Kazakhstan's women's team secured their fifth consecutive victory at the 46th World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In the fifth round, the Kazakh players defeated Germany 2.5-1.5 to climb to third place in the standings, infohub.kz reports.

The opponents have grown tougher with each round. Germany, like Kazakhstan, had won all their matches in Samarkand before this day, and even ranked higher on tiebreaks — sixth place versus ninth for our team.

The winning point for the team was delivered by Meruert Kamalidenova. On board three, the 21-year-old International Master forced the 31-year-old Woman Grandmaster Hanna-Marie Klek to resign on move 31.

Bibisara Assaubayeva, Alua Nurman, and Elnaz Kaliakhmet all drew their games, providing the foundation for the team's fifth victory. Our team, with a perfect score, moved up to third place in the standings.

WORLD CHESS OLYMPIAD 2026
Round 5. September 20. Women
KAZAKHSTAN – GERMANY 2.5-1.5

♟️ GM* Bibisara Assaubayeva (2536) – IM Dinara Wagner (2399) 0.5-0.5
♟️ GM Elisabeth Paehtz (2404) – IM Alua Nurman (2455) 0.5-0.5
♟️ IM Meruert Kamalidenova (2413) – WGM Hanna-Marie Klek (2293) 1-0
♟️ WGM Jana Schneider (2325) – WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet (2347) 0-0

* GM – Grandmaster, WGM – Woman Grandmaster, IM – International Master, WIM – Woman International Master

Kazakhstan's men's team dropped a team point in their match against Estonia. Sauat Nurgaliyev won with black against Kirill Chukavin, while Aldiyar Ansat, also with black, lost to Dion Krivenko. Denis Makhnev and Daniyal Sapenov failed to convert their white pieces into dividends.

The 2-2 draw lifted our team from 46th place out of 150 participating teams to 35th.

WORLD CHESS OLYMPIAD 2026
Round 5. September 20. Men
KAZAKHSTAN – ESTONIA 2-2

♟️ GM* Denis Makhnev (2568) – IM Ilja Sirosh (2385) 0.5-0.5
♟️ FM Kirill Chukavin (2362) – IM Sauat Nurgaliyev (2493) 0-1
♟️ IM Daniyal Sapenov (2210) – GM Meelis Kanep (2353) 0.5-0.5
♟️ FM Dion Krivenko (2319) – GM Aldiyar Ansat (2495) 1-0

* GM – Grandmaster, IM – International Master, FM – FIDE Master

398 teams, 1,974 chess players, and 240 grandmasters are participating in the 46th World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.

The tournament is played under the Swiss system over 11 rounds. Each team consists of 4 players and 1 reserve. The time control is classical: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves plus an additional 30 minutes. After each move, 30 seconds are added.

A team earns two match points for a win and one for a draw. If points are equal, tiebreaks come into play — the Berger coefficient (points scored by opponents) and the sum of individual points of each team member.

The winners of the men's tournament receive the Lord Frederick Gustavus Hamilton-Russell Cup, and the women's winners receive the Vera Menchik Cup. The federation with the lowest combined sum of places of both teams is awarded the Nona Gaprindashvili Cup.