Pranav Venkatesh dominates KazChess Masters, obtains 2795 TPR

Five strong GMs, five Kazakhstani rising stars

The KazChess Masters took place from 21 to 29 March in Shymkent, a major urban centre in southern Kazakhstan near the border with Uzbekistan. One of only three cities in the country with the status of a city of republican significance – alongside Almaty and Astana – Shymkent hosted a ten-player single round-robin organised by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. The games were played with a classical time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes to finish the game, with a 30-second increment from move one.

The tournament concept paired five established international grandmasters, rated between 2639 and 2683, with five rising Kazakhstani players rated between 2386 and 2465.

The invited foreign players were Alexey Sarana from Serbia, Benjamin Gledura from Hungary, José Martínez from Mexico, Pranav Venkatesh from India and Shamsiddin Vokhidov from Uzbekistan. They were joined by five local prospects, including 20-year-old IM Meruert Kamalidenova – the country’s second-highest rated woman player (behind Bibisara Assaubayeva) – and the youngest participant, FM Danis Kuandykuly, born in 2013.

Starting rank

The tournament, which is part of the 2026-27 FIDE Circuit, took place in an elegant hall | Photo: Kazakhstan Chess Federation

The event produced a clear overall winner in Pranav Venkatesh, who scored an unbeaten 7½/9, collecting six wins and three draws. The 19-year-old reigning world junior champion delivered a tournament performance rating of 2795, gaining 16.8 rating points and moving up to 51^st in the live world rankings.

Shamsiddin Vokhidov secured sole second place with 6/9, while Benjamin Gledura and José Martínez shared third place on 5/9. As expected, given the rating spread, the five international grandmasters occupied the top half of the standings, with only Venkatesh and Vokhidov recording rating gains among them.

Among the Kazakhstani players, the most notable result came from Danis Kuandykuly, who scored 4/9 despite being the lowest-rated entrant, gaining 26.2 rating points. The remaining local participants also showed competitive resilience: three of the four others registered modest rating increases, including Meruert Kamalidenova, the sole female player in the field.

In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of Dutch and Grünfelkd structures with colours reversed.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores one of the most intriguing and under-examined areas of modern chess: reversed opening systems, focusing on the Reversed Grünfeld and the Reversed Dutch. At first glance, these two systems seem unrelated. However, they share a common strategic challenge: the value of tempi, structure, and psychology when familiar openings are played with colours reversed. Drawing on his long professional experience, Sokolov explains why these positions are far more subtle than they appear and why traditional engine evaluations often fail to capture their true complexity.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Larsen’s b4 Plan vs Reversed Stonewall Setups: Larsen – Spassky

The tournament thus fulfilled its developmental aim, offering emerging players exposure to higher-rated opposition.

Danis Kuandykuly | Photo: Kazakhstan Chess Federation

Meruert Kamalidenova | Photo: Kazakhstan Chess Federation

Final standings

All games