Kazakh grandmaster Alisher Suleimenov has won the First Chola Chess International GM Norm Round Robin Tournament 2026 in Chennai, India, QazMonitor reports.
The tournament was held as part of the Chola Chess social initiative launched in July 2025 by Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company to identify and support young chess talents. The program cooperates with the Chess Gurukul academy led by Grandmaster R.B. Ramesh and provides participants with professional training, fitness support and nutrition. The event allows Indian players to earn grandmaster norms without traveling abroad.
In addition to six local international masters, four foreign grandmasters were invited to compete: Mael Boyer and Joseph Girel of France, Neuris Delgado Ramirez of Paraguay and Alisher Suleimenov of Kazakhstan. The tournament was played in a nine-round round-robin format with classical time control.
Suleimenov remained among the leaders from the opening rounds. Despite a single loss in round seven, he maintained his position and finished half a point ahead of his closest rivals, securing four wins and four draws. His tournament performance rating reached 2599, and his FIDE rating increased by 11.9 points.
Suleimenov earned the grandmaster title in 2023. He is a bronze medalist of the 2023 Asian Championship and the 2025 Asian Zone 3.4 Championship. He represented Kazakhstan at the Chess Olympiads in 2022 and 2024. In 2023, he defeated world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway at the Qatar Masters Open, overcoming a rating gap of more than 300 points.
