Kazakh chess star Bibisara Assaubayeva has claimed her third women’s world blitz title, emerging victorious at the 2025 World Blitz Championship in Doha. The win secures her a direct place in the 2026 Candidates Tournament, set to take place in Cyprus in April.
Assaubayeva reaffirmed her dominance in women’s chess by defeating Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk 2.5-1.5 in the final. After three consecutive draws, she clinched the title in the decisive fourth game by capitalizing on a strategic advantage.
The 21-year-old first rose to prominence in 2021, when she won the blitz title in Warsaw at just 17, becoming the youngest champion in the tournament’s history. She defended her crown in 2022 at the home championship in Almaty, solidifying her position among the elite in women’s chess.
Her 2025 win in Doha marked the culmination of a strong performance throughout the 2024-2025 FIDE Women’s Tournament Cycle.
“It’s an amazing feeling, as if all my New Year’s wishes have come true,” Assaubayeva told the tournament’s press service. She described this third title as the most emotional of her career due to the pressure and workload tied to the Candidates’ qualification.
Assaubayeva is the first Kazakhstani player to qualify for the Women’s Candidates Tournament, where she will face top contenders including India’s Divya Deshmukh, Humpy Koneru, and Vaishali Rameshbabu; China’s Zhu Jiner and Tan Zhongyi; and Russia’s Kateryna Lagno and Alexandra Goryachkina.
The tournament will follow a double round-robin format in classical time control. The winner will earn the right to challenge China’s Ju Wenjun, who has held the women’s world championship title since 2018.
In Kazakhstan, Assaubayeva’s achievement received high praise. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev awarded her the Order of Barys, 2nd degree. In his official message, he noted that Assaubayeva “has gone down in the history of world chess as an outstanding master and the first representative of Kazakhstan to become a three-time world blitz champion.”
As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Assaubayeva was awarded the title of International Grandmaster (GM FIDE) in July 2025, becoming one of the most decorated chess players in Kazakhstan’s post-independence history.
