” event features 62 participants from 16 countries, including:
- 21 Grandmasters (GM)
- 24 International Masters (IM)
- 2 Women Grandmasters (WGM)
- 16 players rated over 2500
Notable names include:
- Bassem Amin (2633, Egypt) – the top player from Africa
- Aram Hakobyan (2625, Armenia) – winner of the 2024 Pavlodar Open
- Maxim Matlakov (2608, FIDE) – former team member for Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ju Wenjun in World Championship matches
Among the top Kazakh players are:
- Denis Makhnev (2540),
- Alisher Suleimenov (2500),
- Zhandos Agmanov (2485),
- Daniyal Sapenov (2429),
They are joined by strong contenders like Arystanbek Urazayev (2490), Azamat Utegaliev (2474), and Ramazan Zhalmakhanov (2434).
Top female contenders include:
- Alua Nurman (2315)
- Irene Lützinger (2308, FIDE)
- Liya Kurmangalieva (2303)
- Amina Kairbekova (2297)
- Ayaulym Kaldarova (2220)
Challengers and Open Tournaments
The Challengers tournament has 83 participants, including experienced GMs and IMs such as:
- Alexey Barsov (2323, Uzbekistan)
- Evgeny Pak (2317)
- Alibek Igambergenov (2310)
- Konstantin Kazakov (2300)
- Bakhtiyar Askarov (2295)
They will compete alongside a new generation of rising chess stars from Kazakhstan and neighboring countries.
Prize Fund
Masters Tournament:
- Total prize fund: $78,000
- 1st place: $18,000
- 2nd place: $14,000
- 3rd place: $10,000
- Prizes awarded down to 15th place ($1,000)
- Best female player prize: $1,000 (if placed outside top 15)
Challengers Tournament:
- Total prize fund: $15,000
- 1st place: $4,000
Open Tournament:
- Total prize fund: $7,000
- 1st place: $2,000
Additional prizes are awarded for the best results among women and local players.
The “Almaty Region Open. Qonaev Cup 2025” continues Kazakhstan’s rise as a global chess hub and offers a world-class competitive platform for both elite grandmasters and emerging talents.
