FIDE WORLD CADETS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS CYCLE 2026

FIDE WORLD CADETS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS CYCLE 2026

(Under 8,10,12)

WORLD CADETS CUP 2026

15 – 28 JUNE

WORLD CADETS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026

FINALS, with only 8 Players Each Group

10 – 17 NOVEMBER

BATUMI (GEORGIA)

1. INVITATION

The FIDE and the Georgian chess federation invite all FIDE member federations and eligible players to participate in the World Cadets Cup 2026. The EVENT will be held in Batumi (Black Sea-Side) with the same system as the last year WORLD CADETS’ CHAMPIONSHIP. The dates are 15 of JUNE (arrivals) to 28 of JUNE (departures) 2026.

2. SCHEDULE

3. PARTICIPATION

3.1 INVITED PLAYERS — Each National Federation can register one (1) invited player in each of the categories — under 8, 10, and 12 (boys and girls). The total of six (6) invited players and one head of delegation with valid FIDE ID belonging to the national federation are invited by the Organizer. A player must not have reached his 8^th, 10^th, 12^th birthday, respectively, before January 1^st of the year 2026:

Under 8 (open & girls), player’s date of birth: 1 January 2018 and after

Under 10 (open & girls), player’s date of birth: 1 January 2016 and after Under 12 (open & girls), player’s date of birth: 1 January 2014 and after

3.2 PERSONAL RIGHT PLAYERS — The players placed 1-3 in the previous U8, U10, U12 World Cadets Championships & World Cadets Cup, the respective champions (1^st ranked) of the last Continental Cadet Championships of the corresponding age – category or a higher age-category if the age stipulation mentioned in Art 3.1 above is met. Such players shall also be classified as invited players and have to be registered by the national federation.

3.3 ADDITIONAL PLAYERS & ACCOMPANING PEOPLE — National federation may register any number of additional players and accompanying Persons but only upon confirmation by the Organizing Committee. The national Federation shall be responsible for the costs of their additional players and accompanying persons. FIDE affiliated organizations have the right to register players as well. FIDE endorsed chess academies have the right to register players through their respective National federations.

3.4 If a participating Federation does not send an invited player in any age category, they cannot substitute he/she with other age category player.

3.5 A player registered in a lower category of age due to a mistake in specifying his/her birthday will have his/her registration suspended until rectification.

4. REGISTRATION

4.1 The deadline for the registration is APRIL 15^th 2026. 

4.2 The Registration fee is 120 EUROS for each player (invited, personal or additional) and each accompanying official/person. The registration fee is compulsory (not refundable) and represents a confirmation of participation. The Registration fee includes transportation from and to Batumi International airport, accreditation, identification, badges and organization costs.

4.3 The Payment deadline is APRIL 23^th 2026. 

4.4 In order to ensure proper tournament standards, FIDE member federations must fully complete THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION FORM, (click to download) accommodation & travel form (see on the website) and send it back to the contact person before the registration deadline APRIL 15^th 2026. Incomplete registrations will not be accepted. Individual applications will not be accepted also.

4.5 After the registration deadline, organizers reserve the right to refuse or decline late registrations or if there is availability a penalty of 100 EUROS for each late registration will be charged to participants.

4.6 After the registration deadline no invited players will be accepted and their application       will be treated as if they were an additional player.

5. FIDE FEE

• In accordance with FIDE regulations, an entry FIDE fee of 70 Euros for each invited (official) player and 140 Euros for each Additional player should be paid before the start of the tournament.
• The national Federations must transfer the above-mentioned amount directly to the FIDE bank account.

6. VISA INFORMATION

• More than 100 countries citizens do not need Georgian visas, Including the USA, EU, former Soviet Union countries, Israel, Turkey, Republic of South Africa, UAE and many others. They will get free of charge stamps in Batumi, Kutaisi or Tbilisi airports.
• Do I Need a Visa?

 https://geoconsul.gov.ge/en/entering—georgia—visa          

• The electronic visa (including the payment for visa) could be obtained via website https://www.evisa.gov.ge/
• Instructions for E-Visa — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYJz8Xj4PnE
• The cost of visa is about 20 USD in Georgian Lari.
• Those who need visas must submit their data the latest on 15 of April 2026.

7. TRANSPORTATION FROM AIRPORTS TO THE HOTEL

7.1 The organizer will provide transport services of all participants on JUNE 15^th as well as the departure transfer on JUNE 28^th. If any delegation arrives one or two days before the competition or leaves later the same service will be provided.

7.2 Travel from Batumi airport (2 ways) to hotels is free of charge.

7.3 Travel price from Kutaisi airport (2 ways) to hotels (120 km) is for each person 70 Euros

7.4 Travel price from Trabzon (Turkey) airport (2 ways) to hotels (160 km) is for each person  100 Euros

7.5 Travel price from Rize-Artvin (Turkey) airport (2 ways) to hotels (80 km) is for each person 70 Euros

7.6 Travel from Tbilisi airport (2 ways) to hotels (360 km) – by agreement.

7.7 Players who make private transport arrangements and clearly indicate this in the registration form will be fully responsible for their trip.

For air ticket instructions visit https://wcc2026.fide.com/

8. HOTEL, MEAL & VENUE

8.1 For Security and organizational reasons and in accordance with FIDE tournament               regulations all national delegations are obliged to use the official hotel designated by the Organizing Committee. Bookings must be done only through the organizer of the WORLD CUP.

8.2 The reservation will be done on the “First Come, First Served” basis.

8.3 Hotel reservation deadline is April 15^th 2026.

8.4 Free accommodation and full board will be provided to the invited players and head of delegations from JUNE 15 (dinner) to JUNE 28 (breakfast), 2026 sharing a double room.  

8.5 Extra players and accompanying people shall pay for their accommodation. All players and guests are invited to stay in 5 ***** Hotel Complex Euphoria Batumi & Grand Bellagio Convention with next prices: 

Full Board (Breakfast, lunch and dinner) for per person per day:

8.6 Payment deadline
Triple — 92 Euros
Double — 98 Euros
Single — 109 Euros
for hotels is APRIL 23^th, 2026.

8.7 To ensure guests comfort as well as conserving the time and energy, the players will have their playing venue within their hotel complex.

8.8 Hotel check-in time is before 15:00 (local time), check-out time is by 12:00 (local time). Early check-in/check-out time must be required beforehand.

8.9 The hotel prices will be the same on the two days before and after the event.

9. Payments

9.1 After the Registration, accommodation & travel form has been filled in, sent to the organizer and approved by the organizer, the national federations will receive invoices for bank payments. The invoices will contain all the necessary details for the bank payment.

9.2 The payment deadline for registrations and accommodations is APRIL 23^th, 2026

9.3 A sender must pay all bank commissions. When payments are confirmed, the Organizing Committee will send to the participating Federation the confirmation of the hotel reservations.

10. Technical Regulations

10.1  The FIDE Anti-Cheating rules and guidelines are valid for all Championships.

10.2  Upon arrival or any time during the event, captains or players maybe required to            present passports for verification of players age eligibility.

10.3  The tournament will be played using the Swiss System with 11 rounds. The national   rankings will not be taken into account for pairings. Time control is 90 minutes for each   player plus 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Default time is 30 minutes.

10.4  Electronic Devices, Wrist Watches & Pens: Mobile phones, electronic devices, and any  other radio frequency source (except for medical purposes upon authorization provided  by the CA), wristwatches (all types of wristwatches), and personal pens are prohibited inside the tournament hall.

10.5  All delegations should abide by specific security regulations. Each National Federation   shall be responsible for their delegations including damages to property.

10.6  The final ranking order of the players is determined by the number of points scored. In       case of tie, the next tie break criteria are established:

a) The games between the tied players (only if all tied have played each other) b) Buchholz cut 1

3. Buchholz
4. Sonneborn – Berger
5. The greater number of wins
6. Average Rating of opponents ARO

11. APPEALS PROCEDURE

A protest against the decisions of the Chief Arbiter must be submitted in written form to the Chairmen of the appeals Committee within one hour after the competition of the respective game. The protest must be accompanied with the sum of 200 Euros, as a deposit. If the appeal is granted, the sum shall be returned immediately. If the appeal is refused, the deposit is forfeited to FIDE. The appeal has to be lodged by the player. The decisions of the AC are final.

12. PRIZES

The first three winners of each age category/any gender will get free FB (in twin share rooms with bath and/or shower) for the WORLD CADETS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026 from 10 to 17 of NOVEMBER.

Each participant will receive an appropriate certificate.

13. TEMPERATURE in JUNE

June is one of the most comfortable times of the year in Batumi (Black Sea-Side). The average temperature is between 27°C (80°F) and 33°C (90°F). 

14. CONTACT INFORMATION

Email – wcc@fide.com

Website –  https://wcc2026.fide.com/

15. FIDE WORLD CADETS CHAMPIONHIPS PARTICIPANTS

Totally 48 players will participate in the World Cadets Championships, 8 players in each category. All 48 players are personal right players with free FB.

1. 3 spots — the three winners of the World Cup, that was organized the same year.
2. 4 spots – one nomination from each continent. The nominations shall be sent by the continental President’s offices.
3. 1 spot – nomination from the organizing federation.

 16. FIDE WORLD CADETS CHAMPIONHIPS SYSTEM

• The World Cadets Championships will be played with two stages.
• The time control is 90 minutes for each player plus 30 seconds per move starting from move one. The default time is 30 minutes.
• Stage 1 will be a round Robin tournament
• The organizer will create two groups of 4 players: Group A and Group B. The average Elo rating of the both groups must be as equal as possible. Unrated players will be allocated to the groups in alphabetical order.
• The ranking is determined by the number of points. The tie-breaks are:

1. Direct Encounter
2. Sonneborn – Berger
3. Sonneborn – Berger – 1
4. The number of victories

• In Stage 2, players who finish in the same position in each group will play against each other.
• The match will be best-of-2 games. In the matches between players who finish in the odd-numbered positions in their group, the player from Group A will be white in Game 1, and the player from Group B will be white in Game 2. In the matches between players who finish in the even-numbered positions in their group, the player from Group B will be white in Game 1, and the player from Group A will be white in Game 2.
• If the match is drawn, a best-of-2 rapid match will be played. The time control will be 15 minutes plus 2 seconds per move. The default time will be when the absent player’s time expires. The colors in each game will continue to alternate from the match in Article 4.4.1. Appendix A4 of the Laws of Chess will apply.
• In case of another drawn match, sudden death blitz will be played. The time control will be 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move. The default time will be when the absent player’s time expires. The first player to win a game will win the match. There will be a drawing of lots to determine which player has white in the first game, and colors will alternate if subsequent games are needed. Appendix B2 of the Laws of Chess will apply.

• The winner of the match between the two group winners will be ranked first. The loser of the match between the group winners will be ranked second. The winner of the match between the group runners-up will be ranked third.

Annex 1 – FIDE Regulations

Relevant FIDE Regulations can be found here:

FIDE Laws of Chess: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/E012023

General Regulations for FIDE Competitions: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/D0401202312

Captains and Heads of Delegation: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/CaptainsHeadsDelegation

Appeals Committee Procedural Rules: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/AppealsCommitteeProceduralRules

Anti-Cheating Protection Measures: https://handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/ACCProtectionMeasures.pdf

Arbiter Stipend Regulations: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/ArbiterStipendRegulations2024

Tie-Break Regulations https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/TieBreakRegulations2023