Chess, a strategy board game, is played all over the world. The international governing body of chess is FIDE, established in 1924. Most national chess federations are now members of FIDE; several supranational chess organizations are also affiliated with FIDE.
The table below lists the member federations of FIDE[1] and their national championship. The number of grandmasters and players registered for each federation in the FIDE database, as of January 2024, are also indicated.[2]
In addition, the Isle of Man Chess Association (since 2020) and the Chess League of New Caledonia (Ligue d'Echecs de Nouvelle-Calédonie, since 2023) are affiliated organizations.
Former FIDE members
The list below includes nations that no longer exist as well as national federations that are currently not members of FIDE.
The Chess Federation of Canada or CFC is Canada's national chess organization. Canadian Chess Association, founded in 1872, was replaced in 1932 by the Canadian Chess Federation (CCF), which for the first time included representation from all major cities in Canada. In 1945 the name was changed to avoid confusion with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. The CFC organizes tournaments and publishes national ratings. The highest rated player in Canada is Evgeny Bareev of Toronto.
The French Chess Championship is the annual, national chess tournament of France. It was officially first played in 1923 after the formation of the Fédération Française des Echecs in 1921. The first unofficial national tournament was played in 1880, in the Café de la Régence, where further edition were held in 1881 and 1883. The 1903 and 1914 tournaments were the first real predecessors of the official championship. They ran under the name Championnat de France des amateurs.
Zhao Zong-Yuan is an Australian chess Grandmaster. As of September 2019, he was the third-ranked active chess player in Australia.
Jean Hébert is a Canadian chess player, writer, journalist, and commentator who holds the ICCF title of Correspondence Chess Grandmaster and the FIDE title of International Master. The winner of the Canadian Chess Championship in 1978 and 2009, he also tied for the title in 2007, but lost in playoffs. He represented Canada at the 1979 Interzonal tournament as well as seven times at Chess Olympiads. He also took part in the Chess World Cup 2009, but was knocked out by Peter Svidler in the first round. In 2022, Hébert won the Canadian Seniors' Championship.
The Belgian Chess Championship is a championship organised yearly by the Koninklijke Belgische Schaakbond/Fédération Royale Belge des Echecs. The winner of the championship is awarded the title: Chess Champion of Belgium.
The Panamanian Chess Championship is the individual national chess championship of Panama. The first edition was played in 1945 and won by Rubén Darío Cabrera. It was originally a biennial event, and from 1945 to 1961 six championships were played, and from 1962 to 1971 eight championships. From 1972 to 1976, it was held annually, but the tournament of 1977 never finished because the beginning of a long schism in Panamanian chess. From 1978 to 1988, it was again held annually.
A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most prestigious of which is Grandmaster; many national chess federations also grant titles such as "National Master". More broadly, the term "master" can refer to any highly skilled chess player.
Darcy Gustavo Machado Vieira Lima is a Brazilian chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1989 and the Grandmaster title in 1997. Also a chess official, Lima was granted the titles of FIDE Trainer in 2010 and FIDE International Organizer in 2013. He was the president of the Brazilian Chess Confederation from 1999 - 2004 and then from 2013 - 2020.
Osvaldo Ronald Zambrana Enríquez is a Bolivian chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2007 and he is the only Bolivian to achieve so.
The Brazilian Chess Confederation is the national governing body for chess in Brazil and a member of the International Chess Federation.
The Haitian Chess Federation is the national organization for chess in Haiti. The current president is Philippe Victor Chatelain who has been elected after the former President Jean Lamothe died on August 22, 2017, the Vice-President is Gottfried Kräuchi, and the treasurer is Jean Philippe Bonne Annee. The headquarters of the Haitian Chess Federation is Port-au-Prince. The Haitian federation was founded in 1985. The Haitian Chess Federation is a member of the FIDE and the Association internationale des échecs francophones (AIDEF).
The chess championship of El Salvador is organized by the Salvadoran Chess Federation, and was first held in 1946. FIDE Master Boris Pineda has won the title a record eight times. A separate Salvadoran Women's Chess Championship has also been held annually since 1993.
The Honduran Chess Championship is organized by FENAH, the chess federation of Honduras, which was founded in 1993.
The Malagasy Chess Championship is organized by the Madagascar Chess Federation, which was initially founded in 1970 and most recently revived in 2008 after a decade of inactivity. The national championship was first held in 1994. There is also a separate Malagasy Women's Chess Championship which was first held in 2009.
Federico Perez Ponsa is an Argentine chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in 2011.
The 2021 chess calendar was again disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and because of this many chess OTB tournaments were stopped, but major events that took place included the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, won by Jorden van Foreest.
Jemima Paulo, born in 2007, is an Angolan chess player and Women's FIDE Master. She became the African U-13 Champion in 2020 and the African U-16 Girls' Champion in 2022. The following year, she became the African mixed runner-up after finishing second in the African Junior Chess Championship.
Ednasia Junior, born in 2002, is an Angolan chess player and Women's FIDE Master. The first Angolan woman to win an international chess award, she is ranked third among Angolan female players as of 1 July 2024, with an Elo rating of 1,888 points.
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Czechoslovakia 
Soviet Union 
Yugoslavia 
