RCCs Batyrbekovs taking on Asia’s best U7s – with a bit of beshbarmak on the side!

July 6, 2023 by Rohan Pyne

The Batyrbekov boys have safely arrived at Kazakhstan via Singapore, where they will spend some time visiting with the extended family and acclimatizing to the hot & dry conditions of the Central Asian summer (30-40C heat) after a fairly mild start to the Victorian winter. They were happy to have taken their trusty chess board with them as it allowed them to practice some chess during the flights and layovers.

Kaisar and Aidan are currently in Almaty, a city of ~2m people which is also the former capital of Kazakhstan and translates as the “Grandfather of Apples” – famous for its aport variety. They are keen to explore the local chess scene and try the local delicacy called beshbarmak, which is an interesting mixture of boiled horse meat with boiled sheets of dough and lots of onions. Interestingly, Almaty has recently hosted the 2023 Asian Continental Championships won by GM Shamsiddin Vohidov (Uzbekistan) and WGM Divya Deshmukh (India).

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan Chess Federation has posted the current entries for the 2023 Asian Schools Chess Championship, with 251 entrants from 15 countries so far. The U7 category where Kaisar and Aidan will be competing currently has 29 entrants from 9 countries. Tashkent, where the Championship will be held, is about an hour away from Almaty by air.

Report by proud mum and dad.