New competition format for the World Schools Team Championship in 2026
The World Schools Team Championship (WSTC) will adopt a new tournament structure for its 2026 edition. The competition will now feature four continental stages followed by a four-team Grand Final in December.
First held in 2023 in Kazakhstan and then in 2025 in the US, the World Schools Team Championship is the primary global scholastic chess competition, jointly organised by FIDE and the International School Chess Federation (ISCF).
The 2026 edition will take place during the Year of Chess in Education, a joint FIDE and ISCF initiative to promote the role and value of chess as part of education, supporting both cognitive and social development among schoolchildren.
In October 2025, FIDE and ISCF signed a Memorandum of Cooperation, which announced a series of international school team tournaments for 2026. The WSTC will serve as a flagship circuit of the “Chess in Education 2026” programme. It was then announced that the tournaments would unfold in two stages: Continental Championships for Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe and the Grand Final, featuring the winners of the respective Continental Championships.
FIDE and ISCF now announce the structure of the new format and the regulations for the event.
The 2026 cycle will consist of four continental stages: Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, all held throughout 2026.
Each continental championship will produce one champion school team that will directly qualify for the Grand Final, which will take place in December 2026 as a four-team tournament.
The WSTC 2026 will kick off with the Asian Continental stage in Almaty, Kazakhstan in the beginning of April. Exact dates and locations for the all stages will be announced at a later date.
Only teams representing a single general educational institution (such as a school) may take part in the event. Each team must include at least one boy and at least one girl, with possible exceptions for single gender schools.
Players who were born on January 1st, 2012 and later, but not later than on December 31st, 2018, are eligible for participation in WSTC 2026.
The rules explicitly note substantial organiser support for participating teams.
“Everyone has something they can learn from someone or teach someone. By bringing together children from different countries and cultures to play chess, we are sowing the seeds of knowledge, creativity and diversity, which are essential for a thriving life and society. The ISCF is excited to be partnering with FIDE on this project, and we are looking forward to a successful series of events in the Year of Chess in Education,” ISCF President Timur Turlov said.
“FIDE has consistently championed education and learning, and we have always believed that chess is a powerful tool for education, whether among children or adults. After the successful Year of Social Chess in 2025, we have dedicated 2026 to education and to children in school. The four continental championships, as well as the Grand Final, will not only further promote chess in schools, but will be an impulse for many schoolchildren to take up the game, spreading the wonder of our sport further. We are exceptionally grateful to ISCF for their work on this project, which has the full backing of FIDE,” said Dana Reizniece, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board.
The regulations for the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship 2026 can be found here
Official email: worldschoolteam@fide.com
Official website: worldschoolteam2026.fide.com
About ISCF: The International School Chess Federation (ISCF) is dedicated to the promotion and integration of chess within the educational system globally. Launched in September 2024 as a FIDE affiliated organisation, the ISCF operates as a main institutional platform for advancing chess in schools, developing educational programmes, supporting national federations and fostering cognitive and social growth among students through the game of chess. https://ischoolchess.com/about
About FIDE: The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the governing body of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess competitions. FIDE was recognised by the International Olympic Committee as a global sporting organisation in 1999. Headquartered in Lausanne, FIDE was founded in 1924 in Paris under the motto “Gens una Sumus” (Latin for “We are one family”). It was one of the very first international sports federations, alongside the governing bodies of football, cricket, swimming and auto racing. It is now one of the largest, encompassing 201 countries as affiliated members, in the form of national chess federations. https://www.fide.com/
First held in 2023 in Kazakhstan and then in 2025 in the US, the World Schools Team Championship is the primary global scholastic chess competition, jointly organised by FIDE and the International School Chess Federation (ISCF).
The 2026 edition will take place during the Year of Chess in Education, a joint FIDE and ISCF initiative to promote the role and value of chess as part of education, supporting both cognitive and social development among schoolchildren.
In October 2025, FIDE and ISCF signed a Memorandum of Cooperation, which announced a series of international school team tournaments for 2026. The WSTC will serve as a flagship circuit of the “Chess in Education 2026” programme. It was then announced that the tournaments would unfold in two stages: Continental Championships for Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe and the Grand Final, featuring the winners of the respective Continental Championships.
FIDE and ISCF now announce the structure of the new format and the regulations for the event.
The 2026 cycle will consist of four continental stages: Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, all held throughout 2026.
Each continental championship will produce one champion school team that will directly qualify for the Grand Final, which will take place in December 2026 as a four-team tournament.
The WSTC 2026 will kick off with the Asian Continental stage in Almaty, Kazakhstan in the beginning of April. Exact dates and locations for the all stages will be announced at a later date.
Only teams representing a single general educational institution (such as a school) may take part in the event. Each team must include at least one boy and at least one girl, with possible exceptions for single gender schools.
Players who were born on January 1st, 2012 and later, but not later than on December 31st, 2018, are eligible for participation in WSTC 2026.
The rules explicitly note substantial organiser support for participating teams.
“Everyone has something they can learn from someone or teach someone. By bringing together children from different countries and cultures to play chess, we are sowing the seeds of knowledge, creativity and diversity, which are essential for a thriving life and society. The ISCF is excited to be partnering with FIDE on this project, and we are looking forward to a successful series of events in the Year of Chess in Education,” ISCF President Timur Turlov said.
“FIDE has consistently championed education and learning, and we have always believed that chess is a powerful tool for education, whether among children or adults. After the successful Year of Social Chess in 2025, we have dedicated 2026 to education and to children in school. The four continental championships, as well as the Grand Final, will not only further promote chess in schools, but will be an impulse for many schoolchildren to take up the game, spreading the wonder of our sport further. We are exceptionally grateful to ISCF for their work on this project, which has the full backing of FIDE,” said Dana Reizniece, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board.
The regulations for the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship 2026 can be found here
Official email: worldschoolteam@fide.com
Official website: worldschoolteam2026.fide.com
About ISCF: The International School Chess Federation (ISCF) is dedicated to the promotion and integration of chess within the educational system globally. Launched in September 2024 as a FIDE affiliated organisation, the ISCF operates as a main institutional platform for advancing chess in schools, developing educational programmes, supporting national federations and fostering cognitive and social growth among students through the game of chess. https://ischoolchess.com/about
About FIDE: The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the governing body of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess competitions. FIDE was recognised by the International Olympic Committee as a global sporting organisation in 1999. Headquartered in Lausanne, FIDE was founded in 1924 in Paris under the motto “Gens una Sumus” (Latin for “We are one family”). It was one of the very first international sports federations, alongside the governing bodies of football, cricket, swimming and auto racing. It is now one of the largest, encompassing 201 countries as affiliated members, in the form of national chess federations. https://www.fide.com/
