5,831 participants, 620 million sum prize pool: "Zakovat-Gambit" has entered the decisive stage
The qualification rounds of the fifth "Zakovat-Gambit" chess tournament have concluded. The semi-final matches are expected to be held in Tashkent on October 28. This year, a record number of 5,831 participants registered for the competition. The total prize fund of the tournament amounts to 620 million UZS.
5,831 participants, 620 million UZS prize fund: "Zakovat-Gambit" has entered the decisive stage
According to the organizers, the qualification rounds lasted for six days. In-person games were held in all 14 regions of the country on October 19–23, while an online qualification took place on the chess.com platform on October 24.
This year, an innovation was introduced to the qualification procedure: regional competitions were added to the stage that was previously organized only online. Chess players who could not participate in them or failed to qualify for the semifinals were given another opportunity to test their skills in the online qualification.
The tournament consists of three stages — qualification, semifinal, and final. The semifinal is scheduled for October 28, and the final matches are set for October 29–30. Both stages will be held in Tashkent.
Participants are divided into five groups based on their FIDE rating and level. Thus, both amateurs and professionals will compete for victory against opponents of their own level.
50 million UZS for the winner of each group
In each of the groups A, B, C, D, and E, the prizes are set at the same amount: first place — 50 million UZS; second place — 30 million UZS; third place — 20 million UZS; first place among women — 20 million UZS.
In addition, a special prize of 10 million UZS each has been allocated for the oldest and youngest participants.