Aditya Mittal wins Almaty Region Open Qonaev Cup 2025 Masters with a 2689 performance
GM Aditya Mittal and GM Aleksey Grebnev scored an unbeaten 6.5/9 each at Almaty Region Open Qonaev Cup Masters 2025. Aditya won the tournament due to better tie-break score, Grebnev was placed second. Ten players scored 6/9 each. Out of them, GM Bassem Amin (EGY) was adjudged third. The total prize fund was US$ 100000, $78000 in Masters. The top three prizes were $18000, $14000 and $10000 along with a trophy each. The nine-day nine round rating tournament was organized by Kazakhstan Chess Federation in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 4th to 12th August 2025. This is Aditya's third triumph in Kazakhstan since 2023. IM S Rohith Krishna and IM Ayush Sharma earned their final GM-norm at this event. Thus, Rohith became India's 89th Grandmaster. Photo: Dastan Kapayev
S Rohith Krishna becomes 89th GM, Ayush Sharma earns his final GM-norm
It was an eventful tournament for Indians. GM Aditya Mittal became champion, IM S Rohith Krishna became India's 89th Grandmaster, IM Ayush Sharma earned his final GM-norm. Total three Indians finished in top ten. GM Sethuraman S P scored 6/9 to finish fifth. Rohith also scored the same. He was placed eighth according to tie-breaks. The tournament witnessed the total participation of 260 players, 61 in Masters (>2400), 81 in Challengers (1900-2399) and 118 in Open (1400-1899).
Aditya - Saparmyrat, Round 7
GM Aditya Mittal (2560) won an exciting game against GM Saparmyrat Atabayev (TKM, 2492). 28.fxg6 Bd4 29.Qa3 c5 30.f7+ Kg7 31.Qa6 Qe5 32.gxh7+ Kh8 33.Qh6 d1Q 34.Bf6+ Qxf6 35.Rg8+ a picturesque combination to finish the game.
A total of 61 players including 22 GMs, 22 IMs, 2 WGMs and 2 WIMs took part from 14 countries across the world. The nine-day nine round rating tournament was organized by Kazakhstan Chess Federation in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 4th to 12th August 2025. The time control of the event was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment per move.
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Final standings in Masters
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | GM | Aditya, Mittal | IND | 2560 | 6,5 | 44,5 | 0 | 4 | 2689 | |
| 2 | 4 | GM | Grebnev, Aleksey | FID | 2595 | 6,5 | 43 | 0 | 4 | 2661 | |
| 3 | 1 | GM | Amin, Bassem | EGY | 2633 | 6 | 47 | 0 | 3 | 2652 | |
| 4 | 29 | IM | Tsaruk, Maksim | FID | 2470 | 6 | 44,5 | 0 | 4 | 2666 | |
| 5 | 9 | GM | Sethuraman, S.P. | IND | 2569 | 6 | 44 | 0 | 4 | 2597 | |
| 6 | 2 | GM | Hakobyan, Aram | ARM | 2625 | 6 | 43 | 0 | 3 | 2620 | |
| 7 | 3 | GM | Matlakov, Maxim | FID | 2608 | 6 | 42,5 | 0 | 4 | 2619 | |
| 8 | 16 | IM | Rohith, Krishna S | IND | 2500 | 6 | 41,5 | 0 | 3 | 2626 | |
| 9 | 7 | GM | Tin, Jingyao | SGP | 2579 | 6 | 40,5 | 0 | 4 | 2576 | |
| 10 | 20 | GM | Atabayev, Saparmyrat | TKM | 2492 | 6 | 39,5 | 0 | 4 | 2599 |
