Lev Zverev shared second place at the Oskemen Open 2026!
And fulfilled the final Grandmaster norm!
Strong “Masters” in the Kazakh Ust-Kamenogorsk ended with a complete triumph of Russians. Our compatriots took the first five rows of the table. The sole victory was won by GM Andrei Esipenko, who received 7 points out of 9. The second was IM Polina Shuvalova – with 6.5 points she achieved the second point of a male grandmaster! By an additional factor, GM David Paravyan (3rd place) and our IM Lev Zverev were behind her. Beat the five strongest Nikita Afanasiev – he had the best additional score among the holders of six points.
The successful performance brought Lev not only a boost in ratings, but also a third international grandmaster’s norm! Now, to be awarded the title, he only had to reach a rating of 2500.