The inaugural edition of the FIDE World Schools Team Championship will take place in Aktau, Kazakhstan from August 3-8, 2023. With just a little more than a month left, national federations are forming their teams and evaluating the results of the first stage of this global event, the national scholastic championships. One of the perks of being quick to register is that the first 50 National Federations can nominate one of their teams for an “invited team” status and receive free accommodation and travel grants. But first and foremost, it is vital to form a formidable lineup!

Many countries included the FIDE flagship event in the existing system of their national school competitions. For example, in Austria, the scholastic championship is held in four categories – Oberstufe, Unterstufe, Volksschule, and Mädchen, and the team winner of Oberstufe (Under 18) is eager to take part in the World Championship. Germany, Bulgaria, Kenya, and other federations chose this path, too. Many of them, like Belgium or Barbados, already held their national championships earlier in the year. In Greece, 116 teams and 1300+ children participated in the national championships! Now, the winners got a fantastic opportunity to defend their colors at the international level.

Belgian school championship

On the other side of the Atlantic, 19 teams from all over Canada participated in a dedicated hybrid qualifier for the Finals. In another part of the world, Bhutan also organized a special National Team Championship at the beginning of June to find out who’s going to Kazakhstan. The new FIDE event inspired some federations, like Cyprus or Pakistan, to hold their first-ever national school team chess championships.

1st Pakistan School Chess Championship

Some federations, like Ecuador or England, are still to hold their national qualifiers at the end of June and July.

It is inspiring to see the quick and enthusiastic response from the chess federations all over the Globe, showcasing how massive the scholastic chess movement is and promising a fantastic World Championship in August.

Zimbabwe School Chess Championship, district level