An Arbiter's Perspective: FIDE 6th Intercontinental Championship for Prisoners

IA/IO Carlos Chavez is the Executive Director of the storied Marshall Chess Club in Manhattan, NY. Last month, he served as an arbiter for the 6th Intercontinental Championship for Prisoners

He documented his experience in The Marshall Spectator newsletter, and, with permission from the Spectator and from Chavez, we are reprinting his article here.

From October 13-15, FIDE and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office held the 6th Intercontinental Championship for Prisoners, hosted online by Chess.com. A record 140 teams representing 56 countries participated across the men’s, women’s, and youth sections competed across multiple time zones. The goal of the event was to promote chess as a tool for educational and social development in correctional facilities.

Graphic courtesy of FIDE.

The first International Championship for Prisoners was held in 2021. Since then, it has expanded to six continents. It has nurtured critical thinking, emotional control, teamwork, and social skills that help inmates reintegrate into society. This is a testament to the power of chess to give everyone the opportunity to make better choices on and off the board and to give everyone the chance to be part of a large and growing chess community.

I had the privilege of being invited by Chief Arbiter Nebojsa Baralic to officiate Group 12 of the Americas, which included teams from the United States, Mexico, Argentina, and the Caribbean. The format was a seven-game round robin. I was responsible for monitoring all the players during the Zoom sessions, maintaining the integrity of online chess, entering the game results into a massive Google spreadsheet that contained the matches of all 140 teams, uploading the results to Chess-Results, and addressing any online troubleshooting issues as best as possible. I had officiated online tournaments during the pandemic, but this was the first time I had worked on an online tournament of this magnitude, with my peers and me working across different time zones. The beginning of the tournament was challenging because some of the competing groups experienced online connection issues, but once we got through this hurdle, the tournament progressed in a very organized manner. The players gave it their all in each game for the countries they were representing.

I was fortunate that the champions from the men’s section came from the group I officiated on the first day of the event, which consisted of eight teams (Mexico 1, Argentina, USA-KS-Norton, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Trinidad & Tobago 2, Guyana, and El Salvador 2). Mexico 1 and Argentina qualified for the next round. The second day of the tournament saw the quarterfinals, which pitted the remaining 24 men’s teams, 8 women’s teams, and 11 youth teams against one another for a place in the three finals.

Due to scheduling conflicts, I was not able to officiate the quarterfinals or the final matches, but I closely followed the results as Mexico 1 and Armenia booked tickets to the men’s final. In the women’s final, Mexico faced off against India, while in the youth final, India faced Serbia. Each final match consisted of two sets, with colors reversed.

Mexico 1 won the men’s final after drawing the first match 2–2 while playing with the white pieces and winning the second match 3–1 with the black pieces. Congratulations to Federal Social Rehabilitation Center Number 18 (CEFERESO-18) in Coahuila, Mexico, for winning the men’s championship. India won the women’s final in a lopsided victory in both matches versus the Mexican women’s team. Congratulations to the Government Children’s Home in Bhopal for deservedly winning the women’s championship. India also won the youth final by edging Serbia 2½–1½ in the first match and drawing the second match. You can replay all the games here.

Screenshot courtesy of FIDE.

The FIDE 6th Intercontinental Championship for Prisoners was a testament to the power of chess and its ability to break down barriers and walls and unite people from all over the world. The event has brought people together to celebrate chess and given participants another chance to rebuild their lives by using critical thinking, problem-solving, planning, and teamwork to make the right moves and choices. It was an impactful experience for me to be part of this online global event and to work with FIDE and Chief Arbiter Nebojsa Baralic to keep promoting, elevating, and solidifying the opportunities for change and progress that this championship offers to people in prison.

The next Chess for Freedom Conference will be held in Chicago, USA, from March 17-19, 2027. At this crucial conference, representatives from prison administrations, policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and chess federations will come together to discuss and promote best practices for implementing chess-based education and rehabilitation programs in correctional facilities. If you are interested in attending the conference, you can register here.

You can read more about chess in correctional facilities around the world and the magnitude of the Intercontinental Championship for Prisoners here.