4/7/2026 – The 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.
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FIDE World University Team Chess Championship 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.
“In the year which FIDE has dedicated to chess in education, the first University World Team Championship is a significant milestone in promoting our sport. We have seen chess enjoy a sharp rise in popularity among younger audiences and this is an opportunity for the game to get more people involved. FIDE is fortunate to have the Kazakhstan Chess Federation as our partners and we are looking forward to a successful event,” said Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President.
“Kazakhstan has already established itself as a reliable venue for international FIDE tournaments. Hosting the first-ever World University Team Chess Championship will be a special honour and responsibility for us. Events of this kind open new horizons for inter-university cooperation: they create a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and the development of long-term partnerships between leading universities around the world,” said Timur Turlov, President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation.
In recent years, Kazakhstan has become a regional hub for education and science, and staging a championship of this scale is yet another confirmation of that progress.
“We are grateful to our President for creating all the conditions necessary for tournaments of this level in Kazakhstan, and to the Akimat of Almaty for its unwavering support of the national chess movement. For our part, we will make every effort to ensure that the upcoming tournament is organised at the highest level,” Turlov added.
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