Kairat Abdul-Malik, a 7-year-old chess player from Astana, became the world champion among schoolchildren in his age category, DKnews.kz reports.
The prestigious tournament was held in the Serbian city of Vrnjacka Banja, where the young Kazakhstani became the first representative of his country to win the title in the under 7 category. This information was confirmed by the press service of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation.
The decisive moment for Kairat was his victory in the fifth round against his main rival from India, Om Yesh Gottumukala. By the eighth round, Abdul-Malik had scored 8 points, beating the Indian chess player by one point thanks to his personal victory.
Before the final round, his championship was already guaranteed - the young Kazakhstani officially became the 2025 world champion among schoolchildren under 7 years old.
In the women's category under 7, Pragnika Vaka Lakshmi from India showed no less impressive results. She won all 8 games, confidently breaking away from her opponents by two points and also securing the champion's title ahead of schedule.
