Today's guest is a legend of Kazakh chess — GM Darmen Sadvakasov! Former World U20 Champion who defeated Anatoly Karpov in 2004 and beat the world's strongest grandmasters, he was forced to abandon his professional chess career at his peak. Why did he make this painful decision? How did he return to transform Kazakhstan into a chess superpower and was behind the massive support system for young talents? Watch this fascinating conversation! Following our tradition, we finish with an exciting blitz game — don't miss it! Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mustreader My DISCORD server: https://discord.gg/bXZN36xb My X: https://x.com/mustreader My channel with podcast highlights: https://www.youtube.com/@CwMClips My referral link to chess.com: https://go.chess.com/mustreader My chess.com club: https://go.chess.com/MustreaderClub Collabs: mazdrid@gmail.com My mini-interview with Nihal Sarin: https://youtu.be/gxTx2Oaii6s?si=WcPA2VGBghBvuQdc My podcast with Fedoseev: https://youtu.be/wNHnYOfhT34?si=hGPhKijibBy-8s0a Many thanks to my Patreon supporter: Sarterus 00:00 — Intro 01:36 — Defeating legendary Karpov! 06:36 — Was Karpov strong in 2004? 07:41 — Darmen could've been world champion? 09:10 — Carnegie Mellon instead of chess 13:56 — Time for chess in presidential administration? 14:24 — Armageddon vs Hikaru! 16:27 — Kramnik invited to World Team Championship 18:58 — World Team Championship 2025 21:23 — Kazakhstan Chess Federation's huge support 25:59 — Why Kazakh women outperform men? 28:14 — Young male talents in Kazakhstan 32:17 — Kazakh player world top 10 soon? 35:17 — 20,000 Kazakh kids already learning chess! 37:29 — New profession: chess teacher 42:11 — Kazakhstan world #1 juniors? 43:53 — Blitz against Darmen How THIS COUNTRY became #1 in chess | Darmen Sadvakasov PODCAST darmen sadvakasov darmen sadvakasov chess gm darmen sadvakasov sadvakasov karpov match kazakhstan chess federation kazakh chess players kazakhstan chess boom chess in kazakhstan sadvakasov vs karpov 2004 kazakhstan junior champions hikaru nakamura kazakhstan chess support chess in schools kazakhstan asian chess championship kazakhstan chess revolution vladimir kramnik kramnik chess world team championship 2025 kazchess world team championship chess podcast chess interview mustreader greg mustreader mustreader chess cwm My name is Greg Mustreader, I am a Candidate Master in chess, an entrepreneur and host of several podcasts. On the Chess with Mustreader channel, I interview top chess players, play against chess AIs, analyze the most interesting chess games and combinations of today and of the past, as well as show you my path in chess and the way I work on my chess improvement (including recaps from the tournaments I play). I live in Almaty, Kazakhstan and travel the world extensively (been to 50 countries). I'm 31 years old, I have a girlfriend, three dogs and four cats. I speak English, Russian, German, and a bit of French and Chinese. Don't forget to subscribe! #darmensadvakasov #kazakhchess #chess #kazakhstanchess #worldjuniorchampion #chessfederation #karpov #anatolykarpov #hikarunakamura #chesseducation #chessinschools #chessrevolution #chesssupport #chesstalents #asianchess #kazchess #chessplayer #chesspodcast #chessinterviews #chesswithmustreader #mustreaderchess #gregmustreader #cwm