The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE, is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. FIDE was founded in Paris, France, on July 20, 1924. Its motto is Gens una sumus, Latin for 'We are one Family'. In 1999, FIDE was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As of December 21, 2023, there are 201 member federations of FIDE.
A chess club is a club formed for the purpose of playing the board game of chess. Chess clubs often provide for both informal and tournament games and sometimes offer league play. Traditionally clubs play over the board and face to face chess as opposed to playing on internet chess servers or computer chess.
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Champion, the reigning five-time World Rapid Chess Champion, the reigning seven-time World Blitz Chess Champion and the reigning Chess World Cup Champion. He has held the No. 1 position in the FIDE world chess rankings since 1 July 2011 and trails only Garry Kasparov in time spent as the highest-rated player in the world. His peak rating of 2882 is the highest in history. He also holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak at an elite level in classical chess at 125 games.
Jonathan D. Tisdall is an American-born Norwegian and Irish grandmaster of chess and works as a freelance journalist. He was born in Buffalo, New York to a Japanese mother and an Irish father.
The New Zealand Chess Federation (NZCF) is a chess federation in New Zealand.
International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) was founded on 26 March 1951 as a new appearance of the International Correspondence Chess Association (ICCA), which was founded in 1945, as successor of the Internationaler Fernschachbund (IFSB), founded on 2 December 1928.
The Australian Chess Federation (ACF) is dedicated to promoting the game of chess in Australia, and is a member of FIDE, the World Chess Federation.
The Norwegian Chess Championship is an annual tournament held in Norway during the month of July, in order to determine the national chess champion. The tournament is held at different venues each year as part of the Landsturnering. Clubs may bid for this tournament, which is awarded by the Norwegian Chess Federation.
The European Chess Union (ECU) is an independent association for the interests of European chess. The European Chess Union was founded on August 30, 1985, with the organization's founding meeting taking place in Graz, Austria.
The 41st Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, was an international team chess event that took place in Tromsø, Norway, between 1–14 August 2014. The organiser was Chess Olympiad Tromsø 2014 AS on behalf of FIDE.
The Chess Federation of Armenia, also known as the Armenian Chess Federation, is the governing chess organization in Armenia and is affiliated to FIDE. The body was founded in 1927. Responsible for organizing individual and club championships for men and women and the various important international tournaments in Armenia, it also forms the Armenian national men's and women's teams. The Federation is a member of the European Chess Union.
Chess equipment are the tangible items required to play a game of chess. To have an over-the-board (OTB) chess tournament the equipment required includes: chess pieces, chessboard, chess clock, score sheets, pen to record the moves and table. A chess player playing a game of online chess, correspondence chess, computer chess or non-tournament chess may choose their own preferred configuration of chess equipment. Receiving assistance from A.I. based software is prohibited in the majority of chess tournaments, regardless if they played over-the-board or with long-distance methods such as online chess or correspondence chess.
The French Chess Federation is the national organization for chess in France. The president is Éloi Relange, the vice-presidents are Laurie Delorme and Jean-Baptiste Mullon and the treasurer is Éric Le Rol. The headquarters of the French Chess Federation is Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, near Paris. The French federation was founded in 1933.
The Royal Dutch Chess Federation is the national organization for chess in the Netherlands. It is affiliated with the World Chess Federation. Its headquarters are in Haarlem. The current president is Bianca de Jong-Muhren.
The Argentine Chess Federation is the national organisation for chess in Argentina. It is affiliated with the World Chess Federation. Its headquarters are in Buenos Aires.
The Hungarian Chess Federation is the national organization for chess in Hungary. It is affiliated to the World Chess Federation and was founded in 1921. The chairman is Miklós Seszták. The Hungarian Chess Federation organizes a Hungarian Chess Championship.
The Professional Rapid Online Chess League was an online rapid chess league operated by chess.com. It was preceded by the United States Chess League, which announced in 2016 that it would be renamed, reformatted, and opened to cities from around the world, and moved to the website chess.com. It was discontinued in 2024.
Chess South Africa is the national governing body for the sport of chess in South Africa. Chess South Africa is affiliated to the World Chess Federation (FIDE), and to the African Chess Confederation (ACC). Chess South Africa administers the official national chess rating system based on the elo rating system and grants national titles to players that distinguish their ability. CHESS SA is affiliated with SASCOC, and organises national competitions such as the South African Closed Chess Championship and the South African Open Chess Championship. CHESS SA was established in 1996 following unification discussions among several chess ruling bodies in existence during the apartheid era.
Major chess events that took place in 2019 include the Tata Steel, Shamkir Chess, Grenke Chess Classic and Norway Chess, all won by World Champion Magnus Carlsen.
