Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University team was among the top five teams in Russia following the National Student Chess League Cup final. The tournament, held at the M. M. Botvinnik Central Chess House in Moscow, brought together the winners of regional qualifiers from across the country.
The NSHL Cup is the largest student chess competition in Russia. In 2025, 283 teams from 179 universities participated in the qualifying rounds, setting a project record. The format included online regional qualifiers and an in-person final, where the strongest student chess clubs met.
The final took place from November 14th to 17th at one of the country's main chess venues. The Russian Championship Superfinal had concluded there a month earlier, and for the student tournament participants, playing on this stage provided valuable sporting experience and an opportunity to compete in a truly professional tournament.
To reach the final, the SPbPU team had to win the regional qualifying round. Thirty-four teams from the city's leading universities competed at the start in St. Petersburg. The selection process took place online on the ChessOpen platform.
Each player made a significant contribution to the team's success: Dmitry Mochalov completed the entire tournament undefeated, Ilya Oborin maintained the team's momentum in key matches, and Olga Karmanova won every critical game on her board. The Polytechnic team demonstrated confident and consistent play: six wins, one draw, 13 points out of a possible 14, and zero losses.
This result allowed SPbPU to take first place among all teams in the city and receive the only St. Petersburg ticket to the final of the NSHL Cup.
The following teams played for Polytechnic in the final:
Dmitry Mochalov, Candidate Master of Sports, first-year student at the Institute of Economics and Transport; Iskander Nasibullin, Candidate Master of Sports, second-year postgraduate student at the Institute of Economics and Transport; Olga Karmanova, International Master of Sports among women, first-year student at the Institute of Physics and Mechanics.
The team boasted a balanced lineup: a strong first board, an experienced second board, and a very productive women's board. Olga Karmanova stood out in particular, scoring 7.5 points out of 9—one of the best individual results in her category.
The Moscow final featured ten teams, winners of the district qualifiers. All matches were played in a round-robin format, with each team playing every other team.
The final table looked like this:
USMU – 17 points, Moscow State University – 16 points, KSU – 15 points, NNSU – 11 points, SPbPU – 10 points
Among the competitors were some of the true leaders of student chess. For example, the Ural State Mining University (USMU) team included two grandmasters—Sergei Lobanov and the current Russian chess champion, Arseniy Nesterov. Teams from Moscow State University, Kazan State University, and Lobachevsky State University also fielded strong teams, including masters of sports and leaders from their regions.
Despite the high level of the opponents, the SPbPU team performed confidently in the tournament:
5 wins, 10 match points, 16.5 points in games, 5th overall place.
Polytechnic University left behind teams from Rostov-on-Don, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Dagestan, and Syktyvkar, losing only to the traditional favorites: USMU, MSU, KSU, and NNSU.
The team demonstrated a mature and confident performance. It's important that we not only competed in every round but also proved that we can consistently compete with the country's strongest student teams. The final in Moscow was a major step forward for the entire Polytechnic University team," noted Ruslan Barseghyan, strategic coach of the SPbPU team.
Ultimately, the SPbPU team finished the season with a strong result and a confident performance at the country's premier student tournament. New challenges and the opportunity to compete for prizes in the future lie ahead.
This year, our chess players demonstrated remarkable growth in skill, with one victory literally following another. For example, in October, the Polytechnic team went undefeated. won the Higher League of the St. Petersburg Student Sports League in chessAnd in November won gold medals in the team chess tournament in the blitz of the St. Petersburg Student League.
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