At the first-ever FIDE World University Team Chess Championship-2026, held in Almaty, the first playoff participants have become known. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

After the second day of competition, four teams secured their spots in the quarterfinals. The Ural State Mining University team has not lost a single point, winning all four matches with a score of 4:0. In the latest round, grandmasters Arseniy Nesterov, Rudik Makaryan, Sergey Lobanov, and International Master Leya Garifullina defeated the Australians.

Along with the Russians, the Americans advanced to the playoffs from Group A. Harvard's team, having beaten the Chinese, trails the Yekaterinburg team by just half a point. In the final round of the group stage, these teams will compete for first place in the quartet.

Harvard's lineup is less formidable – International Master Akira Nakada, Women's International Master Ellen Wong, and "untitled" Derek Jin and Davin Yin.

In Group B, students from St. Louis, USA, secured their playoff spot ahead of schedule. The international team with grandmasters Subramaniam Bharat (India), Viktor Gazik (Slovakia), Nikoloz Kacharava (Georgia), and Women's Grandmaster Talia Cervantes-Landeiro (USA) crushed the South Africans on the second day.

The third US team to advance from the group was Dallas. The University of Texas team also features students from around the world – grandmasters Aditya Samant, Chatterjee Kustav (both from India), Yair Parkhov (Israel), and Women's Grandmaster Mayli-Jade Welle (Canada).

World University Team Chess Championship-2026

♟️ Harvard University (USA) – Peking University (China) 3:1, 3:1

♟️ University of Melbourne (Australia) – Ural State Mining University (Russia) 0:4, 0:4

  • 01USMU – 4, 2. Harvard – 3.5, 3. Melbourne – 0.5, 4. Peking – 0

♟️ Saint Louis University (USA) – University of Pretoria (South Africa) 4:0, 4:0

♟️ Webster University (USA) – University of Chile 2:2, 2:2

  • 01St. Louis – 4, 2. Chile – 2.5, 3. Webster – 1, 4. Pretoria – 0.5

♟️ University of Texas (USA) – National Technical University of Athens (Greece) 3:1, 2.5:1.5

♟️ University of Cambridge (UK) – Almaty Management University (Kazakhstan) 1.5:2.5, 2:2

  • 01Texas – 4, 2. Athens – 2, 3. AlmaU – 1.5, 4. Cambridge – 0.5

♟️ Al-Farabi Kazakh National University – Gunadarma University (Indonesia) 0:4, 2.5:1.5

♟️ University of Oxford (UK) – Kazakh National University of Sports 0.5:3.5, 0:4

  • 01KNUS – 3.5, 2. KazNU – 3, 3. Gunadarma – 1.5, 4. Oxford – 0

The Kazakh National University of Sports team is one step away from a quarterfinal spot. In the fourth round, the Astana team won all games against Oxford. Victories were achieved by International Masters Satbek Akhmedinov, Arystan Isanzhulov, Meruert Kamalidenova, and Alisher Mazhkenov, who has not yet achieved such a title.

Second in Group D are the hosts of the championship. In the fourth round, the KazNU team took revenge on the Indonesians for a crushing defeat in the third. Victories were won by Sultan Amanzhol and Asel Lesbekova from neighboring Kyrgyzstan.

The AlmaU team has not lost its chances of reaching the quarterfinals, trailing the Greeks by only 0.5 points after a draw with Cambridge. In the second half of the match with the British, grandmaster Zhangir Bizhigitov and Dias Alimbetov secured wins.

Tomorrow, after rounds 5 and 6, the full composition of the quarterfinals will be determined.

The round-robin matches will determine the top two teams from each quartet. Then the playoffs – quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place match, and final.

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 Almaty city akimat. General partners are the Freedom group of companies and the Shapagat corporate fund.

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