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