Oskemen Open 2026 Chess: Round 8 Pairings Set in Masters

The Oskemen Open 2026 Masters reaches Round 8 with Andrey Esipenko facing Mahdi Gholami Orimi on the top board as the leaders battle for position.

The Oskemen Open 2026 Masters has reached Round 8, and the pairings are set for another exciting day of chess in Kazakhstan. On the top board, Andrey Esipenko takes the white pieces against Mahdi Gholami Orimi, a clash that will do a lot to shape the standings as the event heads into its closing rounds.

Right behind them, David Paravyan is paired against Ilamparthi A R, while Shant Sargsyan meets Maksim Chigaev and Alexandr Predke faces Nogerbek Kazybek. Further down the field there are plenty of intriguing meetings for young fans to follow, including Aditya Mittal against Jakhongir Vakhidov, Denis Makhnev versus Polina Shuvalova, and Radin Yadegar against Soham Kamotra. In the second grouping of boards, players such as Utegaliyev Azamat, Aradhya Garg, Dmitry Bocharov and Mikayel Manvelyan are all in action too.

For students following along at home, Round 8 pairings are a great chance to learn how tournaments work. In a Swiss-system event like this one, players with similar scores are matched together each round. That means the top boards usually feature those doing best, so watching board one — here, Esipenko versus Gholami Orimi — often shows you the sharpest, most instructive games of the day.

A helpful takeaway for young players is to pay attention to who has the white pieces. In Round 8.1, Esipenko starts with White, which means he moves first and gets a small head start in setting the tone of the game. Learning how to make the most of that first-move advantage, and how to defend calmly and patiently when you have the black pieces, is one of the most valuable skills you can build. Many strong players will tell you that playing solidly with Black and staying alert for chances is just as important as pressing forward with White.

As these Round 8 games unfold, try picking one board to follow closely rather than jumping between all of them. Watching a single game from start to finish teaches you far more than glancing at many. Notice how the players develop their pieces, fight for the center, and look for tactics like forks and pins when the moment is right. The Oskemen Open 2026 Masters is delivering exactly the kind of high-level chess that turns curious beginners into confident, thoughtful players.