♟️ About Halyk Charitable Fund

Halyk Charitable Fund is one of Kazakhstan’s major private charitable organizations, implementing nationwide projects in education, sport, healthcare, culture, environmental development, and social support. The Fund was established in 2016 by Timur Kulibayev and Dinara Kulibayeva with a focus on long-term programmes capable of creating measurable social impact across Kazakhstan. Over the past decade, Halyk has supported hundreds of initiatives involving children, young people, schools, universities, sports organizations, vulnerable families, and local communities. Its projects operate both in Kazakhstan’s major cities and in smaller towns and rural areas, where access to education and organized sport can be more limited. For the chess community, the Fund is particularly relevant through AUYL SPORT, its large-scale national youth sports programme. Chess is one of the official disciplines in the project, giving children from rural communities opportunities to compete locally, qualify for national events, and in some cases progress to international competition.

🏅 AUYL SPORT

AUYL SPORT was launched in 2024 to increase access to organized sport for children and teenagers living in rural Kazakhstan. During its first season, more than 12,000 participants from around 200 settlements took part in regional competitions, with approximately 1,300 young athletes advancing to the national stage. The programme includes several sports, including boxing, wrestling, karate, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, and chess. Halyk supports the infrastructure around participation as well as the competitions themselves, helping with equipment, organization, transportation, accommodation, and other expenses connected with major stages of the programme. The project is designed as a development pathway rather than a single annual tournament. Regional events identify promising children, national finals bring the strongest participants together, and leading athletes can receive further opportunities to compete at higher levels.

♟️ Chess Development

Chess has been part of AUYL SPORT from the programme’s early stages and remains one of its established disciplines. This is particularly significant for young players from rural communities, where travelling regularly to major chess centres or national tournaments can place substantial financial and logistical demands on families. Through the programme, juniors can gain organized tournament experience while competing within a national structure. Boys and girls receive opportunities to participate, and successful players can progress from regional stages to the Republican Tournament. The 2026 AUYL SPORT Republican Tournament in Astana again includes chess as a full competition discipline. The published programme provides places for 68 chess players, confirming that chess remains a substantial and continuing part of the project rather than a one-time addition.

🌍 Pathway to International Competition

AUYL SPORT also aims to create opportunities beyond domestic competition. Selected participants have represented Kazakhstan at international youth sporting events, demonstrating that the programme can connect grassroots development with higher-level competition. A notable example came at the 2025 ISF U15 Gymnasiade in Serbia, where AUYL SPORT participants competed alongside young athletes from many countries. Chess players Zhanat Nurym and Oltinay Algapparova were among the programme representatives and received special recognition for their performances. Halyk Charitable Fund subsequently awarded the two young chess players additional prizes. Their participation illustrated the wider purpose of AUYL SPORT: talented children discovered through rural programmes can progress from local events to national selection and eventually gain international competitive experience.

🌱 Supporting Rural Youth

One of the central principles behind AUYL SPORT is that a child’s place of residence should not determine access to competitive opportunities. Young athletes in rural communities often face barriers such as travel costs, limited coaching, insufficient equipment, and fewer organized competitions. Halyk seeks to reduce these barriers by bringing structured competitions closer to local communities and supporting successful participants as they advance. In chess, where talent can emerge anywhere and progress depends heavily on regular competitive experience, this model can be particularly effective. The Fund also supports broader youth development through educational projects, scholarships, school initiatives, coaching programmes, and community infrastructure. Chess therefore forms part of a larger strategy aimed at developing talent and expanding opportunities for young people throughout Kazakhstan.

🏆 Wider Sports & Social Activity

Sport is one of several major areas of Halyk Charitable Fund activity. Alongside AUYL SPORT, the organization has supported grassroots football, sports federations, youth championships, training programmes, and the development of sporting infrastructure. Beyond sport, Halyk works in education, healthcare, social assistance, culture, and environmental development. Its programmes have included support for schools and universities, scholarships, assistance to vulnerable families, emergency relief, cultural institutions, and large environmental initiatives such as Halyk Ormany. This broad social portfolio makes Halyk more than a tournament organizer. However, its growing investment in chess through AUYL SPORT gives the Fund a clear and meaningful connection to Kazakhstan’s chess-development ecosystem.

👥 Leadership

Halyk Charitable Fund was founded by Timur Kulibayev and Dinara Kulibayeva in 2016 and has since developed into one of Kazakhstan’s most significant private philanthropic organizations. Saginbek Shunkeyev serves as General Director / CEO and represents the Fund in major public and social-development initiatives. Under the current leadership, Halyk continues to combine large national projects with targeted programmes designed to improve opportunities for children and communities outside Kazakhstan’s largest urban centres. The Fund marked its 10th anniversary in 2026, having developed a substantial portfolio of long-term social programmes. For the chess community, AUYL SPORT is one of the clearest examples of how that investment is being used to discover and support young talent.