Mongolia signals strong support for chess as Asian Championship takes place in Ulan Bator
The Prime Minister of Mongolia, Uchral Nyam-Osor, met with FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and ISCF President Timur Turlov, as the country hosts the Asian Chess Championship for the first time. The 21st Asian Continental Chess Championship is taking place from 28 May to 7 June in Mongolia’s capital Ulan Bator. More than 240 players from around 30 countries are taking part in a 9-round Swiss-system classical tournament. The tournament is a major continental championship and qualification event, with the top five players in the Open and the winner of the Women’s Championship directly qualifying for the 2027 FIDE World Cup. This is the first time that Mongolia is hosting a top-tier Asian chess tournament, and the event has also received wide backing from the Mongolian government and Prime Minister Uchral Nyam-Osor, who today held meetings with the delegation of the International Chess Federation, led by President Arkady Dvorkovich. Alongside the tournament, Mongolia is also hosting the Chess in Education Conference, which covers the preparation and implementation of Chess in Schools programmes, looks at international and Mongolian experiences and best practices, and identifies future policy directions and strategic priorities for integrating chess into the general education system. The value of Mongolia in chess development Prime Minister of Mongolia Uchral Nyam-Osor emphasized that Mongolia’s hosting of the Asian Chess Championship for the first time represents an important contribution to the development of international mind sports. He also expressed Mongolia’s intention to expand cooperation in regularly organising international mind sports competitions and events, as well as supporting young chess players. Arkady Dvorkovich, President of the International Chess Federation, praised Mongolia’s strong commitment to developing chess and noted that the goal of introducing the sport into the general education school curriculum is of great importance for the development of children and young people. “We see that Mongolia is treating chess not merely as a sport but also as part of its educational strategy. FIDE stands ready to provide support. This meeting as well as the Chess in Education Conference, alongside the 21st Asian Continental Chess Championship can inspire many other countries. Today’s discussions are not only about chess, they are about how we prepare the next generation to think, learn, and succeed,” Dvorkovich said. The discussions with government leaders were followed by a visit to the playing venue, where Dvorkovich met players and organisers and spoke about Mongolia’s future role in Asian chess. Mongolia’s place in the global chess community During the day, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich visited the venue of the 21st Asian Continental Chess Championship, where he was also a guest on the event’s live broadcast, analysing games and discussing chess in Asia, with a particular focus on Mongolia. While Mongolian chess is at an advanced level and the competition is very strong at younger ages, Dvorkovich noted the importance of providing more support for players, enabling them to travel to international events and take part in training camps with experienced coaches. “What would greatly help increase the quality of chess in Mongolia is having one strong international Open,” said Dvorkovich. The FIDE President pointed to Kazakhstan as a good example of building a strong chess infrastructure intertwined with the social and educational system, transforming chess from not being just a sport but an important tool for development. The Asian Championship and educational conference taking place in Mongolia this week follow a January 2026 visit by FIDE officials, who traveled to the country to discuss support for social and educational chess initiatives, including youth training programmes with the Mongolian Chess Federation and local chess academies. Photos: Mongolian Chess Federation and Монгол Улсын Засгийн газар
2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship: Next qualifying spot will be awarded at the end of June
Hamburg/Weissenhaus (June 4, 2026). The fifth qualification spot for the 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship (Open and Women’s) will be determined earlier than originally planned. As Freestyle Chess and FIDE jointly announced on Thursday, the players leading the Open and Women’s divisions of the Freestyle Friday overall standings after the final event on June 26 will each earn a direct qualification spot. In each of the two competitions of the 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship, eight players will compete for the title. So far, four players in the Open category (Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Vincent Keymer) and four women (Bibisara Assaubayeva, Harika Dronavalli, Alua Nurman, and Dinara Wagner) have qualified for the title matches at the Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort in northern Germany. All other players in the Freestyle Friday Championship will retain the leaderboard points they have accumulated so far and will be able to continue competing for the next World Championship qualification place when the series resumes after the summer break. The second half of the Freestyle Friday Championship will be played from early October through mid-December 2026 and will determine the sixth qualifier in both the Open and Women’s categories for the World Championship Finals in February 2027. With these changes to the qualification format, the organizers are responding to the packed chess tournament calendar. “At the same time, we are further enhancing the Freestyle Friday event and ensuring even more excitement on the road to the 2027 World Championship,” says Freestyle Chess CEO Jan Henric Buettner. The current leaderboard is available here. Media contact:FIDE FREESTYLE CHESS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPFREESTYLE CHESS GRAND SLAM TOURFREESTYLE CHESS PLAYERS CLUBFREESTYLE CHESS ACADEMYHock und Partner – Beratungsgesellschaftfür Marketing und Kommunikation mbHTill BehrendRothenbaumchaussee 1D-20148 HamburgT: +49 (0) 40 413 228-0M: +49 (0) 151 4231 7721 t.behrend@hock-partner.demedia@freestyle-chess.comwww.freestyle-chess.com