Satty Zhuldyz Chess Festival: Astana's World-Class Tournament!

Hi everyone! 😊

It hasn't been long since my return from Astana and the World Chess Championship Match, but it feels like it was so long ago! 😊 And now, these days you can already observe Ding Liren and Yan Nepomniachtchi participating in the Grand Chess Tour 2023.

My trip was very interesting and memorable, and one of the reasons for this was the side event that I was lucky to attend. And it is this event that I would like to talk about a little in my blog.

So, the event was called the Satty Zhuldyz Chess Festival, which took place from April 19 to 26, 2023, and included a Children's Tournament and the Stars of Chess Tournament (Rapid and Blitz).

The star participants were: Vladimir Kramnik (FID), Levon Aronian (USA), Boris Gelfand (ISR), Alexander Grischuk (FID), Hou Yifan (CHN), Javokhir Sindarov (UZB), Vincent Keymer (GER), Hayk Martirosyan (ARM), Kateryna Lagno (FID), Arjun Erigaisi (IND), Jakhongir Vakhidov UZB), and Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ).

The festival was organized by the Bibisara Assaubayeva Foundation in conjunction with the National Lottery of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Satty Zhuldyz ("Lucky Stars").

The official website of the festival: Satty Zhuldyz Chess Festival

The world's leading commentators provided commentary on the matches: the American chess streamer James Canty and the multiple British chess champion Jovanka Houska. Anvar Shaikhymov broadcasted in Kazakh language. International Master Talgat Gubaidulin commented in Kazakh and Russian.

The official YouTube channel: Satty Zhuldyz Chess

The festival was organized at the highest level, and I was happy to receive an invitation to its closing ceremony. I'm sharing with you the video of the moment when Levon Aronian was awarded the winner, as well as photos with the stars of the chess world 😊

Once again, a huge thank you to the organizers for the invitation and the opportunity to attend such a large-scale event!