Chess in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan has 265 titled players on FIDE's list, 23 of them Grandmasters. Here is what that population actually looks like.
Kazakhstan sits in the middle of the distribution on every measure: 265 titled players, 23 of them Grandmasters, and a median rating of 2,220 against 2,216 across all federations. Nothing about its shape is unusual, which is itself worth knowing — most federations look like this, and the ones that do not are the exceptions the other pages describe.
The middle half of its titled players are rated between 2,083 and 2,323, with a median of 2,220. Across every federation the median titled player is rated 2,216, so that figure is the one to compare against rather than any absolute standard.
| Title | Holders | Share |
|---|---|---|
| GM | 23 | 8.7% |
| IM | 53 | 20% |
| FM | 88 | 33.2% |
| CM | 29 | 10.9% |
| WGM | 8 | 3% |
| WIM | 13 | 4.9% |
| WFM | 35 | 13.2% |
| WCM | 16 | 6% |
| Player | Title | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Sadvakasov, Darmen | GM | 2,629 |
| Vladimirov, Yevgeniy | GM | 2,601 |
| Jumabayev, Rinat | GM | 2,572 |
| Makhnev, Denis | GM | 2,568 |
| Kazhgaleyev, Murtas | GM | 2,541 |
| Assaubayeva, Bibisara | GM | 2,538 |
| Ismagambetov, Anuar | GM | 2,520 |
| Agmanov, Zhandos | IM | 2,501 |
| Sapenov, Daniyal | IM | 2,500 |
| Ibragimov, Alibek | GM | 2,498 |
Counted from FIDE's published titled-player list. Titles are permanent and never revoked, so these counts include everyone who ever reached the standard and remains listed — including players long retired. A federation is where a player is registered, which is not always where they are from.