Kazakhstan's women's chess team retained the lead at the 2026 World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand after the marquee seventh-round match against China ended in a 2:2 draw. Bibisara Asaubayeva played the key game on board one against Zhu Jiner, and that result kept the Kazakh team from losing sole possession of first place, according to infohub.kz.
Both teams came into the head-to-head clash with identical records: six wins from six previous matches. On board one, Asaubayeva put pressure on her opponent, but the Chinese player managed to hold the draw. On board two, Alua Nurman also drew her game against Song Yuxin. Meruert Kamalidenova lost to Lu Miaoyi, while Elnaz Kaliakhmet defeated Yan Tianqi.
The outcome carried major tournament implications. Had Asaubayeva lost, Kazakhstan would have dropped the match to China and surrendered sole leadership of the 2026 Olympiad; had she won, the Kazakh women would have claimed two crucial points and moved into the outright lead.
Four rounds remain at the 2026 World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. After the draw, China and Kazakhstan continue to share first and second places in the women's division standings, with an equal number of team points.
Kazakhstan's men's team lost 0.5:3.5 to Serbia in the seventh round. Only Aldiyar Ansat managed a draw. Denis Makhnev, Sauat Nurgaliyev and Daniyal Sapenov all lost their games.
It was previously reported that Kazakhstan's women's team extended its winning streak at the World Chess Olympiad hosted by Samarkand, Uzbekistan.