The final of the III Senat Open 2026 Open Cup has begun in Astana. Over three years, the tournament has grown from a small competition with 2,000 participants into one of the most massive chess events in the country. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
In 2024, just over 2,000 people participated in the tournament; in 2025, about 3,000. This year, 8,878 participants sat down at chessboards during qualifying stages across Kazakhstan. Doctors, teachers, police officers, civil servants, maslikhat deputies, veterans, journalists, and simply amateurs — all of them went through four stages of selection before the best gathered in Astana for the final.
Senate Chairman Maulen Ashimbayev thanked the Kazakhstan Chess Federation and personally Timur Turlov for their support in organizing the tournament.
"I want to sincerely thank the Kazakhstan Chess Federation and personally Timur Ruslanovich Turlov for supporting the organization of this tournament, for systematic work to support chess in the country, and for a valuable contribution to the development of the nation's intellectual potential. Thanks to this great work, interest in chess in the country is growing. Kazakhstani chess players are now known and respected all over the world," said Ashimbayev.
Turlov, in turn, called the increase in the number of participants the most honest indicator of success.
"The Senat Open tournament is only three years old, but it has already taken a prominent place in the unified chess ecosystem of Kazakhstan. Every year there were more and more participants. And this is perhaps the most honest marker that our tournament has become, without exaggeration, a people's tournament. This year, almost 9,000 people took part in it," he noted.
Turlov also revealed the scale of the chess movement in the country. Over 1,500 schools have joined chess education programs, 60,000 students study regularly, teacher training is underway, and a program to support young talents is operating. Last year, Kazakhstani chess players brought home 162 medals from international tournaments — 64 of them gold. This autumn, the final of the World Team Championship will be held in Almaty, where Kazakhstani teams will meet teams from Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard.
"The strongest youth team in the world and one of the best women's teams. Kazakhstan is confidently growing as a global chess hub. FIDE increasingly chooses us as a key partner for organizing international competitions. All this became possible because the state and the Kazakhstan Chess Federation act as a single team," Turlov emphasized.
The only restriction for participation is an elo rating below 2000. All stages will be held in the rapid 10+5 format using the Swiss system in nine rounds. Based on the results of the final, winners will be determined in ten categories — among veterans, women, deputies, civil servants, medical workers, teachers, law enforcement officers, representatives of culture, science, and media. The best regional team will receive the main Senat Open 2026 Cup.
"At one board, people from different regions, different professions, and different destinies meet. And this, perhaps, is the main strength of our game," Turlov summarized.
Senat Open 2026 has been organized by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation under the auspices of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan since 2024. The idea was proposed by Senate Chairman Maulen Ashimbayev and supported by President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation Timur Turlov.