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Denis Lazavik won the KazChess Masters in Almaty, finishing the nine-round tournament with 6½ points and an unbeaten record of four wins and five draws. The 19-year-old Belarusian GM secured outright first place by drawing his final game against Aram Hakobyan.
Daniil Dubov finished second on 6/9, while Shamsiddin Vokhidov and 14-year-old Kazakh IM Mark Smirnov shared third place with 5½ points. Smirnov was another of the tournament's notable performers, earning his first GM norm.
Dubov entered the final three rounds as the sole leader, half a point ahead of Lazavik and Vokhidov. However, the 30-year-old from Moscow failed to make the most of a clearly advantageous endgame and was held to a draw by Sauat Nurgaliyev in round seven, while Lazavik defeated Alua Nurman with the black pieces to catch him on 5/7.
The following day, Lazavik took the lead by defeating Nurgaliyev with white. Dubov, meanwhile, drew with Hakobyan, leaving him half a point behind the Belarusian going into the final round. Vokhidov also won his eighth-round game, against Nurman, to join Dubov on 5½/8 and remain in the battle for overall victory.
All three frontrunners had the black pieces in Tuesday's final round. Dubov was the first to finish, drawing against top seed Mahammad Muradli after 31 moves. Vokhidov, meanwhile, suffered a surprise defeat against Nurgaliyev, the 16-year-old Kazakh IM who had entered the round without a victory.
Lazavik consequently needed only a draw to secure the title. Hakobyan pressed for some time in a minor-piece endgame, trying to exploit Black's isolated pawn, but the Belarusian held the position without major difficulties. The players agreed to a draw after 58 moves, confirming Lazavik as the tournament winner.
The result adds another classical tournament victory to Lazavik's record, following his triumph at the Abu Dhabi Masters in 2025. The youngster, who is a formidable online blitz and bullet player, reached the final of this year's Esports World Cup, where he lost to Magnus Carlsen.
Denis Lazavik holding the winner's trophy after emerging victorious at the strong 2025 Abu Dhabi Masters | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy / ChessBase India
Another notable result came from Smirnov, the youngest and lowest-rated participant in the ten-player field. After losing his opening game against Dubov, the Kazakh youngster recovered to score four wins and three draws from his remaining eight encounters, with his only other defeat coming against Vokhidov.
Smirnov finished with victories over compatriots Edgar Mamedov and Denis Makhnev in rounds seven and nine, both with the black pieces. His final score of 5½/9 corresponded to a tournament performance rating of 2666 and secured his first GM norm. The 2024 under-12 world champion thus added another achievement to his growing list of successful results.
A first GM norm for Mark Smirnov! | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase
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