Asaubayeva: My salary was cut by three times, I appealed to the President (video)

Bibisara Asaubayeva, a renowned Kazakh chess player, international grandmaster, and one of the leaders in the women's world rankings, has sent a video message to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The athlete announced that the Ministry of Sports had cut her salary by three times. She reported this on her Instagram page.

The chess player noted that although she won the prestigious Norway Chess 2026 tournament, the preparations for this competition were carried out at her own expense and with the support of her parents. Furthermore, the analysts and seconds who worked in her team have still not been paid for their services.

In her appeal, Bibisara Asaubayeva emphasized that there are very few world chess champions in the country and drew attention to problems in the athlete support system. According to her, the prize money allocated by the Ministry of Sports for winning the world championship is only $2,000, whereas Olympic medalists receive $250,000.

The chess player also revealed that the salary she had been receiving from the state since 2023 was reduced by three times in 2025 after a new Minister of Sports was appointed. At the same time, she noted that she has never received a monthly salary from the Kazakhstan Chess Federation.

She stated that at the beginning of this year, she won her third gold medal at the World Blitz Championship and qualified for the Women's Candidates Tournament. However, due to a lack of sufficient funding for proper preparation for the important competition, her team was forced to work remotely.

Asaubayeva highlighted that state promises of support have not been fulfilled and that her appeals to various agencies have remained unanswered.

For context, Bibisara Asaubayeva recently secured the championship early at the prestigious Norway Chess tournament in Oslo, becoming the first Kazakh chess player in history to achieve such a result. Additionally, according to the updated FIDE rankings, she has risen to first place in the women's world rankings.