Kazakh Grandmaster wins International Tournament in India

The 25-year-old GM competed against six International Masters from India, along with three GMs from abroad — France’s Mahel Boyer and Joseph Girel, and Paraguay’s Neuris Delgado Ramírez.

The tournament was held in a nine-round round-robin format with classical time control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment per move starting from move one.

According to Kazchess, Suleymenov held his place among the leaders from the outset, with his only setback in the seventh round having no impact on his position at the summit.

With four wins and four draws, he collected six points to finish half a point ahead of his nearest rivals. His tournament performance rating reached 2599, earning him an additional 11.9 rating points.

He secured his Grandmaster norm in 2023, a year that also featured one of the biggest wins of his career. At the Qatar Masters Open, Suleymenov defeated world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, compelling the Norwegian to resign on move 31 in the second round, even though he was rated over 300 points lower (2839 to 2512).

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that three-time world blitz champion Bibisara Assaubayeva is set to become the first Kazakhstani to compete at the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament, scheduled for March in Cyprus.