Registration Open for 2026 FIDE World Youth Chess Championships

Registration is now open for the FIDE World Youth Chess Championships 2026. The international event, organized by FIDE, and the Italian Chess Federation, with UniChess will take place June 14 - June 27 in Montesilvano, Italy.

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 18, Under 16, and Under 14.

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

Under 18: Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2008
Under 16: Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2010
Under 14: Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2012

Each event will be an 11-round Swiss system tournament, using a time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves plus 30 minutes, plus an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

Direct titles shall be awarded according to the FIDE regulations.

The full schedule for all rounds can be viewed within the regulations document at https://www.fide.com/wp-content/uploads/FIDE-World-Youth-Chess-Championships-2026.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/gp5FfDzND3U2LuCC7

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 - $135/player
FIDE entry fee - $165/player
Special accreditation fee for accompanying persons - $135/accompanying person (without this accreditation your registration will not be accepted by the organizer)
Accommodations
Airport Transfer (recommended especially on the return to Rome Airport)
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.

Please note 9.2.2: In accordance with local regulations, the city tax must be paid by all participants, including official players, full-right players, and heads of delegation and accompanying people. The tax amounts to 2 € per person per night, applicable for a maximum of seven (7) nights. Consequently, each participant is required to pay a total of EUR 14.00 upon arrival.

--- Players and Parents will be paying this directly with the hotel + accommodation rates below:

Meals are included ""Full Board - 3 meals / per person / per day" --- 4**** Hotel --- The Entire USA Delegation will be staying together."

Single (1 person) - $175 / night (Must be 18 years old at check-in)

Double (2 people) - $150 / person / night

Triple (3 people) - $137 / person / night

Family (4 people) - $127 / 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 Italy.

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 1-3 in the previous U14, U16, U18 World Youth Championships, 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 Youth 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.

Pan-Am Youth Under-18 Open: FM Tejas Rama
Pan-Am Youth Under-18 Girls: FM Jasmine Su
Pan-Am Youth Under-16 Open: none
Pan-Am Youth Under-16 Girls: none
Pan-Am Youth Under-14 Open: none
Pan-Am Youth Under-14 Girls: none

OR and PR players 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.