In 2024, the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KazChess/KCF), with financial support from Freedom Holding Corp. and in partnership with the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and the Asian Chess Federation (ACF), launched the Freedom Asian Chess Initiatives (FACI) project, a program aimed at supporting chess federations in those Asian countries where chess is not yet sufficiently developed. The first “mentee” countries (listed alphabetically) were Cambodia, Nepal, Oman, Tajikistan, and Sri Lanka.

Starting in April 2024, Kazakh coaches conducted training sessions for members of youth and adult national teams, along with educational seminars for local coaches, followed by continued online instruction in these countries: Kirill Kuderinov in Sri Lanka, Dmitry Stativkin in Oman, Murtas Kazhgaleyev in Nepal, Evgeny Vladimirov in Tajikistan, and Bakhtiyar Askarov in Cambodia.

As the program received positive feedback from all five federations, and after reviewing applications from 22 countries, the list of FACI project participants for 2025 was expanded to seven: Jordan, Cambodia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Sri Lanka.

The project’s results in 2025 included 20 training camps and sessions for national teams (youth, women’s, and men’s) and coaches, along with online preparation for international tournaments; 12 travel grants for young players to participate in the World Cadet Championship; master classes, training sessions, and simultaneous exhibitions held during international tournaments in Oman and Nepal; and the opening of a chess academy in Pakistan.

In particular, Grandmasters (GMs) Alexey Kuzmin and Anton Filippov worked in Jordan, International Master (IM) Rustam Kairbekov in Cambodia, IM Bakhtiyar Askarov in Nepal, FIDE Candidate Master (CM) Dmitry Stativkin in Oman, IM Zhanibek Amanov in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and GM Vitaly Kozyak in Tajikistan.

As a result, players from Sri Lanka performed successfully at the home Asian Under-20 Championship, winning two silver and one bronze medals, while players from Jordan distinguished themselves at the Arab Youth Championship, winning two gold and two silver medals. Eighteen-year-old Ruba Al-Kudah was awarded the title of Woman International Master (WIM).

Today, the list of countries selected for participation in the FACI project in 2026 has been announced: Jordan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Japan.

To help celebrate the 2026 FIDE Year of Chess in Education, we invited schools with chess programs from around the world to submit photos of their chess classes to showcase how they use chess as an educational tool and how chess brings communities and cultures together. We wanted to engage schools and bring them into the larger FIDE EDU community, and we hoped it would give us an opportunity to better understand two things: what makes chess programs different across the world and, more importantly, what are the things that make us all alike. The universal language of chess is expressed so beautifully in pictures, and we were excited to capture how different cultures use chess in school to inspire and uplift communities.

The response was amazing! We received 120 submissions from 30 different countries and over 350 photos. Looking at the photos gave us great appreciation for the wonderful teachers, coaches, parents, and children who are part of these programs. The photos told a story. Deciding which photos to choose was a challenge, but we wanted to select those that elicited an emotional response and invited further questions.

In our selection process, we focused on photos that told many stories. We looked for community, culture, learning, and joy, hoping to see special ways in which chess was used to engage kids in fun ways. We selected pictures in which the culture of a region was expressed through chess, much like how the food of a particular region can itself tell a story of the region’s history. We also narrowed our selection process down to schools that were making the most of the resources available, as chess brings inspiration to all, regardless of race or socio-economic status.

Although the contest was originally advertised awarding three winners, the number of submissions and quality and stories behind them led us to expand the contest and include five winners. Here are the five winners of the 2026 FIDE EDU Classroom Contest:

5th place – Nossa Senhora Aparecida, Nova Prata, Brazil

Who says chess is an indoor sport? At Nossa Senhora Aparecida in Brazil, students take chess outdoors to enjoy learning, playing, and socializing outside in the fresh air. Sometimes a change in environment can make a difference in the learning process, and what better than to enjoy a game of chess on a clear day, outdoors on the green grass. Playing chess outdoors in public areas promotes it as a social activity to people who may not yet play, and inspires curiosity. The photo also shows that chess can be enjoyed in a different setting, engaging various senses and enhancing the learning experience for all.

4th place – EL Qiyem El Hadaria, Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria

Sportsmanship is at the heart of any competition, and learning to start off a game with respect is an important lesson in life. At EL Qiyem El Hadaria in Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria, this picture tells a story of respectful competition in an outdoor setting. Coach Soumia Oukid says, “We often change the place to study chess to create a different and engaging environment for the students. As for the handshake, in Algeria we usually shake hands before starting a game. For this class, there are about ten girls, but in the whole school there are 325 students. I work with all the students in the school.” This photo captures a simple yet important concept, and it serves as a lesson on how children learn mutual respect and sportsmanship, win or lose, through chess.

3rd place – Experimental Primary School, Songling Road Branch, Zichuan District, Zibo City, Shandong Province, China

This photo doesn’t show a full class, but rather one student solving a problem. However, it speaks volumes. I love how the learning tools in one photo show the classical way of learning chess, through the demo board and chalkboard, and then the modern tools in the center with the television monitor and online platform, beautifully capturing the evolution of learning. National pride with the flag of China displayed on top creates a beautiful scene.

2nd place – Addis Ababa No. 2 Government School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

This photo is a classic school chess photo. The kids are in a classroom playing chess, but the details reveal the depth of chess’s power to connect people. We can see three tables of what looks like competitive games, but one of the tables shows a group of students watching and actively discussing a game with the coach. The tables themselves inspire a lot of curiosity, as the chessboards are embedded into the wood, like chess is part of the learning environment, and all this goes on against the background of a chalkboard with an academic lesson. This photo reveals community, culture, and the uniting social power of chess.

1st place- Zhanir Khan School Class 1B, Khan Ordasy Village, Kazakhstan

This picture captures everything wonderful about the power of chess to inspire creativity, learning, and fun while bringing kids together. This is from a 1st grade class where the students are learning the basics of chess through art. Their teacher Alfia Aksenova explains,

“During the lesson, we decided to pretend we were “heroes,” chess pieces, and divided up the roles. The parents agreed to sew costumes, and the kids made large chess pieces out of play dough. This made our open lesson even more colorful. The kids were thrilled to be the King and Queen, Knight and Rook. These are our costumes for the open lesson.”

The broad creative use of art, chess learning, and parental engagement with the idea to make learning more colorful and bring things to life makes this photo this year’s contest winner!

Congratulations to the contest winners and many thanks to all the schools that submitted photos. We will be publishing more photos and telling the stories of some of the other schools that contributed photos over the coming weeks, and we will soon upload all photos to our FIDE EDU webpage. It was a delight for us to receive so many photos and to get a glimpse into what chess in schools looks like all around the world.

The winners receive:

1st prize – Social media post by FIDE promoting their school program, free entry for a FIDE School Award application, and one free entry for the Preparation of Teacher’s course, and one free annual subscription to LogiqBoard.

2nd prize – Social media post by FIDE promoting their school program, free entry on a FIDE School Award application, 50% discount on a Preparation of Teacher’s course, and one free annual subscription to LogiqBoard.

3-5th prize – Social media post by FIDE promoting their school program, 50% discount on a FIDE School Award application, 25% discount on a Preparation of Teachers course, and one free annual subscription to LogiqBoard.

We are proud to celebrate this year of chess in education and showcase to the world the transformative power of educational chess. Chess can serve as a source of great pride for a school community. Finding creative ways to teach and inspire kids – ways that make learning fun – is a key part of our initiative to grow more school programs. Chess is a universal language, and as we see from the photos, there are so many hopeful and inspiring things about the game that bond us all, while at the same time allow us to celebrate and appreciate the differences in culture, space, and opportunity. Let’s all keep moving forward in promoting this great game in schools and finding new ways to connect school programs to the wider community.

Every lesson counts!

The visit took place under the Freedom Asian Chess Initiatives (FACI) program, which aims to develop chess cooperation across Asian countries, popularize the game, and foster the exchange of experience between leading chess players and national federations.

The main events were held in Tokyo and Kyoto. On June 13, Tokyo hosted The Joys of Chess with Grandmaster Legends festival, followed by the KYOCHESS Spotlight event in Kyoto on June 14. Participants had the opportunity to play against the renowned grandmasters in simultaneous exhibition games (simuls), as well as attend masterclasses and educational lectures focusing on chess training and contemporary trends in the development of the game.

The simuls in Kyoto drew nineteen (19) chess players, including both beginners and experienced players from Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and other regions of Japan.

Viktor Bologan’s session concluded relatively quickly, with the grandmaster securing eight wins and one draw. Darmen Sadvakasov’s session lasted over two hours, resulting in 10 victories. For many participants, this was their first opportunity to play against a grandmaster.

During the masterclasses, Viktor Bologan analyzed his game against Chinese Grandmaster Ye Jiangchuan from the 2000 Tan Chin Nam Cup, while Darmen Sadvakasov reviewed a game from his 2004 match against Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov in Astana. Following the lectures, participants asked the grandmasters questions regarding the future of chess, the impact of artificial intelligence on the game, and modern approaches to preparation.

“Under the Freedom Asian Chess Initiatives program, we conducted a simultaneous exhibition and masterclasses alongside Grandmaster and FIDE Executive Director Viktor Bologan in Tokyo and Kyoto. A large number of chess enthusiasts attended each event. Since there are no grandmasters in Japan, this was a major milestone for them. We received a wealth of positive feedback and gratitude. Talented youth are emerging in Japan, and I am confident that the country will continue to achieve great success in chess. We, as the Kazakhstan Chess Federation and the Asian Chess Federation, will assist in developing chess in this country,” noted Darmen Sadvakasov, First Vice-President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation.

Darmen Sadvakasov and Viktor Bologan also met with representatives of the Japan Chess Federation to discuss opportunities for the further development of chess.

“Key areas for future work were identified, with the main emphasis placed on youth chess and organizing a larger number of FIDE-rated tournaments. At the meeting with the Japanese Olympic Committee, special attention was given to the issue of chess recognition by the local Olympic Committee. We also discussed the inclusion of chess in the program of the 2030 Asian Games in Qatar. The Japanese Olympic Committee will consider holding an exhibition chess event during the Asian Games in Nagoya this autumn. Both events in Tokyo and Kyoto received excellent reviews from the participants. Such initiatives will significantly contribute to the popularization of chess in the Land of the Rising Sun. A training camp for Japan's leading young chess players is already planned for August as part of the FACI project,” shared FIDE Executive Director Viktor Bologan.

Darmen Sadvakasov is the 1998 World Junior Under-20 Champion, a grandmaster, First Vice-President of the KCF, and Vice-President of the Asian Chess Federation. Over the years, he has secured match victories against former World Champion Anatoly Karpov and world title contender Viktor Korchnoi.

Viktor Bologan is the strongest chess player in the history of Moldova, a grandmaster, FIDE Executive Director, and the author of numerous chess books. Throughout his career, he has been part of the global chess elite, reaching a peak Elo rating of 2734.

The Freedom Asian Chess Initiatives project is implemented by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation in cooperation with FIDE and the Asian Chess Federation, with the support of Freedom Holding Corp. Its goal is to expand chess cooperation in Asia, develop educational programs, and support initiatives aimed at popularizing chess in the region.