Ural State Mining University has been crowned champion of the inaugural FIDE World University Team Championship Finals, defeating Saint Louis University in Sunday’s final in Almaty.
The final day of competition brought the championship down to its two decisive encounters: Ural State Mining University against Saint Louis University for the title and Kazakh National University of Sports against The University of Texas at Dallas for third place.
Before the start of play, the ceremonial first move was made by Tursynzada Kuangaliyeva, Rector of the Kazakh National University of Sports, officially opening the final day of the championship.
After five days of competition, only four of the original sixteen universities remained, with the championship title and the final place on the podium to be decided.
Garifullina leads Ural to championship victory
The opening match of the final between Ural State Mining University and Saint Louis University was closely contested across all four boards.
The top three games ended in draws, with GMs Arseniy Nesterov and Aryan Chopra, Rudik Makarian and Bharath Subramaniyam, and Sergei Lobanov and Nikolozi Kacharava all splitting the point.
The decisive result came on board four, where IM Leya Garifullina defeated WGM Thalia Cervantes Landeiro, giving Ural State Mining University a 2.5-1.5 victory and a narrow lead heading into the return match.
The second match followed almost exactly the same pattern. Once again, the encounters on the first three boards ended in draws, leaving the outcome to Garifullina and Cervantes Landeiro.
For the second time in the day, Garifullina won, delivering the decisive point and another 2.5-1.5 victory for Ural State Mining University.
With a 5-3 overall score, Ural secured the title and became the first champion of the FIDE World University Team Championship Finals.
Garifullina proved a decisive force in the final, scoring the only two victories across the eight individual games.
Reflecting on the title, GM Arseniy Nesterov said:
“It’s a great victory, especially considering our way through the tournament. We had some really challenging matches, particularly in the playoffs, so I’m very happy that we finally won. It’s always nice to win.”
Nesterov also highlighted the support offered by his university in helping him combine higher education with professional chess.
“It’s not easy to combine university with chess, but I’m very glad that the university supports us through its chess programme. If I want to go to a tournament, I’m always able to do that, and there are no problems with the professors or my studies.”
For Saint Louis University, the final brought an end to another strong run through the championship. Bharath Subramaniyam pointed to the team atmosphere as one of the highlights of the week:
“For me personally, the best thing is just being with my team. They are very supportive people, and it’s really fun to be around them. I’m glad to spend time with them.”
KNUS wins bronze after a dramatic sudden-death finish
The battle for third place between KNUS and UT Dallas proved much more dramatic.
UT Dallas took the early advantage in the first match, winning 2.5-1.5. KNUS stoke back in the return encounter with a 2.5-1.5 victory of its own, making the overall score level and forcing the tiebreakers.
The first tiebreak match also failed to separate the two sides, ending 2-2.
That meant the bronze medal would be decided in a sudden-death game on a single board.
With everything resting on one final encounter, GM Kazybek Nogerbek defeated GM Aditya Samant, clinching third place for KNUS and securing a medal for the home team.
Nogerbek had spoken earlier in the day about how much a podium finish would mean to the team:
“It’s very important for us because we are playing at home and a lot of fans are supporting us. Of course, we wanted to win gold, but this is sport. Now it’s about the bronze medal.”
His victory in sudden death ultimately delivered exactly that. The KNUS first-board player also spoke about his role as team leader:
“My ambitions were very high because everyone on our team wanted to win. As the first-board player, I try to be a leader and bring energy to the team. My opponents are very strong, so it is not always easy to win, but I always try at least not to lose and to give the team something.”
For UT Dallas, GM Chatterjee Koustav had highlighted both the competitive strength of the event and the challenge of combining university studies with elite chess.
“It is hard to balance. At UT Dallas we are expected to play chess really well, but we also have a very challenging academic programme. The rest of the semester, our job is to do well academically as well.”
He also pointed to one of the key skills chess develops beyond the board:
“Time management is probably the biggest thing. In chess, you have a limited amount of time and you are constantly under pressure. Playing chess teaches you how to deal with that pressure and stay calm.”
Final standings:
1st – Ural State Mining University
2nd – Saint Louis University
3rd – KNUS
4th – The University of Texas at Dallas
Final
Match 1: Ural State Mining University 2.5-1.5 Saint Louis University
Match 2: Saint Louis University 1.5-2.5 Ural State Mining University
Third-place match
Match 1: KNUS 1.5-2.5 The University of Texas at Dallas
Match 2: The University of Texas at Dallas 1.5-2.5 KNUS
Overall after two matches: 4-4
Tiebreak: The University of Texas at Dallas 2-2 KNUS
Sudden death: GM Kazybek Nogerbek defeated GM Aditya Samant and KNUS won third place.
Closing ceremony celebrates the championship’s first medalists
The inaugural FIDE World University Team Championship Finals concluded with an official closing and awards ceremony, bringing together players, officials and guests after six days of competition in Almaty.
The ceremony opened with the vocal and choreographic performance “Samğa, elim!”, performed by the KeshYOU group and Bastau Dance Theatre, followed by the national anthem of Kazakhstan and the FIDE anthem.
Guests were then addressed by representatives of the Almaty city administration, FIDE Secretary General Łukasz Turlej, and First Vice-President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation Darmen Sadvakasov.
The three medal-winning universities then took the stage for the awards ceremony.
The bronze medals were presented by Marat Yessenov, Vice-President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, and Margulan Ibraimov, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.
Saint Louis University, which finished runner-up, received its medals from a representative of the Almaty city administration, Yalkunchan Ganiyev, Executive Director of Freedom Bank, and Gulmira Dauletova, Executive Director of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation.
Finally, Ural State Mining University received the championship trophy and gold medals from FIDE Secretary General Łukasz Turlej and Darmen Sadvakasov, First Vice-President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation.
The ceremony concluded with a final group photograph, bringing six days of competition and the inaugural edition of the championship to a close.
Results of the Final of the FIDE World University Team Chess Championship: https://s3.chess-results.com/tnr1470969.aspx?lan=1&art=3&rd=3&turdet=YES&flag=30&SNode=S0
You can find games here: https://lichess.org/broadcast/fide-world-university-team-chess-championship-2026-finals-playoffs/finals-tiebreaks/E5fabh7D#overview
Official website: https://worlduniversities2026.fide.com/