A first for the continent!
From July 6 to 11, 2026, Cape Town will host the African continental stage of the World School Team Chess Championship (WSTC) — a historic first for the continent. This marks the inaugural time that Africa is hosting a chess competition of such international calibre.
The African leg is the second qualifying stage of the new WSTC 2026 cycle, held under the joint initiative of FIDE and the International School Chess Federation (ISCF) - "Chess in Education Year". National school teams from dozens of African countries will converge in Cape Town, with the top-performing teams earning direct qualification to the Grand Final in December 2026. The tournament's General Partner is Freedom Holding Corp., an international FinTech.
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The WSTC 2026 cycle started in April 2026 in Kazakhstan, where the Asian stage in Almaty brought together 114 school-aged players (8–14 years) from 19 countries. The Wisdom School team from Tashkent claimed first place, followed by Russia's Kurchatov School in second, and Velammal MHS from India in third.
After Cape Town, continental qualifiers will continue with the Americas stage in San José, Costa Rica (August 11–16), followed by Europe.
Arkady Dvorkovich, President of FIDE, said:
We are delighted to announce the launch of two new continental school championships in Africa and the Americas as part of our Chess in Education Year initiative. These regions are emerging as key hubs for chess development with tremendous potential.
The World School Team Chess Championship was first held in summer 2023, with Kazakhstan hosting the inaugural edition. Since 2025, the competition has been officially organized under FIDE in partnership with the ISCF. One of the driving forces behind the initiative is Timur Turlov, Founder and Majority Shareholder of Freedom Holding Corp. Since January 2023, he has served as head of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, and since September 2024, he has led the International School Chess Federation (ISCF), a subsidiary organization of FIDE, the International Chess Federation. Freedom Holding Corp. allocates over $15 million annually to chess development, contributing to the game’s recognition as a core sport in Kazakhstan.
ISCF President Timur Turlov said:
I am truly excited to see the continental school championships expanding into Africa and the Americas. These initiatives are pivotal in engaging youth and building sustainable chess ecosystems across both regions. I look forward to the upcoming events in Cape Town in July and San José in August, which will undoubtedly inspire a new generation of players.
For Turlov, chess is more than a sport - it is an educational tool. The ISCF actively promotes integrating chess into school curricula to enhance logical thinking, concentration, and teamwork skills.
The King‘s Indian Attack is a universal opening: easy to learn, flexible, and rich in both tactical and positional opportunities.In April 2026, Freedom Holding Corp. acquired ChessBase, the world's leading provider of chess software, game databases and educational content. The investment in the acquisition totals approximately €5 million. The company plans to integrate artificial intelligence into ChessBase's platform and embed the service within its SuperApp ecosystem. The headquarters will remain in Hamburg, Germany, and the core team will remain in place. No job cuts are planned. On the contrary, the company expects to invest significantly in the business and recruit additional staff as the platform develops further.
Timur Turlov added:
ChessBase is an exceptionally strong brand with a rich history and, arguably, one of the most important projects for the global chess community. Together with the team that created the platform and continues to run it, we believe we can make substantial progress in modernizing the service. I believe our partnership will open up new opportunities by giving our clients direct access, with more than 14 million clients across the group in more than twenty countries.
Rainer Woisin, Managing Director of ChessBase, noted:
This is great news for the chess world. ChessBase, an important part of the chess heritage, is entering a secure new stage of development. Having an investor who genuinely loves chess is perhaps the best outcome imaginable. I am confident that new and exciting opportunities lie ahead for the global chess community.
Freedom Holding Corp. is also the official FIDE chess development partner for 2026 and has sponsored major events, including the World Rapid and Blitz Championships and the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ, KASE, AIX: FRHC) operates in 22 countries. Its flagship SuperApp integrates banking, insurance, investments, e-commerce, travel and government services. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, the company reported record revenue of $2.19 billion (+9% year-on-year), with net profit doubling to $153.3 million. Total assets grew by 33% to $13.16 billion. The number of brokerage clients reached 858,000, while banking clients doubled to 5.03 million. The SuperApp now boasts over 5 million active users.
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