World University Team Chess Championship to be held in Kazakhstan

Best university teams will meet in Almaty this August to compete for the title of FIDE World University Team Chess Champion.

The event is governed by FIDE and organised by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, together with Almaty city administration and support from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Sports and Tourism.

The competition has three stages. It begins with Online Swiss Qualifiers, followed by an Online Knockout stage. The over-the-board finals will then take place in Almaty from 3 to 10 August 2026.

There will be two online Swiss Qualifiers. The registration deadlines are 27 April 2026 at 11:59 PM UTC for teams participating in Online Swiss Qualifier 1, and 4 May 2026 at 11:59 PM UTC for teams participating in Online Swiss Qualifier 2.

The finals will feature 16 teams – eight that have qualified from the knockout, and eight wild cards, invited by FIDE and the organiser.

The tournament features an inclusive team concept – each match will be played on four boards and lineups must include at least one female and at least one male player.

Participation is open to university teams, with players born between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2008 and currently enrolled in at least one class at the university.

The winning team will become the FIDE World University Team Champion and receive a prize of €25,000. The team finishing second will be awarded €15,000, while third-place will receive €10,000.

For more information, please email worlduniversity@fide.com

Official website: https://worlduniversities2026.fide.com

fide.com

FIDE announces World Cadet Championship Cycle 2026: Registration for World Cup U8-U12 is now open

Starting in 2026, FIDE is introducing a revamped and elevated championship cycle for the Under 8, Under 10, and Under 12 age categories to make it more attractive, interesting and prestigious.

The World Championship U8-U12 (formerly the World Cadet Championship) has been renamed the FIDE World Cup for Youngsters, with competitive conditions remaining unchanged.

The 2026 FIDE World Cup U8-U12 will be held from June 15-28 in Batumi, Georgia, following the same system as the last year’s World Cadet Championship U8, U10, U12.

Every national federation can register one invited player per category (under 8, 10, and 12, both Boys and Girls). The total of six players and one head of delegation with valid FIDE ID are invited by the Organizer. The players placed 1-3 in the previous U8, U10, U12 World Cadets Championships & World Cadets Cup, and the respective champions (1st ranked) of the last Continental Cadet Championships also will be considered as the invited players.

On a rest day (June 22), participants can take part in several side activities. These include a Delegation Coaches Blitz Tournament with a substantial prize fund of €4,000, the Chess Composition championship, engaging excursions, and a football match between FIDE and Georgian Chess Federation.

Special prizes await the top finishers across all six playing categories. The top three players in each category will receive awards, including Cups, Medals, Diplomas, and gadgets such as the latest models of MacBook Air, iPhone, or iPad (depending on placement).

In addition, the first, second, and third-place winners of each age and gender category will receive free full board accommodation for the FIDE World Championships U8, U10, U12 later in the same year.

FIDE member federations shall complete the registration of the World Cup participants by April 15, 2026.

World Championships U8, U10, U12 Invitation letter will be published in due time as the tournament is scheduled for November 10-17.

More information about the FIDE World Cup U8-U12 can be found on the official website: wcc2026.fide.com/

Regulations for FIDE World Cadets’ Championship Cycle 2026 (PDF)

The official email: wcc@fide.com

fide.com

World Youth Chess Championship 2026 Full List

ЧМ среди юниоров до 14-18 лет / FIDE World Youth U14, U16 & U18 Championships 2026

FIDE World Youth U14, U16 & U18 Championships 2026

С 14 по 27 июня 2026 года в городе Монтесильвано (Италия) пройдёт Чемпионат мира ФИДЕ по шахматам среди юношей и девушек в возрастных категориях до 14, 16 и 18 лет.

В турнире могут принять участие игроки не достигшие 14,16 или 18-летнего возраста до 1 января 2026 года, заявленные национальными шахматными федерациями ФИДЕ. Соревнования проводятся по швейцарской системе в 11 туров в соответствии с действующими правилами ФИДЕ. По итогам чемпионата разыгрываются медали, кубки, призы.

Для участников предусмотрены официальные отели, питание по системе полный пансион, трансферы, а также культурная и спортивная программа.

РЕГЛАМЕНТ ТУРНИРА

РЕГИСТРАЦИЯ

Крайний срок регистрации — 31 марта 2026 года

Курирующий координатор: Дана Шаймардинова + 7 777 522 9002

FIDE World Youth Championships 2026: Registration now open

FIDE, the Italian Chess Federation and UniChess invite all national chess federations to participate in the World Youth Chess Championships 2026 in Montesilvano, Italy. The event will be held from June 14 (official day of arrival) to June 27, 2026 (official day of departure).

Every national federation is entitled to register one official player in each of the six categories: U14, U16, U18 (Open and Girls). This provides a total of six invited official players, plus one accredited accompanying official (Head of Delegation) with a valid FIDE ID.

The following players also have the personal right to participate:

The top three players from the previous World Youth Championships in the U14, U16, U18 categories.
The gold medalists of the previous edition may choose to play in their corresponding age category or in a higher age category.
The Champions (gold medalists) of the last Continental Youth Championships.

Registration deadline and the deadline for visa data documentation submission are April 7, 2026.

An extensive summer programme is planned for all participants, including excursions, beach access, a blitz tournament, a football match, and other activities.

Registration form

Invitation letter, regulations, schedule (PDF)

Email: worldyouth@fide.com

Official website: chessworldyouth.com/

The full regulations and registration form are available on the official website.

The Open and the Women’s Olympiad

The Chess Olympiads will take place in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 15 till 27 September 2026.

The Olympiad will consist of two sections, Open and Women. Both events will be played over 11 rounds, using the Swiss system, with teams of four players plus one reserve.

Three trophies

There will be three trophies:

The Hamilton-Russell Cup for the winners of the Open section
The Vera Menchik Cup for the winners of the Women section
The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy for the best combined federation performance across the Open and Women sections

Schedule

The Opening Ceremony will take place on 15 September, while the first round will be played on 16 September. After round six, there will be a day off on 22 September. Round 11 and Closing Ceremony will take place on 27 September.

Team Registration and further information:

The registration for the FIDE Chess Olympiad starts on 20 April 2026.

Participating teams in the Open and Women’s sections are invited to register following the credentials they shall receive to their official federation’s e-mail address.

More information about the FIDE Chess Olympiad can be found here: https://chessolympiad2026.fide.com/.

FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships head to Hong Kong

Hong Kong will host the fourth edition of FIDE’s World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships, from 17 to 21 June 2026.

After Dusseldorf in 2023, Astana in 2024 and London in 2025, the World Rapid and Blitz Teams heads to Hong Kong, giving chess a new global stage.

Organised by FIDE, the event features rapid and blitz championships, scored with match points. Each team must include at least one female player and one recreational player, defined as someone who has never reached 2000 Elo in standard, rapid or blitz.

Regulations

fide.com

FIDE World Cadet and Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships 2026

FIDE World Cadet and Youth Rapid & Blitz Championships 2026: Registration now open

LIVE

All FIDE member federations are invited to participate in the FIDE World Cadet U8, U10, U12 and FIDE World Youth U14, U16, U18 Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships 2026 to be held in Vrnjachka Banja, Serbia, from April 14 (arrival) to April 21 (departure) 2026.

Gold medal winners from the 2025 World Cadet & Youth Rapid and Blitz Championships of the corresponding (or higher), age category have personal rights to participate provided they meet age requirements specified in the Invitation Letter. These participants will receive free full-board accommodation in double rooms.

The participants, who need to apply for Serbian visa, shall submit their request for Invitation Letter no later than February 10, 2026.

All registrations must be submitted exclusively through national federations.

The registration deadline for participants and accompanying persons is March 20, 2026.

Registration form (XLSX)

Regulations and Invitation Letter (PDF)

Email: wcyrb@fide.com

Official website (coming soon): wcyrb2026.fide.com

fide.com

FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship 2026, Asian Continental stage

New competition format for the 2026 World Schools Team Championship

LIVE

The World Schools Team Championship (WSTC) will adopt a new tournament structure for its 2026 edition, featuring four continental qualifying stages followed by a four-team Grand Final in December.

LIVE

The 2026 cycle will consist of four continental stages: Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, all held throughout 2026.

Each continental championship will produce one champion school team that will directly qualify for the Grand Final, which will take place in December 2026 as a four-team tournament.

The WSTC 2026 will kick off with the Asian Continental stage in Almaty, Kazakhstan in early April.

Only teams representing a single general educational institution (such as a school) may take part in the event. Each team must include at least one boy and at least one girl, with possible exceptions for single-gender schools.

Eligible players must have been born between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2018 (inclusive).

Asian Schools Teams Chess Championship 2026

6 Apr 2026 start-date 11 Apr 2026

Type of event Over-the-Board Tournament

Time control Standard

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Registration

Regulation

Official email: worldschoolteam@fide.com

Official website (coming soon): https://worldschoolteam2026.fide.com/

fide.com

Blend of generations: Line-ups set for FIDE Candidates 2026

Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort, Cyprus

28 March — 16 April

LIVE

With the qualification cycle complete, the line-ups for the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournaments are known, setting the stage for the final step on the road to the next World Championship matches.

After debuting in North America in 2024, the iconic event is returning to Europe and to be held at the luxury Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort near Paphos, on the south-western coast of Cyprus.

The Candidates Tournament 2026 will feature a field shaped by performances across two seasons of FIDE Circuit (2024 and 2025), the 2025 World Cup, the 2025 Grand Swiss, and rating qualification. The confirmed line-up brings together proven contenders and players from the new generation, including Fabiano Caruana, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Anish Giri, Matthias Blübaum, Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi and Andrey Esipenko.

The final spot was secured by Hikaru Nakamura, who earned qualification as the player with the highest average classical rating over the qualification period – rounding out a diverse and highly competitive field that blends youth and experience.

The Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026 lineup is also fully confirmed, with eight players having qualified through the Women’s World Championship cycle.

Zhu Jiner and Aleksandra Goryachkina earned their places by finishing first and second, respectively, in the 2024–25 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series. Divya Deshmukh, Humpy Koneru, and Tan Zhongyi qualified through the 2025 Women’s World Cup.

Two further places were decided at the 2025 Women’s Grand Swiss, where Vaishali Rameshbabu and Kateryna Lagno claimed top two qualifying positions. The final spot was awarded to Bibisara Assaubayeva, the 2025 Women’s Blitz Champion, via the Women’s Events qualification path.

Format: In both the Open and the Women’s, the eight qualified players will compete in a double round-robin tournament, consisting of 14 rounds.

Time control: The games will be played with a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 41.

Draw rule: Players are not permitted to agree to a draw before the completion of Black’s 40th move.

Prize fund: The minimum prize fund for the event stands at a record €1,000,000.

Tie-breaks: In the event of a tie for first place after 14 rounds, a playoff will be played to determine the winner who qualifies for the World Championship Match, due to take place in November 2026.

For a detailed look at the regulations, please see:

Regulations for the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 (PDF)

Regulations for the FIDE Women’s Candidate Tournament 2026 (PDF)

fide.com

Erling Haaland invests in Norway Chess to launch the new Total Chess World Championship Tour

Football superstar Erling Haaland is investing in Norway Chess and its new tour format, the Total Chess World Championship Tour. Haaland has ambitious plans to contribute to make chess a broader and more spectator-friendly sport.

Norway Chess has been a driving force for innovation in chess for years and is now taking another major step with the launch of the Total Chess World Championship Tour. The initiative is now gaining a new strategic investor: global football superstar Erling Haaland. Together with Norwegian business leader Morten Borge, Haaland has established the company Chess Mates, which will be a significant owner of Norway Chess.

“Chess is an incredible game. It sharpens your mind, and there are clear similarities to football. You have to think quickly, trust your instincts, and think several moves ahead. Strategy and planning are everything”, says Erling Haaland.

“I’m investing in Norway Chess because I believe the new Total Chess World Championship Tour can turn chess into an even bigger sport for spectators around the world. The team behind Norway Chess has already done an impressive job growing the event, and joining the project was too exciting to pass up,” says Haaland.

The new championship, featuring the world’s best players, is expected to become one of the most significant developments in modern chess. The Total Chess World Championship Tour will consist of four tournaments each year, hosted by four different cities, and will crown a combined world champion across three disciplines — Fast Classic, Rapid, and Blitz chess. This new World Championship has been approved by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) for a minimum of 16 years.

fide.com

Queens’ Online Chess Festival returns in March 2026

ФИДЕ проводит серию онлайн-турниров в честь Международного женского дня на платформе Lichess .

Queen’s Festival

Открытый турнир для девочек и девушек любого возраста и рейтинга.
Азиатский отборочный этап

8 марта 14:00 (по времени КЗ)

Ссылка для регистрации: https://forms.gle/rBcspUh9Fth9fQki9

Princess Festival

Турнир для девочек до 17 лет без рейтинга ФИДЕ.

Отборочные этапы:

22 марта 14:00 и 01:00 ночи по времени КЗ (можно выбрать один из двух удобных турниров)

Ссылка для регистрации: https://forms.gle/c6ZsH6gxPAEN7ZAz9

По всем вопросам — 7 702 633 2492 — Каусар

The Queens’ Online Chess Festival will return in March 2026, marking its 6th edition as a global celebration of women’s chess. Organised by the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess under the Chess4All FIDE WOM Project, the festival will run from March 1-29, 2026 and is dedicated to International Women’s Day (March 8). Participation is free of charge, and the festival is open to women and girls of all ages and playing levels, including unrated players from around the world.

The 2026 edition of the Queens’ Online Chess Festival will once again feature two parallel competitions, offering opportunities for both rated and unrated players:

Queens’ Women’s Open Tournament
Unrated Princesses’ Tournament

Queens’ Women’s Open Tournament
Open to all female players with a FIDE ID, the Women’s Open is structured as a series of continental online blitz qualifiers, followed by a Semi-Final and a Final.

The qualification tournaments will take place as follows:

African Online Blitz Qualification – March 1 (9:00 UTC)
European Online Blitz Qualification – March 7 (9:00 UTC)
Asian Online Blitz Qualification – March 8 (9:00 UTC)
American Online Blitz Qualification – March 15 (13:00 UTC)
Each continental qualifier will be played as a 9-round Swiss tournament with a 3+2 blitz time control. The winner of each qualifier will receive the title of Queen of her respective continent.

The top 25 players from each continent will advance to the Queens’ Online Semi-Final, scheduled for March 22 at 13:00 UTC, where 100 players will compete in a 9-round Swiss tournament.

The top eight finishers from the Semi-Final will qualify for the Queens’ Online Final, a 7-round round-robin blitz tournament played on March 29 at 13:00 UTC, with a 5+5 time control, to determine the overall winner of the festival.

Registration deadlines for the continental qualification tournaments are as follows:

Africa: February 22, 2026
Europe & Asia: March 1, 2026
Americas: March 7, 2026
The registration form for the Queens’ Women’s Open is available [HERE].

Unrated Princesses’ Tournament
Designed for girls without a FIDE rating, the Unrated Princesses’ Tournament is open to players in the U9, U11, U13, U15, and U17 age categories (U17 players must be born on or after 1 January 2009).

The Princesses’ competition will include:

Online Qualification Group A – March 16 (9:00 UTC)
Online Qualification Group B – March 16 (13:00 UTC)
Online Final Stage U9, U11, U13, U15, U17 – March 29 (13:00 UTC)
All stages of the Princesses’ tournament will be played with a 5+5 blitz time control, with 7 rounds for each qualification stage

Unrated players under 17 years old may choose to participate in the Queens’ Women’s Open, the Unrated Princesses’ Tournament, or both events.

Registration for the Princesses’ tournament closes on March 8, 2026. The registration form is available [HERE].

Fair play and online regulations

Fair play remains a central pillar of the Queens’ Online Chess Festival. All Semi-Final and Final stages will be conducted under FIDE Online Chess Regulations, including mandatory Zoom supervision, screen sharing, and camera monitoring. All games will undergo post-event fair play verification using statistical analysis tools and the FIDE Screening Tool.

Awards

All participants will receive an electronic certificate of participation. Additional awards include:

Queens’ Women’s Open

Continental titles for the winners of each qualification tournament
100 USD FIDE shop voucher for the winners of each qualification tournament
Training sessions with Women Grandmasters for top performers
A prize fund of USD 600 for the top three finishers in the Queens’ Women’s Open Final
An invitation for the overall winner of the Queens’ Women’s Open to attend the 46th World Chess Olympiad 2026 in Uzbekistan, including three nights of hotel accommodation with full board
Unrated Princesses’ Tournament

Diplomas for the top three finishers in each age category for both qualification stages of the Princesses’ Chess Festival
Training sessions with Women Grandmasters for top performers
A physical trophy for the winner of the final
100 USD FIDE shop voucher for the final winner, and 50 USD vouchers for second and third place finishers.
We are looking forward to your registrations!

Regulations (PDF)

Contact Information:

General Director: Ozgur Solakoglu (TUR)
Tournament Director: Ulkar Umudova (AZE)
Festival Coordinator: Yilmaz Kar tal (TUR)
Chief Arbiter: IA Kaussar Bauyrzhan (KAZ)

E-mail address: queensfestival@fide.com

FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess official website: wom.fide.com/