The media outlet Tengri Sport contacted the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MTS RK) in October. They reached out to clarify the lack of payment to female Kazakh chess players for their second-place finish at the 2026 Chess Olympiad.

MTS RK explained that a budget of 100 million tenge (~$223,000) will be allocated to female players by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KCF). MTS noted that the players are not officially entitled to payments directly from the state.

The KCF confirmed that it will pay each player of the women’s national team 20 million tenge (~$44,500). The head coach and one of the coaches will receive 20 million each, and coach Arystanbek Urazayev will receive 5 million (~$11,100). The federation promised to make the payments this week.

Kazakh IM Alua Nurman stated on October 2 that there are no state payments for second place at the Chess Olympiad 2026. Nurman explained that the Olympiad is not included in the list of competitions with provided payments.

Credit: Kazakhstan Chess Federation Instagram