World Cadet Chess Championship – winners crowned

The FIDE World Cadet Championships 2025 took place September 19 – September 30 in Kazakhstan. This tournament is separated into 6 categories – Girls U12, Open U12, Girls U10, Open U10, Girls U08, and Open U08. The Open U12 section is an 11-round Swiss system tournament with time control 90 min + 30 sec/move. The event was one of the major chess competitions in the The Asian Chess Calendar, which is part of The Chess Calendar. It brought together 842 young players from 88 countries, including 229 representatives from all 20 regions of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan’s young stars – 8-year-olds Alisha Bisalieva (Girls U8) and Adinur Adilbek (Open U8), along with 12-year-old Danis Kuandykuly (Open U12) – claimed gold medals, while the national team topped the overall standings for the second year in a row. China and the USA shared second and third, each earning one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal. China edged out the USA in total points scored by medalists – 26½ to 25½.

Replay: Girls U12 / Girls U10 / Open U10 / Girls U08 / Open U08

2025 World Cadet Chess Championship winners and top finishers:

Girls U8 (94 players)

1. Alisha Bissaliyeva (1704, Kazakhstan) – 9½ points
2. Zhu Jiahe (1630, China) – 9
3. Bold-Erdene Tselmeg (1661, Mongolia) – 8½

Open U8 (150 players)

1. Adinur Adilbek (1935, Kazakhstan) – 9½ points
2. Fedor Sidelnikov (1720, FIDE) – 8½
3. Wang Yuxuan (1728, China) – 8½

Girls U10 (115 players)

1. WCM Sharvaanica, A S (1971, India) – 9 points
2. WCM Chinzorig Nandinjiguur (1887, Mongolia) – 9
3. Kiyanna Parihaar (1728, India) – 8½

Open U10 (185 players)

1. Yuan Shunzhe (1805, China) – 9 points
2. CM Le Phan Hoang Quan (2031, Vietnam) – 9
3. AFM Mani Sarbartho (2072, India) – 8½

Girls U12 (123 players)

1. Lacey Wang (1883, USA) – 8½ points
2. WFM Laurie Qiu (1994, USA) – 8½
3. Milana Sokolova (1870, FIDE) – 8½

Open U12 (175 players)

1. CM Danis Kuandykuly (2211, Kazakhstan) – 9 points
2. CM Ali Poyraz Ozdemir (2196, Turkey) – 9
3. CM Ethan Guo (2330, USA) – 8½

“Kazakhstan managed to take first place in the team standings at the World Cadet Championship for the second year in a row. Last year in Italy we won two golds. This year in Almaty, we won three out of six. One gold each went to the undisputed global leaders—China, India, and the United States. This success is especially pleasing because it happened at home, in front of a record number of countries, 88 in total. It is a tremendous achievement, and we are very proud of our talents,” said Darmen Sadvakasov, First Vice President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation.

Photos: KazChess