Four Teams Advance to Semifinals at FIDE World University Team Championship in Almaty

On day four of the FIDE World University Team Championship finals in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the quarterfinals began after a morning excursion to the nearby Shymbulak ski resort. Sixteen university teams started the competition, eight progressed to the knockout stage, and four secured places in the semifinals.

Ceremonial first moves were made by Lasse Østbø Løvik, President of the Norwegian Chess Federation, and Andy Howie, Chairman of the FIDE Fair Play Commission, before the first round, and by Vyacheslav Kim, Managing Director of Freedom Bank, and Gulmira Dauletova, Executive Director of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, before the second round. Participants reflected on balancing academic life with competitive chess, citing WGM Thalia Cervantes Landeiro of Saint Louis University and WIM Ellen Wang of Harvard University as examples.