Kazakhstan to host Asian Continental Stage of World Schools Team Chess Championships 2026
Almaty will host the Asian Continental Stage of the World Schools Team Chess Championship 2026 from April 6 to 11, 2026, Qazinform News Agency reports.
It will be held at the Hotel Kazakhstan, standing at the foot of the snowy peaks of the Zailiysky Alatau.
The tournament, sponsored by Freedom Holding Group, is part of a new format announced by FIDE and the International School Chess Federation (ISCF).
For the first time, the world cycle begins in Asia, in Almaty, setting the tone for 2026 that is officially declared the Year of Chess in Education.
Instead of one global event, the championship now has continental stages in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Each will determine one champion team to vie for a gold medal in the Grand Final in December 2026.
Almaty will bring together the strongest school teams from across Asia, winners of national qualifiers, to compete for the title of Asian champion and a ticket to the world final.
Masterclasses by grandmasters and top coaches, educational sessions for teachers and parents, and interactive workshops for students and a cultural program showcasing Kazakh hospitality and Almaty’s beauty will be held as part of the championships.
Notably, Kazakhstan has long been recognized as a leader in chess development.
Hosting the first stage of this new cycle is a global acknowledgment of Kazakhstan’s authority in sports and education.
FIDE, uniting 201 countries under the motto “Gens una sumus” (“We are one family”), and ISCF deliberately chose Almaty for this historic start.
Earlier, Kazakhstan unveiled the KazChessLab, a modern methodological center dedicated to training teachers and developing school chess programs.
