News & Updates

University of Melbourne chess team to represent Australia and the wider Oceania at the inaugural FIDE World University Team Chess Championship

Kazakhstan will host the first FIDE World University Team Chess Championship from 3 to 10 August 2026, bringing together 16 university teams from around the world at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.

On behalf of the local chess community, Chess Victoria proudly congratulates the University of Melbourne team on representing Victoria, Australia, and Oceania at the inaugural FIDE World University Chess Championships. CV wishes the team every success and looks forward to seeing them showcase Victorian chess talent on this exciting stage.

The final stage of the FIDE World University Team Chess Championship 2026 will take place in Almaty this August, following the online qualification stages held in May.

The competition is the first FIDE World Team Championship for Universities. Sixteen teams will take part, with eight qualifying through the online competition and eight receiving wildcard invitations from FIDE and the organisers - including the University of Melbourne chess team which was knocked out by a fellow finalist the Universidad de Chile in the Online qualifiers. The competition is taking place from 4 to 9 August and the University of Melbourne will be represented by the following players:

Team Captain: Oliver Li Board 1: FM Luis Chan Board 2: FM Jackie Li Board 3: Marco Le Lun Zheng Board 4: WFM Chloe Fan Reserve: Ryan Zheng

The road to Almaty

The field was decided across the first two stages. Two online Swiss qualifiers were held on Lichess in early May and divided by region, with teams from the Americas and Africa competing on 2 May and those from Europe and Asia (incl. Oceania) on 9 May. The 32 teams that advanced then met in an online knockout on 16 and 17 May.

Competition format

The final stage opens with a group phase, with the 16 teams divided into four pools of four and playing a double round robin. Teams meet the same opponents twice on each day of the group stage.

The top two teams from each pool advance to the playoffs, which progress through the quarterfinals and semifinals to the medal matches. Every match is played across four boards, and each lineup must include at least one male and at least one female player.

The standard games will be played at a time control of 45 minutes plus a 30-second increment from move one. Each playoff duel consists of two matches. If the duel is level after both matches, the teams will play a four-board blitz match at three minutes plus a two-second increment. If the blitz match is also drawn, the winner will be decided by sudden death.

Players must have been born between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2008 and be currently enrolled at the institution they represent. The total prize fund is €50,000, with €25,000 awarded to the champions, €15,000 to the runners-up and €10,000 to the third-placed team.

A historic achievement for the universities

The first world championship at this level means a lot to all of the institutions taking part. University of Melbourne Chess Club has announced the following:

"We are incredibly excited to take part in the very first University Chess Championships! As a club passionate about growing chess on campus and across Melbourne, it's an honour to be involved in this historic event. We can't wait to compete, connect with fellow students, and help make the inaugural championship a memorable success."

Team manager Ryan Zheng has also noted that "the road to qualification was tough, with strong teams competing for limited spots, so we are very proud to be going to Kazakhstan. What excites us most is the innovative format, which creates a different kind of team strategy and keeps every game meaningful. It's a fantastic way to showcase university chess."

The championship is organised by FIDE together with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, the Akimat of Almaty and Freedom Holding Corp.

Full regulations, pairings and results are available at https://worlduniversities2026.fide.com/ , where games from all three stages are also broadcast.