FIDE WORLD YOUTH U14, U16 & U18 championships Montesilvano, Italy 14-27 JUNE 2026
OFFICIAL INVITATION

1. INVITATION

The organizers, International Chess Federation FIDE and Italian Chess Federation together with UniChess are inviting all national chess federations of FIDE to participate in the World Youth Chess Championships 2026. The dates are 14 June (arrivals) to 27 June 2026 (departures).

2. PARTICIPATION

2.1 Every National Federation can register one official player in each category (under 14, 16, 18 years old, open and girls). This total of six (6) Official Players plus one Accompanying Official, hereafter referred to as Head of Delegation, (captain/trainer with a valid FIDE ID https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/D0406) belonging to the national federation are invited by the Organizers. A player must not have reached his/her 14th, 16th, or 18th birthday, respectively, before 1st January 2026.
2.2. The following have a personal right and are entitled to participate provided they fulfil the condition of Rule 3 above:- The top 3 players of the previous edition.- The champions (gold medalists) of the previous edition may elect to play in the same age-category or a higher age-category – for example, the U14 champion may play in the U14 Championship if he is still eligible by age or to play in the U16 or U18 Championship.
— The Continental Youth Champions (gold medalists) of the year preceding this edition. Such players shall also be classified as Official Players and have to be registered by the national federation.
2.3. Players, other than Official Players, shall be classified as Additional Players. All other persons, other than players or the Accompanying Officials, shall be classified as Accompanying Persons. Each National Federation shall be responsible for all the costs of their Additional Players and Accompanying Persons.
2.4. In order to provide appropriate tournament conditions, the Federations must carefully complete the official online registration form and submit it to the Organizers by Tuesday, 7 April 2026. After this deadline, the official players cannot be registered as invited players. Further participants may not be accepted, or an additional fee of 80 € (euros) may be requested according to the FIDE regulations.

3. FIDE ENTRY FEES

In accordance with FIDE regulations, a FIDE entry fee of 70 € for the first player in each category from each federation should be paid before the start of the tournament. For each additional player from each Federation, a fee of 140 € should be paid before the start of the tournament. The National Federations must send this amount directly to the FIDE bank account or FIDE will charge the respective National Federation account. The Organizing Committee is not responsible for the FIDE entry fee and should not receive such sums from the National Federations.

4. REGISTRATION AND TRAVEL

4.1. Each player (official or additional) and each accompanying person/official must pay to the Organizers the amount of 110 € at the moment of their registration by Tuesday, 7 April 2026. This registration fee is compulsory and represents a confirmation of participation otherwise registration will be invalid and will not be accepted.
4.2. Players, accompanying officials, and additional persons upon paying the registration fee will receive:
— Registration
— Accreditation with personalized badge (players and Heads of delegation)
— Welcome bag (players and Heads of delegation)
— Gadget (players, Heads of delegations, accompanying people)
— Admission to the opening and closing ceremonies
— Water during games (players)
— Free water in the room
Transfers for players, accompanying officials, and additional persons on the official arrival and departure days from Rome Fiumicino Airport to the hotels are 120 €/person two ways.
Transfers for players, accompanying officials, and additional persons on the official arrival and departure days from Pescara International Airport to the hotels are 10 €/person two ways.
Transfers for players, accompanying officials, and additional persons on the official arrival and departure days from Pescara Train Station to the hotels are 10 €/person two ways.
The airport pick-up and drop-off can only be booked on the official arrival and departure day.
4.3. The deadline for registration is 7 April 2026. After this date, organizers reserve the right to refuse or decline late registrations or, if there is availability, a penalty of 80 € for each late registration will be charged to participants.
4.3.1 The deadline is valid in terms of registration, hotel booking, and transportation requests (both ways). If a National Federation fails to book and communicate the travel details of its delegation, the Organizing Committee will automatically be considered relieved of all responsibility.
4.3.2 All kinds of transportation, and for both ways (from Pescara airport/train station, or from Rome Fiumicino Airport) must be booked by the National Federation by 7 April 2026.
4.4. Every registration must include the Federation, FIDE ID, surname, first name, accommodation type, dates of arrival/departure, and the passport number of every player and every accompanying person who requires an invitation. Incomplete registrations will not be accepted.
4.5. All the travel expenses must be paid by the participants or their Federation, in both cases the Organizing Committee is not responsible for such expenses.
4.6 It is the responsibility of all National Federations to strictly adhere to the deadlines to ensure proper event organization and efficient management of participation.

5. FIDE TECHNICAL OFFICIALS

5.1. The Chief Arbiter will be announced in due time.
5.2. FIDE Technical Delegate will be announced in due time.

6. OTHER REGULATIONS

6.1. According to FIDE Rules
6.2. 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.

7.VISAS

7.1. Those who need visas must submit their data by 7 April 2026.
7.2 To proceed with the visa application, each federation must:
a. Fill out the registration form provided by the organizing committee
b. Email the organizing committee sending PDF scans of the participants’ passports, which must be valid for more than six months
c. Proceed with the payment of the registration fee as it will be communicated by the organizing committee
d. at the same time as registering for the tournament, proceed with the reservation and payment of the hotel stay (if there are fees)
7.3 The Organizers will provide VISA assistance according to National laws only after all the pre-payments are made.
7.4 The Organizers are not responsible in case the Italian Consular authorities decline to issue the VISA due to public order and/or failing to meet all the requirements to obtain an Italian VISA.

8.PAYMENTS

8.1. Entries must be submitted through the registration forms by Tuesday 7 April, 2026
8.2. When registering (by 7 April 2026), the registration fee of 110 €, the transportation fee (from Pescara airport/train station, or Rome Fiumicino airport), and a minimum of 50% prepayment of the cost for board and lodging shall be paid through the organizer bank account given.

8.2.1 Only National Federations are entitled to issue payments to the Organizing Committee. Private payments will not be accepted and/or considered valid.
8.3. Entry Fees for late registration, withdrawal, or no-show shall be charged as follows as per FIDE Regulations .
8.3.1. Late registration after the registration deadline – the Registration fee (see Article 3.9) will double. The organizer is not required to accept registrations made after the deadline. After the late registration no invited/personal right players shall be accepted with FB accommodation. The mentioned participants will be considered as additional players.
8.3.2. Withdrawals are regulated according to the FIDE handbook.
8.3.3. If any FIDE federation is expected to miss the registration deadline for reasons/circumstances beyond their control, they shall approach EVE before the registration deadline. EVE shall investigate the case, and attempt to work with the organizer to find a solution.
8.4. Each National Federation will be invoiced by the organizers. Upon payments confirmed, the Organizers will send to the Federations the confirmation of the hotel bookings. As soon as the FIDE officials are appointed and the registrations are confirmed, registered players will then appear on the official website and ChessResults, where players’ statuses may be checked on a daily basis.
8.5. All balance payments must be finalized by Friday 8 May 2026. Players will not be paired until all payments and fees are transferred to the Organizers.
8.5.1 National federations unable to fulfill payment obligations through bank transfer must request authorization from both the Organizing Committee and the FIDE Events Commission before the deadline (7 April 2026). Such requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the circumstances and reasons provided by the concerned federation. Approval for alternative payment methods will be granted only under exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Organizing Committee and the FIDE Events Commission. Federations must provide compelling reasons for their inability to make payments via bank transfer, along with a feasible alternative proposal for fulfilling their financial obligations.
8.5.2 National Federations are responsible for paying the Organizing Committee the fees as communicated. Any bank charges or for transferring the amounts will be charged to the National Federations prior to the event or directly with the Head of Delegation on site.

9.VENUE, OFFICIAL HOTELS BOARD & LODGING

The venue of the event is Congress Center Pala Dean Martin, Via Aldo Moro, Montesilvano (PE) – Italy.
9.1 The official hotel of the event and rates are, per person with full board, 3 meals/ day with open buffet and water in rooms (each person will be provided free water either bottled or through refillable water stations):

(a) free shuttles Hotel-venue-hotel Prices are per person per day. The playing venue is in the same area of most of the hotels.

9.1.1. In addition to the full board dining package, the offer also includes reserved beach access with a sun umbrella, dedicated beach services, and a tailored entertainment programme—designed to enhance the overall experience for players, accompanying persons, and families, and to make the stay even more enjoyable, comfortable, and memorable.
9.2. Official players, in accordance with Article 2.2 of the Regulations, are entitled to free full-board accommodation from 14 June (arrival day, lunch included) to 27 June (departure day, breakfast included).
Room keys will be made available from 2:00 p.m. The Organizing Committee, in cooperation with the hotel management, shall take all reasonable measures to ensure minimal waiting times starting from the official check-in time.
9.2.1 As per FIDE regulations all invited players are entitled to free lodging in a shared double room. Upgrades (to a single room) won’t be possible due to the age of participants. Special requests for downgrades (from double room to triple/family room) must be required beforehand.
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.
9.3. If a participating Federation does not send an invited player in any age category, they cannot substitute him/her with another age-category player.
9.4. As per FIDE regulations, all players and accompanying persons must be accredited and stay at the official hotels of the event. Bookings and accreditation are possible only through the procedure described in articles 8.1 to 8.4 above.
9.5. Requests will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
9.6. If needed, the final distribution of hotel rooms will be decided by the Organizing Committee.
9.7. The above-mentioned prices are also understood to be valid on the two days before and after the event to ensure the same conditions for participants and their accompanying people.
9.7.1 Transportation at the mentioned price will only be provided on the official arrival and departure days. Special requests (different dates) will be considered as private transfers on demand with different rates.

10. TECHNICAL REGULATIONS

10.1. The tournament will be played using the Swiss System with 11 rounds. The national rankings will not be taken into account for pairings. The rate of play will be in accordance with the FIDE rules: each player has 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the remainder of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move from the first move. The default time is 15 minutes.
10.2. Tie break criteria: a) direct encounter according to C.07 August 2024, b) Buchholz cut 1, c) Buchholz, d) Sonneborg, e) the greater number of wins, f) Average Rating of Opponents ARO
10.3. Direct Titles are awarded according to FIDE regulations in force
10.4. FIDE over-the-board title norms are also possible for the other players based on their performance and their opponent’s titles/ratings as per FIDE Handbook requirements.
10.5. FIDE Anti Cheating Measures and guidelines are in effect during the championship.

11. APPEALS

11.1. Protests against decisions of the Chief Arbiter or his assistants must be submitted in written form to the Chairman of the appeals committee within 60 minutes after the completion of the respective game. The protest must be accompanied by the sum of 200 € as a deposit from the signatory. The deposit must be handed to the Chairman of the appeals committee. If the appeal is granted, the sum shall be returned immediately. If the appeal is refused, the deposit may be forfeited to FIDE.
11.2. The Appeals Committee will be announced in due time.

12. SAFETY

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

13. PRESS RELEASES

Press releases, photos, highlight videos, a selection of games in pgn format, and general information will be provided on a daily basis through the Telegram Channel and official website.

14.TOURNAMENT CALENDAR

15.PRIZES

15.1. The three best players in each tournament will receive a trophy and a medal.
15.2. Prize fund 20.000 Euros in goods (Chess, technology, and educational gifts to the top 3 ranked of each category)
15.3. All players will receive a diploma
15.4 The three best Federations, by ranking of medals collected in all categories, will receive a trophy. For the first place the number of gold medals will be taken under consideration, if there is a tie, then the number of silver medals, if there is still a tie, then the number of bronze If finally, this is still equal, the total points of medalists will be taken for a tiebreak.
— For first place, the number of gold medals will be taken into consideration,
— If there is a tie, then the number of silver medals will be taken into consideration If there is still a tie, then the number of bronze medals will be taken into consideration.
— If there is still a tie, then the total points of medalists will be taken for a tiebreak
Finally, if this is still equal, then the average performance rating of the medalists from each country will be taken into consideration.

16.PARALLEL ACTIVITIES

16.1. According to FIDE Guidelines there will be a side program of FA, Fide Trainers’, and IO seminars which will be announced in due time.
16.2. On the rest day a visit to the Republic of San Marino and/ or Rome will be organized.
16.3. A blitz tournament for all participants, coaches, heads of delegation, and accompanying people will be organized with a prize fund of 2,000 Euros.
16.4. As a side activity a football match will be organized providing bibs to all people participating.

17. CONTACT INFORMATION
Official website: http://worldyouth2026.fide.com Email: worldyouth@fide.com Facebook: facebook.com/ worldyouth2026 Instagram: instagram.com/ worldyouth2026 Tournament Director: GM IO FST Roberto Mogranzini & Miss Nadia Ottavi Mobile/WhatsApp: +390756219145