Queens' Online Chess Festival returns in March 2026

Press release by FIDE

The Queens' Online Chess Festival will return in March 2026, marking its 6^th 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.

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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 semifinal 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 Semifinal, 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 Semifinal 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 Semifinal 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.

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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 46^th 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

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