Kazakh chess prodigy Abdumalik named 2013 best under-20 player
11:41, 1 July 2014
ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Zhansaya Abdumalik, a 14-year-old chess player from Kazakhstan, has been named the 2013 best girl under-20 player of the year, Vesti.kz says.
"I was very surprised to be honored by the 1st Annual Asian Chess Excellence Award," the chess prodigy told Vesti.kz correspondent. "I was in Iran for the Asian Chess Championships, when I heard the news. I did not expect it at all." Abdumalik achieved a woman grandmaster title at the age of 12 making her the youngest female grandmaster in history after Hou Yifan. Zhansaya Abdumalik Chess Academy was opened in Almaty in January 2014.