FIDE will subsidize travel to Samarkand, Uzbekistan for eligible federations as follows.

All invited teams are eligible for travel subsidies. Each team comprises up to 7 invited participants (4 players, 1 reserve player / captain and up to 2 accompanying persons). The limits per person by continents are the same as stipulated in paragraph 1 of the “Olympiad – Main Competition” section.

Delegates of FIDE Congress are eligible for travel subsidy on the same principles as described in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the “Olympiad – Main Competition” section.

Dear chess Friends from across the globe,

On behalf of FIDE and the Organising Committee of the Uzbekistan Chess Federation, it is our distinct honour and pleasure to invite you to the 46^th Chess Olympiad and the 3^rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, the world’s strongest and most important team chess competitions. Alongside these events, FIDE will hold its Congress and elections.

The Open and the Women’s Olympiad

The Chess Olympiads will take place in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 15 till 27 September 2026.

The 45^th Chess Olympiad in Budapest set a record for the number of participating teams – 193 in the Open and 181 in the Women’s competition. The 46^th Chess Olympiad is expected to surpass that number and bring together thousands of players and fans from across the world.

The Olympiad will consist of two sections, Open and Women. Both events will be played over 11 rounds, using the Swiss system, with teams of four players plus one reserve. More information about tournament regulations can be found here:

https://handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/Olympiad2026MainCompetition.pdf

Three trophies

There will be three trophies:

• The Hamilton-Russell Cup for the winners of the Open section
• The Vera Menchik Cup for the winners of the Women section
• The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy for the best combined federation performance across the Open and Women sections

Schedule

The Opening Ceremony will take place on 15 September, while the first round will be played on 16 September. After round six, there will be a day off on 22 September. Round 11 and Closing Ceremony will take place on 27 September.

Team Registration and further information:

The registration for the FIDE Chess Olympiad starts on 20 April 2026.

Participating teams in the Open and Women’s sections are invited to register following the credentials they shall receive to their official federation’s e-mail address.

More information about the FIDE Chess Olympiad can be found here: https://chessolympiad2026.fide.com/.

The 3^rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities

Alongside the 46^th Chess Olympiad, the 3^rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities will take place from 10 to 18 September.

The international team competition is promoted by the FIDE Players with Disabilities Commission and aims to promote inclusivity and accessibility in chess.

More information about the FIDE Chess Olympiad for People With Disabilities, including the schedule, can be found here: https://dis-olympiad2026.fide.com/.

The FIDE Congress

FIDE will also hold its Congress during the Chess Olympiad. The Congress will take place from 20 to 27 September.

Bringing together the member federations at General Assembly, FIDE Council, Zonal Council, and FIDE Commissions, the Congress will include the FIDE Election on 26 September. Delegates will choose the leadership of FIDE for the following four years.

The General Assembly will also decide the hosts of the 2030 Chess Olympiad.

Honouring the FIDE Year of Chess in Education, an Educational Summit will be hosted during the Congress.

The program and details about the Congress are available here: https://congress.fide.com/.

We look forward to seeing you all in Samarkand for another important step forward for chess.

The invitation and event guide booklet for the Chess Olympiad, Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities and Congress is available here: https://doc.fide.com/docs/2026_Olympiad/Invitation_Olympiad_Congress_2026.pdf

FIDE, in cooperation with the Uzbekistan Chess Federation, has officially invited all FIDE National Chess Federations to participate in the 3rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities.

FIDE calls all national federations to submit their lists of players with disabilities for the purpose of calculating the average rating and determining the qualified teams for the Olympiad. The deadline for submitting player lists is 30 April 2026.

The preliminary list of qualified teams, in accordance with Articles 2D and 2E of the Regulations, will be published on 5 May 2026.

Federations whose teams qualify for the Olympiad for People with Disabilities (based on the average rating of the top five players) will be required to confirm their participation in the event, to be held in Samarkand this September, by 15 May 2026, by sending a confirmation email to dis@fide.com.

Federations that are not qualified but wish to participate at their own expense are also invited to express their interest by 15 May 2026 via dis@fide.com. Participation of such teams will be subject to approval by FIDE and the event organizers.

The final list of participating teams will be published on 20 May 2026, and the registration link will be shared with the respective federations.

We kindly remind all federations to submit their lists of players with disabilities to the FIDE DIS Commission (dis@fide.com) by 30 April 2026 to maximize their chances of participation in the 2026 Olympiad in Samarkand.

FIDE DIS Commission

FIDE publishes the list of qualified teams for the 3rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities 2026:

National federations which teams have been qualified are requested to confirm participation of their national teams of people with disabilities to the official email address of the Olympiad at olympiadpwd2026@fide.com by 15 May 2026.

Please see the regulations of the 3^rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for people with disabilities here: https://handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/Olympiad2026CompetitionForDisabled.pdf

We urge all national federations which teams have been qualified to meet the confirmation deadline.

Looking forward to meeting you in Samarkand!

FIDE DIS Commission

FIDE is pleased to announce the opening of media accreditation to the FIDE Chess Olympiad, the FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, and the FIDE Congress.

Dates:
3rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities – September 10-17, 2026
46th FIDE Chess Olympiad – September 15-27, 2026
FIDE Congress – September 19-28, 2026

Location: Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Every two years, national teams from across the world gather under their flags at the FIDE Chess Olympiad, representing the highest level of team competition in the game. Established champions and emerging talents meet across the board, carrying both global reputations and national pride.

Media registration form: https://chessolympiad2026.fide.com/accreditation-for-media

Official websites:
3rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities https://dis-olympiad2026.fide.com
46th FIDE Chess Olympiad https://chessolympiad2026.fide.com
FIDE Congress https://congress.fide.com

We invite all media representatives wishing to cover the event to submit their accreditation applications via the media registration form above.

Accreditation is open for all members of the written press, photographic press, online media, and writers and photographers working for publications and/or websites of the FIDE National Member Federations.

Accredited event media will collect their badges onsite at the events. A valid travel document containing a photo must be presented to receive media accreditation.

The FIDE Chess Olympiad organisers will ensure a comfortable working environment for all Accredited Media, providing a range of facilities and services at the level established at major FIDE events.

We look forward to your coverage of the FIDE Chess Olympiad, the FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities and the FIDE Congress!

Forty teams have entered the 3rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, setting a new participation record for the competition. The tournament runs in Samarkand from 10 to 17 September alongside the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad, marking the first time the two events have been staged together.

The field has grown with each over-the-board edition, from 26 teams in Belgrade in 2023 to 34 in Astana last October, and now 40 in Samarkand.

The tournament will be played as a seven-round Swiss, one round longer than either of the first two editions. Games are played at a time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment from move one.

Each team consists of four players and one reserve, with at least one player of each gender required to play in every round. The competition brings together players with visual, hearing, and physical disabilities.

Poland tops the seedings with an average rating of 2215 and the strongest record in the event’s short history. Poland won the inaugural online edition in 2020, swept all six matches to take gold in Belgrade, and finished second in Astana. The squad is led by IM Marcin Molenda, who scored 5.5/6 on board two in Belgrade, with IM Pawel Piekielny and IM Aleksander Czerwonski also in the line-up.

Cuba is seeded second with an average rating of 2200. IM Carlos Larduet Despaigne and IM Pedro Morales Romero, both rated 2274, occupy the first two boards.

Third seed Israel brings the highest-rated player in the field in GM Yehuda Gruenfeld (pictured below; center), rated 2379. Gruenfeld won the board-one gold medal in Astana and added two more world titles in May, winning both the rapid and blitz competitions at the World Deaf Chess Championships in Spain at the age of 70. The results also secured his place at the 2027 Deaflympics. He is joined in the Israeli team by IM Eyal Deutsch and IM Andrei Gurbanov.

The three international organisations for players with disabilities also enter their own teams. The International Braille Chess Association, representing blind and visually impaired players, are fourth seeds with an average rating of 2137, with IM Predrag Nikac on the top board. The International Physically Disabled Chess Association, whose team took silver in Belgrade, is led by FM Sargis Sargissyan, rated 2254. The International Chess Committee of the Deaf completes the three international teams.

Behind the top seeds, the field is tightly packed. Croatia, Germany, Argentina, the United States, the Philippines and Serbia are separated by fewer than 50 average rating points.

Switzerland fielded IM Igor Yarmonov, a multiple IPCA world individual champion and, at 2315, the third-highest-rated player in the field.

The United States returns with brothers Sullivan and Griffin McConnell after finishing level on match points for sixth place in Astana and placing seventh on tie-break. Celine Atassi, who received the prize for the youngest player in the physical disability category at that event, is also back in the team.

Several of last year’s individual medallists return. Kishan Gangolli, who scored an unbeaten 5/6 to win the board-three prize for India in Astana after taking silver on the same board in Belgrade, plays behind IM Shashikant Kutwal.

Serbia brings Jovan Pavicevic, who finished second on board two in Astana, and Jovana Pavicevic, who took third place on board five. Croatia’s Domagoj Glazar was third on board two, Argentina’s Leonel Amato third on board one, Kazakhstan’s Aiganym Kambarova first on board five and Bangladesh’s Md Ali Nawaz Sarkar second on the same board.

Cheyzer Crystal Mendoza (pictured above), winner of the best-game prize in Astana, returns for the Philippines. The Philippine team also has a podium finish behind them, having taken bronze at the inaugural over-the-board edition in Belgrade.

The 40-team field spans four continents. Six African federations have entered: Egypt, Eswatini, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Seven teams come from the Americas, while hosts Uzbekistan will be represented by three teams, seeded 25th, 26th, and 39th.

Medals will be awarded to the top three teams, together with individual medals on each of the four boards and the reserve board. Special prizes will recognise the best performance, the most beautiful game, and the youngest and oldest players in each disability category.

The opening ceremony will take place on 10 September at 6 p.m. local time. Rounds one to six begin at 3 p.m. daily from 11 September, before the final round starts at 11 a.m. on 17 September.

The full list of teams and participants can be found here:

https://dis-olympiad2026.fide.com/teams_pwd