Press release by FIDE
The field for the final stage of the 2026 FIDE World University Team Chess Championship (FWUTCC) is beginning to take shape, with eight teams securing qualification through the tournament’s online stages.
Organised by FIDE, the championship is open to university students born between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2008, who are officially enrolled at the institution they represent. The championship features three stages.
During the first stage, the Online Swiss Qualifiers held on May 2 and May 9 on the Lichess.org gaming platform, the top 32 university teams were determined.
These teams continued their campaign in the second stage, the Online Knockout, which took place on May 16 and May 17, also on Lichess.org. As in the first stage, the teams competed in a four-versus-four format under a rapid time control of 10+3, allocating 10 minutes per game with a 3-second increment for every move starting from the first.
The first round brought together the top teams from the Americas and Africa regions alongside those from Europe and Asia. The 16 winning teams returned the following day for another round of playoff matches to determine the eight teams advancing to the over-the-board final.
The eight teams that qualified for the over-the-board final through the online stages are:
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The final stage of FWUTCC 2026 will take place in Almaty from August 4-9. The event will feature 16 teams: the eight online qualifiers together with eight wild card entries selected by FIDE and the organizers.
The final will begin with a group stage, where the 16 teams will be divided into four balanced groups and compete in a double round-robin format. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout phase, consisting of quarterfinals, semifinals, a third-place playoff and the final.
All games of the final stage will be contested under a fast classical time control of 45+30.
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 the third-placed team will receive €10,000.
The remaining eight wildcard teams will be announced in due course.
For any questions, contact worlduniversity@fide.com
For full tournament information, regulations and live results, visit the official championship website: https://worlduniversities2026.fide.com
Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was the greatest chess player in Danish history, and for a time, the second-strongest player in the Western world behind Bobby Fischer. Between 1954 and 1971, he won the Danish Championship six times, and achieved numerous international tournament victories throughout his career.
Free video sample: Introduction to Bent Larsen by Peter Heine Nielsen
Free video sample: Introduction to the Opening Section