Sauat Nurgaliyev and Zarina Nurgalieva claimed gold medals in the men’s and women’s sections, respectively, reports El.kz.

How Sauat Nurgaliyev Became Champion

Heading into the final round a full point ahead of his closest rivals, Nurgaliyev made a quick draw with Dinmukhammed Tulendinov and secured the title with a score of 9/13.

Drama in the Women’s Tournament

The women’s competition was even more dramatic, as four participants – Liya Kurmangaliyeva, Zarina Nurgalieva, Elnaz Kaliakhmet, and Meruert Kamalidenova – all crossed the finish line on 9/13, resulting in a four-way tie for the first place. The rapid single round-robin that followed failed to produce a clear winner the winner: Nurgalieva and Kamalidenova both scored 2/3 forcing a two-game blitz tiebreaker.

Who Are the New Champions?

Sauat Nurgaliyev was born in 2010 and became an International Master in 2024. His achievements include a silver medal at the U16 World Youth Championship and a bronze at the U14 World Championship.

Zarina Nurgaliyeva is a former U14 Girls' World Champion and a winner of the U18 World Blitz Championship.

Prize Fund

The 2026 Kazakhstan Championship featured one of the largest prize pools in recent years, totaling 20 million tenge.

The winners of the men’s and women’s tournaments each received 3 million tenge. Silver medalists were awarded 2.2 million tenge, and bronze medalists received 1.5 million tenge.

The championship in Astana confirmed that a strong generation of young players continues to rise in Kazakhstan.