The mother of Kazakh GM Bibisara Assaubayeva criticized the Kazakhstan Chess Federation’s comment on Bibisara’s funding. Liana Tanzharikova states Assaubayeva has no salary from the federation, and explains the distribution of the $837,000.

Liana Tanzharikova

Liana Tanzharikova

Bibisara Assaubayeva's mother

“$837,000 was allegedly allocated to Bibisara over four years… But these are grants and bonuses. At the same time, Bibisara has no salary from the federation!

Grants are not paid directly to us. They are paid directly to coaches by the federation. The accounting department pays the coaches after taxes.

The total amount after taxes is 278 million tenge (~$600,000) over four years. Over four years, coaches spent about $465,000. Bonuses for the same period were about $122,000. For four years, there is no salary. There were only bonuses for victories and prizes.

I have a question for the federation: how did they spend $30 million over four years? When you look at the funding of other national team members, perhaps that’s why our chess players don’t reach great heights…”

Tanzharikova posted three videos on Instagram on April 27. She criticized the Kazakhstan Chess Federation’s funding system, and cited a lack of stable payments and difficulties receiving bonuses.

The Kazakhstan Chess Federation commented on Liana’s statements on April 28. The Federation cited the funding source, the annual budget, and the amount allocated to Assaubayeva over the past three years.

Kazakh GM Bibisara Assaubayeva is Kazakhstan’s No. 1 female chess player and a three-time World Blitz Champion. Assaubayeva finished second at the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament in April.

Credit: Bibisara Assaubayeva Telegram