Kazakh Chess Superstar Assaubayeva Competes in Global Chess League in London

ASTANA – Kazakh chess player Bibisara Assaubayeva is participating  in the Global Chess League, which takes place on Oct. 3-12 in London, reported Kazinform news agency.

Photo credit: Michal Walusza/Global Chess League

The Global Chess League is an innovative, team-based chess tournament that was launched to bring a fresh dynamic to the traditional chess format. 

In the tournament, men and women compete side by side on mixed teams. It brought together the world’s leading players, including titan and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen and world number two Hikaru Nakamura.

“The tournament organizers tried to assemble the most famous lineup possible,” Assaubayeva said. “This is a great opportunity to popularize chess globally.”

Assaubayeva’s team includes American Hikaru Nakamura, Polish Jan-Krzysztof Duda (14th place in the FIDE rating), Chinese Yu Yangyi (27th), German Elisabeth Paehtz (23rd place among women) and young Danish Jonas Buhl Bjerre (9th place among juniors).

“All the chess players at the tournament are very strong. I am very pleased to play with such people in one team, and I gain experience. Such tournaments give an opportunity to communicate, learn opinions about chess, gain the experience of other players, and get useful advice,” Assaubayeva said.

The Global Chess League features six teams competing in a rapid format. After a double round-robin stage, the top two teams will face off in the final for the championship. Unlike traditional chess tournaments, each team here plays the same color pieces throughout a match, switching only in the rematch.