The International Chess Federation FIDE and Spanish Chess Federation jointly invite all FIDE National Federations to participate in the World Under-7 to Under-17 Chess Championships 2026. The event will take place from 13 October (arrival day) to 21 October 2026 (departure day).

Each National Federation may register one invited player in each category: Under 7, Under 9, Under 11, Under 13, Under 15, and Under 17, in both the Open and Girls sections. The Organizers invite these twelve Players and one Head of Delegation, from each National Federation with FIDE ID.

A player must not have reached his/her 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 15th or 17th birthday, respectively, before 1st January 2026.

Players, other than Invited Players, shall be classified as Additional Players. All other persons, other than players or the Head of Delegations, shall be classified as Accompanying Persons. Each National Federation shall be responsible for all the costs of their Additional Players and Accompanying Persons.

In order to provide appropriate tournament conditions, the Federations must carefully complete the official online registration form and submit it to the Organizers by Monday, 14 September 2026.

Late registration after the registration deadline: the registration fee will double. The organiser 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.

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 to the organizer. The FIDE fees will be included in the invoice from Spanish Chess Federation to National Federations.

Each invited or additional player and each Head of Delegation or accompanying person must pay the Organizers a registration fee of 140 Euros by Monday, 14 September 2026. Payment confirms participation; registrations without payment will be considered invalid and will not be accepted.

Players, Head of Delegations, and additional persons upon paying the registration fee will receive: registration, accreditation with personalized badge, welcome bag, admission to the opening and closing ceremonies, and water during games for players.

Transfers for players, Head of Delegations and additional persons on the official arrival and departure days from Malaga International Airport (AGP) to the hotels are 40 €/person two ways.

Transfers for players, Head of Delegations, and additional persons on the official arrival and departure days from Almeria International Airport (LEI) are included in the registration fee.

The airport pick-up and drop-off can only be booked on the official or authorized arrival and departure day.

The deadline for registration is 14 September 2026. After this date, the Organizers reserve the right to refuse late registrations or, subject to availability, charge participants a penalty of €80 for each late registration.

The Chief Arbiter will be announced in due time.

The FIDE Technical Delegate will be announced in due time.

According to FIDE Rules.

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 and personal pens are prohibited inside the tournament hall.

Those who need visas must submit their data by 14 September 2026.

To proceed with the visa application, each federation must fill out the registration form provided by the organizing committee, email PDF scans of the participants’ passports, proceed with the payment of the registration fee, and reserve and pay the hotel stay if applicable.

The Organizers will provide VISA assistance according to National laws only after all the pre-payments are made.

The Organizers are not responsible in case the Spanish Consular authorities decline to issue the VISA due to public order and/or failing to meet all the requirements to obtain a Spanish VISA.

Entries must be submitted through the registration forms by Monday 14 September, 2026.

When registering by 14 September 2026, the FIDE fee, the registration fee of 140 Euro, the applicable transportation fee from Malaga Airport €40, and a minimum prepayment of 50% of the board and lodging costs must be paid into the Organizers’ designated bank account.

Account beneficiary holder: FEDERACION ESPAÑOLA DE AJEDREZ (Spanish Chess Federation). Account holder address: Calle Coslada, 10, 28028 MADRID. VAT Number: EQ2878002A. IBAN: ES8200750349410606178264. Bank: BANCO SANTANDER, Paseo de Recoletos, 20, 28001 MADRID. BIC/SWIFT: BSCHESMM.

Only National Federations are entitled to issue payments to the Organizing Committee. Private payments will not be accepted and/or considered valid.

All balance payments must be finalized by Thursday, 1 October 2026. Players will not be paired until all payments and fees are transferred to the Organizers.

The venue of the event is Evenia Zoraida Garden. Mariano Hernandez St. 133, 04740 Roquetas de Mar, Spain.

The event has three official hotels: Evenia Zoraida Garden (venue), Hotel Mediterraneo Bay Hotel Resort and Hotel Best Roquetas, all of them with the same category, prices, services, and conditions. Rates are per person with full board, 3 meals per day with open buffet and water in rooms. Other drinks will be charged by the hotel.

Invited players and the Head of Delegation are entitled to free full-board accommodation from 13 October, arrival day with lunch included, to 21 October, departure day with breakfast included.

Room keys will be made available from 2:00 p.m. The Organizing Committee, in cooperation with the management of the official hotels, shall take all reasonable measures to ensure minimal waiting times starting from the official check-in time.

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 45 minutes for the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move from the first move. The default time is 15 minutes.

Tie break criteria: direct encounter according to C.07 August 2024, Buchholz cut 1, Buchholz, Sonneborg, greater number of wins, and Average Rating of Opponents ARO.

FIDE Anti Cheating Measures and guidelines are in effect during the championship.

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. If the appeal is granted, the sum shall be returned immediately. If the appeal is refused, the deposit may be forfeited to FIDE.

The Appeals Committee will be announced in due time.

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

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

The tournament calendar is published in the Programme section of the website.

The three best players in each tournament will receive a trophy and a medal. Chess, technology, and educational gifts will be awarded to the top 5 ranked players of each category. All players will receive a diploma.

The three best Federations will receive trophies based on the medals won across all categories. Rankings will be determined first by the number of gold medals, then silver medals, bronze medals, and finally the total points scored by medalists.

Email: worldjunioru17@fide.com

URL: https://worldjunioru17_2026.fide.com