New champions to be crowned on Friday

The World Youth Chess Championships 2026 are taking place in Montesilvano, Italy, from 14 to 27 June, with the opening day set aside for arrivals and the final day for departures. The event is organised by FIDE, the Italian Chess Federation and UniChess, and national chess federations affiliated to FIDE have been invited to register their players.

The championships feature six age-category tournaments: under-14, under-16 and under-18, each divided into open and girls' sections. All tournaments are played over 11 rounds using the Swiss system. National rankings are not used for pairings. The time control follows FIDE regulations: each player receives 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment from move one.

The venue is the Congress Center Pala Dean Martin, located in Montesilvano, in the province of Pescara, in Italy's Abruzzo region. The city lies on the Adriatic coast immediately north of Pescara and is divided between Montesilvano Marina, a seaside resort area, and Montesilvano Colle, the original medieval settlement. It is around two hours by car from Rome and is close to Abruzzo Airport and Pescara Centrale railway station.

• Official website
• Find all participants and pairings on Chess-Results... (758 players in total)
• Replay all games on Live.ChessBase.com: O18 | G18 | O16 | G16 | O14 | G14

Photos by Nils Rohde

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The Congress Center Pala Dean Martin has received over 700 young, ambitious chess players!

Improve your pieces - a winning system you need to know

In this course, we will learn how to identify passively placed pieces in any given situation and how to improve their health by bringing them into active squares.

Luciano Buonfiglio, President of the Italian National Olympic Committee, made the ceremonial first move in round eight - a sprint canoer, he represented Italy at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal

International Arbiter Marco Biagioli

Marat Yessenov, Vice-President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, made the ceremonial first move on board one of the under-14 open section in round nine - FM Danis Kuandykuly versus IM Mark Smirnov, both representing Kazakhstan

WFM Valeria Kleymenova (FIDE) and WIM Wang Qinxuanyi (China) playing black on boards one and two of the under-18 girls' section

Master Class Vol.9: Paul Morphy

Learn about one of the greatest geniuses in the history of chess! Paul Morphy's career (1837-1884) lasted only a few years and yet he managed to defeat the best chess players of his time.

Dong Hongfu (China) lost his round-nine game with white in the under-16 open section

Zahra Allahverdi (Azerbaijan) is currently the sole leader of the under-14 girls' section

FM Louis Vallee (France) entered round nine as sole leader of the under-18 open section - he was defeated by IM Anthony Atanasov (Canada) and is now one of six players tied for first place on 7/9

IM Bennet Hagner (Germany) is also among the co-leaders in the under-18 open section

Understanding Material Imbalances

This DVD focuses on several types of material imbalances, such as Rook vs 2 Pieces, Queen vs 2 Rooks, and Queen vs Pieces.

Books, chessboards, ChessBase products and more at the tournament's store!

Standings after round 9

Open U18

...131 players

Girls U18

Master your Technique Vol.3 - Practical Techniques you must know

In this volume, we dive into core aspects of chess technique. Smyslov taught the principle of tactical hierarchy, “checks, double attacks, and unprotected pieces”, and Mikhalchishin demonstrates how this method of calculation is vital.
After mastering positional play in Volume 1 and learning how to convert small advantages in Volume 2 of the Master Your Technique series, GM Mikhalchishin now presents Essential Techniques, covering topics from playing on the flank versus the center to maintaining tactical vigilance. In this volume, we dive into core aspects of chess technique. Smyslov taught the principle of tactical hierarchy, “checks, double attacks, and unprotected pieces”, and Mikhalchishin demonstrates how this method of calculation is vital. He shows how top players apply it, but also how even grandmasters sometimes miss critical resources, highlighting the necessity of developing a strong “tactical sense.” This approach encompasses tactical vigilance and scanning for sacrifices, but is also highly relevant to the second part of the course, which focuses on more strategic elements such as the use of heavy pieces and endgame technique.
Free Video Sample: Simple Tactics
Free Video Sample: Mating Net: Ne7+ Qxh7 Rh5+

...104 players

Open U16

...155 players

Girls U16

...107 players

Open U14

Improve your pieces - a winning system you need to know

In this course, we will learn how to identify passively placed pieces in any given situation and how to improve their health by bringing them into active squares.

...151 players

Girls U14

...110 players

Mega Database 2026

The premiere chess database with over 11.7 million games
The ChessBase Mega Database 2026 is the premiere chess database with over 11.7 million games from 1475 to 2025 in high quality.