At the first-ever FIDE World University Team Chess Championship-2026, held in Almaty at the KazNU campus, all quarterfinal pairs have been determined. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

In the first round of the playoffs on Friday, the following teams will compete:

  • 01Ural State Mining University (Russia) – Gunadarma University (Indonesia)
  • 02Harvard University (USA) – Kazakh National University of Sports (Kazakhstan)
  • 03Saint Louis University (USA) – National Technical University of Athens (Greece)
  • 04University of Chile – University of Texas (USA)

Before the sixth round of the group stage, there was one vacant spot in the playoffs. It was contested remotely by the hosts, the KazNU team, and the Gunadarma University team from Indonesia. The guests defeated Oxford in their final match, while the Kazakhs lost to their compatriots from the capital's University of Sports.

World University Team Chess Championship 2026

Results of the group stage:

  • 01Peking University (China) – University of Melbourne (Australia) 1.5:2.5, 2:2
  • 02Ural State Mining University (Russia) – Harvard University (USA) 3:1, 3:1
  • 01USMU – 6, 2. Harvard – 3.5, 3. Melbourne – 2, 4. Peking – 0.5
  • 01University of Pretoria (South Africa) – Webster University (USA) 2:2, 1.5:2.5
  • 02University of Chile – Saint Louis University (USA) 0.5:3.5, 0.5:3.5
  • 01Saint Louis – 6, 2. Chile – 2.5 (10.5), 4. Webster – 2.5 (9), 4. Pretoria – 1
  • 01National Technical University of Athens (Greece) – University of Cambridge (UK) 3:1, 2.5:1.5
  • 02Almaty Management University (Kazakhstan) – University of Texas (USA) 1:3, 1:3
  • 01Texas – 6, 2. Athens – 4, 3. AlmaU – 1.5, 4. Cambridge – 0.5
  • 01Gunadarma University (Indonesia) – University of Oxford (UK) 4:0, 3.5:0.5
  • 02Al-Farabi Kazakh National University – Kazakh National University of Sports 0.5:3.5, 1:3
  • 01KNUS – 5.5, 2. Gunadarma – 3.5, 3. KazNU – 3, 4. Oxford – 0

The round-robin matches determined the top two teams from each group of four. Next are the playoffs: quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place match, and final, each consisting of two rounds.

The games are played on four boards. Each team must have at least one man and at least one woman. Time control is 45 minutes plus 30 seconds per move starting from the first move.

The tournament is organized by FIDE together with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, and the Akimat of Almaty. General partners are the Freedom group of companies and the Shapagat corporate fund.

The total prize fund is €50,000. The champions will receive €25,000, the vice-champions €15,000, and the third-place team will share €10,000.