FIDE launches Excellence Awards

by Press release
6/1/2026 – The International Chess Federation has introduced the FIDE Excellence Awards, a biennial programme recognising achievements across the global chess community during each Olympiad cycle. The first ceremony will be held in Samarkand in September 2026, during the Chess Olympiad. Nominations are open across regular and discretionary categories, covering players, federations, events, creators and social-impact projects, with shortlists to be selected in July before the winners are announced at the ceremony.
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Press release by FIDE

FIDE has launched the FIDE Excellence Awards, a new biennial awards programme established to recognise outstanding achievements, individuals, events, federations, teams, creators and initiatives across the global chess community.

The awards recognise excellence over the previous two-year cycle, beginning after each Chess Olympiad and culminating at the next Olympiad. The inaugural FIDE Excellence Awards ceremony will take place in September 2026 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, during the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad.

Nominations are now open, and members of the global chess community are invited to submit candidates through the official FIDE Excellence Awards website.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said:

The FIDE Excellence Awards give the global chess community an opportunity to recognise the people, organisations and projects that help our game grow and thrive. Chess excellence is reflected not only in sporting achievement at the highest level, but also in tournament organisation, federation work, education, innovation, media and initiatives that create meaningful impact around the world.

Award categories

Awards will be presented across six regular categories and five discretionary categories, celebrating excellence both on and off the board.

FIDE Excellence Awards 2026

Nomination and selection process

Nominations must relate to achievements and contributions made during the current Olympiad cycle. Multiple nominations may be submitted across different categories, provided each submission includes supporting information explaining the candidate's achievements and impact.

The selection process will take place in three stages:

  1. Stage one, running from June 1 to June 30, 2026, invites the chess community to submit nominations online. Following this, the FIDE Excellence Awards Working Group will review submissions and compile longlists.
  2. During stage two, from July 1 to July 15, 2026, the FIDE Excellence Awards Jury will review the longlists and select the official shortlist in each category. The shortlists, consisting of ten nominees per category, will be published on July 15, 2026.
  3. In the final stage, the FIDE Excellence Awards Panel will vote to determine the winners, who will be announced during the official ceremony in Samarkand in September 2026.

The FIDE Excellence Awards recognise world-class players, breakthrough creators, outstanding federations, and projects that use chess to create a positive impact in society, celebrating excellence across the global chess community.

  • Submit your nominations here.
  • Nomination deadline: June 30, 2026

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

In this video course experts examine the games of Bent Larsen. Let them show you which openings Larsen chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!
Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was the greatest chess player in Danish history, and for a time, the second-strongest player in the Western world behind Bobby Fischer. Between 1954 and 1971, he won the Danish Championship six times, and achieved numerous international tournament victories throughout his career. 
Free video sample: Introduction to Bent Larsen by Peter Heine Nielsen
Free video sample: Introduction to the Opening Section

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