Registration Open for 2026 FIDE World Cadet Cup Chess Championships

Registration is now open for the FIDE World Cadet Chess Championships 2026. The international event — organized by FIDE and the Georgia Chess Federation — will be held in Batumi, Georgia from June 15 through June 28, 2026. 

US Chess will be accepting registrations for eligible U.S. participants until Monday, March 16, 2026, 5 p.m. CDT.

TOURNAMENT DETAILS AND ELIGIBILITY

There will be six sections: Open and Girls in age categories Under 12, Under 10, and Under 8.

A player's age as of Jan. 1, 2026 determines their age eligibility for a section.

• Under 12: Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2014
• Under 10: Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2016
• Under 8: Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2018

Each event will be an 11-round Swiss system tournament, using a time control of 90 minutes plus an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

Direct titles shall be awarded according to the FIDE regulations.

If a player is more than 30 minutes late, they forfeit the game.

The full schedule for all rounds can be viewed within the regulations document at https://wcc2026.fide.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2026-Updated.pdf 

REGISTRATION INFORMATION - DEADLINE IS March 16!

US Chess is accepting entries for eligible U.S. players until Monday, March 16, 2026, 5:00 p.m. CDT. Interested and eligible U.S. players must register with US Chess to participate. No registrations will be accepted after March 16, 2026. The March 16 deadline is set to provide for administrative actions to meet the organizers' deadline.

REGISTRATION FORM: https://forms.gle/VRHWDJcZwacpnYWR6

Upon completion of the registration form, US Chess will send an invoice which must be paid by the Monday, March 23, 2026, 5:00 p.m. CDT deadline.

Please note, the following fees will be charged:

• Tournament registration fee - $144/player
• FIDE entry fee - $165/player
• Special accreditation fee for accompanying persons - $144/accompanying person (without this accreditation your registration will not be accepted by the organizer)
• Accommodations
• US Chess administrative fee - $400/player

All U.S. participants are required to having the following:

• A current US Chess membership, valid through the end of the tournament (June 2026)
• A U.S.A.-flagged FIDE ID. (If you do not currently have a FIDE ID, please complete our FIDE ID Request Form at https://forms.gle/fCCTis7WgtJEb2rv6

ACCOMMODATIONS

As per FIDE regulations, all players and accompanying persons must be accredited and stay at the official hotels of the event. All accommodations must be booked through US Chess at the time of registration.

5 ***** Hotel Complex Euphoria Batumi & Grand Bellagio Convention. The rates are still valid two days before and after these dates, however, meals may differ, depending on the hotel and the number of people that are staying the extra days. 

Single (1 person) --- must be 18+, only for parents - $132/night

Double (2 people) - $118/person/night

Triple (3 people) - $110/person/night

TRAVEL WAIVERS

All players will be required to sign a waiver for participation before their entry into the tournament is confirmed. Please visit the USA State Departments Travel Advisory website for the latest information regarding traveling to Georgia.
 

OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVES AND PERSONAL RIGHTS PLAYERS

Official Representatives:

For this year, all players will fill out information in the registration form regarding their peak post-tournament rating between Feb. 1, 2025 and Jan. 31, 2026 and the tournament URL in which that rating was achieved.

The player with the highest peak post-tournament rating that has 1) played 30 US Chess Regular or FIDE Standard games between Feb. 1, 2025 and Jan. 31, 2026, 2) registered by March 16, 2026, 5 p.m. CDT, and 3) paid their invoice by March 23, 2026, 5 p.m. CDT, will be declared as the Official Representative (OR) for that category.

If your player was not declared the OR and you wish to withdraw from tournament, please e-mail Click here to show email address by Friday, March 27, 2026, 5 p.m. CDT, to withdraw, and you will be issued a refund for all listed amounts in the invoice, except for $200 of the $400 US Chess administrative fee.

Personal Rights Players (PR):

The players placed first through third in the previous U12, U10, U8 World Cadet Championships & World Cup, and the respective Champions of the last Continental Youth Championships (for this year, it was the 2025 Pan-American Youth Championship), shall have the personal right to participate in the World Cadet Championships of the corresponding age-category or a higher age-category if the age stipulation of Art. 2.1 above is met. Such players shall also be classified as Official Players and have to be registered by the national federation.

2025 World Cadet U12 Girls - Gold - Lacey Wang

2025 World Cadet U12 Girls - Silver - Laurie Qiu

2025 World Cadet U12 Open - Bronze - Ethan Guo

2025 World Cup U12 Open - Silver - Chenxuan Ling

2025 Pan-Am Youth U8 Open - Devansh Vellanki

2025 Pan-Am Youth U10 Girls - Abigail Zhou

2025 Pan-Am Youth U12 Open - Vivan Prakash Mulay

OR and PR players receive will be reimbursed for hotel, registration fee, entry fee, and administrative fee. Other benefits may be announced at a later date. Travel and all fees for accompanying persons are the player’s responsibility.

QUESTIONS

If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Brian Yang, US Chess FIDE Events Manager at Click here to show email address.