The historic World Chess Championship among students has come to an end at KazNU

The first FIDE World University Team Chess Championship (FIDE World University Team Chess Championship 2026) has ended on the basis of al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

Following the results of the final stage of the large-scale international tournament, the team of the Kazakh National University of Sports (KNUS) took the 3rd place, winning a bronze medal for the country. The title of the tournament champion was won by the team of Ural State Mining University (USMU, Russia), and the 2nd place went to the University of St. Louis (SLU, USA).

The First Vice-president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, Darmen Sadvakasov, noted that the championship was held in a special atmosphere: "Congratulations from the bottom of my heart to the KNUS team, which won the historic bronze medal in crucial moments! The tournament was held at a very high level, as noted by the students themselves, who came from all six continents. Almaty made a special impression on the guests. Kazakhstan's initiative to host the first World University Championship has fully justified itself",- said Darmen Sadvakasov.

79 university teams from 49 countries competed in the qualifying stage for the right to participate in the championship. Following the results of the online selection, 8 of the strongest teams, as well as 8 more teams, met at the final stage in Almaty at the special invitation of the organizers, where 16 of the best teams gathered.

The fight for the third place turned out to be extremely intense. The grandmasters of the first board, Kazybek Nogerbek of Kazakhstan and Samant Aditya of India, met in the decisive game of Armageddon. In a hard-fought match, the Russian grandmaster won, bringing his team a bronze medal.

"It wasn't easy. I was worried because I understood that I was defending the honor of not only my educational institution, but the whole country. We were determined to win, and every teammate fought to the last. The accumulated experience helped me in the decisive games",- said grandmaster Kazybek Nogerbek.

The championship was held from August 4 to August 9 at the Farabi Hub center of KazNU. The International Chess Federation (FIDE), the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation and the Akimat of Almaty acted as joint organizers of the international tournament.

Press-service of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University