A NEW GENERATION OF THE CONTINENT’S CHESS PLAYERS ENTERS THE RACE FOR THE GLOBAL TITLE
In July 2026, young chess players from across the continent will gather in South Africa for the first-ever African stage of the World Schools Team Championship (WSTC), a fast-growing international school chess competition. The winner will earn the right to compete at the global Grand Final later in the year against the strongest school teams from four continents. This gives young African talents a direct chance to compete on the world stage.
Africa Joins the Map
WSTC 2026 – the third edition of the global chess competition among young players – is divided into four continental stages (Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe) and a Grand Final featuring the winning team from each. The final at the end of 2026 will bring together four teams, one per continent.
Africa is hosting a WSTC qualifier for the first time. It will take place July 6-11, 2026, at Stellenbosch University’s sports complex near Cape Town, South Africa. School teams from across the continent are expected. The winner goes straight to the World Final.
The Asian qualifier took place from April 7 to 10 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Wisdom School from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, won first place. Kurchatov School from Moscow, Russia, finished second, and Velammal MHS from Chennai, India, came third. The Americas stage will be held in August 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Dates for the European stage and the World Final have not yet been announced.
The tournament is organized by FIDE and the International School Chess Federation (ISCF), with support from the South African chess federation for the African stage. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said: “We are delighted to launch two new continental school championships in Africa and the Americas as part of our Year of Chess in Education. These regions are emerging chess hubs with tremendous potential. In recent years, we have seen significant progress in their chess infrastructure and school programs, and these championships will help drive that growth even further. FIDE will continue to provide support as part of our long-term strategy to expand the game beyond its traditional centers.”
How It All Started
The idea of the World Schools Team Championship (WSTC) emerged in summer 2023, when FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and Timur Turlov, President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KCF) and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., discussed ways to further promote chess and agreed on the importance of developing the game at the school level.
The initiative was launched jointly by FIDE and KCF and debuted in August 2023 in Aktau, Kazakhstan. The inaugural edition brought together more than 400 students from 53 countries across four continents. The second edition took place in August 2025 at Episcopal High School near Washington, D.C., featuring a wider range of countries and teams, as well as a stronger international lineup of school participants.
ISCF served as host for the 2025 edition. It was established in September 2024 following a proposal by Timur Turlov and approval by the FIDE General Assembly as an affiliated organization. It oversees WSTC school competitions and works to integrate chess into education. It also supports the development of a global network of chess schools and promotes chess as a lifelong skill. Turlov was appointed ISCF President after its launch.
Ahead of the upcoming continental stages, he said: “I am very pleased to see the expansion of continental school championships to Africa and the Americas. These initiatives are an important step in strengthening youth engagement and building sustainable chess ecosystems in both regions. I look forward to the upcoming events in Cape Town in July and San Jose in August, which will undoubtedly inspire a new generation of players.”
Kazakhstan: a Chess Case Study
In Kazakhstan, where Turlov also heads the national chess federation and where Freedom Holding Corp., a Nasdaq-listed fintech group he founded and leads, is headquartered, chess is a national priority. It is included on Kazakhstan’s official list of priority sports, making it eligible for state funding and organizational support. During a meeting with FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich in late 2025, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated that chess in Kazakhstan is an important element of intellectual culture, education, and personal development.
Kazakhstan is rolling out a joint program, with support from FIDE, involving the Ministry of Education, the national chess federation, and educational foundations to integrate chess into the school curriculum, particularly at the primary level. Chess is already taught in about 1,500 schools, reaching roughly 60,000 students. The program has helped strengthen Kazakhstan’s position in recent years as a regular host of international school, junior, and university chess events. For many young, talented players, international competition provides access to education and serves as a form of social mobility.
Kazakh businesses are actively supporting chess development. Freedom Holding Corp. invests more than $15 million annually in this sport. The company partners with FIDE on multiple initiatives and supports international events, including, in addition to WSTC, the World Rapid and Blitz Championships and other tournaments.
In 2026, Freedom’s entered a new phase with the announcement of its acquisition of ChessBase, one of the world’s leading platforms for chess databases, analytics, and software. The move represents a further step in the company’s evolution from sponsor and patron of chess initiatives toward ownership of key infrastructure in the chess industry. The acquisition fits into the development of Freedom’s digital ecosystem, which already combines financial services, banking and insurance products, telecommunications, and lifestyle offerings for more than 14 million clients in 22 countries. ChessBase can become not only a chess asset but also part of an expanding Freedom’s SuperApp model, where educational and intellectual products form a distinct layer. This creates opportunities to develop chess as a dedicated “skill app” within the ecosystem, as well as to produce content aimed at user engagement and retention.
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