The team from the Kazakh National University of Sports (KNUS) has advanced to the semifinals of the World University Team Chess Championship, currently underway in Almaty. In the quarterfinals, the Kazakhs defeated the team from the National Technical University of Athens, according to infohub.kz.
The first round of the quarterfinals ended in a 2:2 draw, which forced our chess players to concentrate fully. In the second round, playing with white pieces, International Master Meruert Kamalidenova secured a confident victory. Satbek Akhmedinov avenged his loss in the first game. Arystan Isanzhulov and Kazybek Nogerbek drew their games.
The overall score was 5:3 in favor of KNUS, and the team advanced to the semifinals, where tomorrow they will face the tournament favorites — the team from Ural State Mining University from Yekaterinburg, which conceded only half a point to the Chileans in the quarterfinals.
The other semifinal will be an all-American affair: Saint Louis University and Harvard University will compete for a spot in the final. The Kazakhs will play one of these teams on Sunday — either in the gold medal match or in the bronze medal match.
The semifinals, the third-place match, and the final, like the group stage games, are played over two rounds. In case of a tie, a tie-break will determine the winner. Matches are played on four boards, with each team required to have at least one man and at least one woman. The time control is 45 minutes plus 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.
The tournament is organized by FIDE in cooperation with 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 Almaty city akimat. General partners are the Freedom group of companies and the Shapagat corporate fund.
The total prize fund is 50,000 euros. The champions will receive 25,000 euros, the runners-up 15,000 euros, and the third-place team will split 10,000 euros.