{"id":46230,"date":"2026-05-11T06:13:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/?p=46230"},"modified":"2026-05-11T06:13:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T06:13:51","slug":"2026-fide-edu-classroom-contest-winners-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/2026-fide-edu-classroom-contest-winners-announced\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 FIDE EDU Classroom Contest winners announced"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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By Abel Talamantez, FIDE Senior Lead Instructor (SLI), FIDE EDU Commission<\/em><\/p>

The 2026 FIDE EDU Classroom Contest attracted 120 submissions from 30 different countries!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

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.<\/p>

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.<\/p>

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>

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:<\/p>

5th<\/sup> place – Nossa Senhora Aparecida, Nova Prata, Brazil<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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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.<\/p>

4th<\/sup> place \u2013 EL Qiyem El Hadaria, Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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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, \u201cWe 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.\u201d 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.<\/p>

3rd<\/sup> place \u2013 Experimental Primary School, Songling Road Branch, Zichuan District, Zibo City, Shandong Province, China<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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This photo doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>

2nd<\/sup> place \u2013 Addis Ababa No. 2 Government School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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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.<\/p>

1st<\/sup> place- Zhanir Khan School Class 1B, Khan Ordasy Village, Kazakhstan<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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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<\/sup> grade class where the students are learning the basics of chess through art. Their teacher Alfia Aksenova explains, \u201cDuring 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.\u201d 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!<\/p>

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.<\/p>

The winners receive:<\/p>

1st<\/sup>\u00a0prize<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 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\u2019s course, and one free annual subscription to LogiqBoard.<\/p>

2nd<\/sup>\u00a0prize<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Social media post by FIDE promoting their school program, free entry on a FIDE School Award application, 50% discount on a Preparation of Teacher\u2019s course, and one free annual subscription to LogiqBoard.<\/p>

3-5th<\/sup>\u00a0prize<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 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.<\/p>

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 \u2013 ways that make learning fun \u2013 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\u2019s all keep moving forward in promoting this great game in schools and finding new ways to connect school programs to the wider community.<\/p>

Every lesson counts!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Abel Talamantez, FIDE Senior Lead Instructor (SLI), FIDE EDU Commission The 2026 FIDE EDU Classroom Contest attracted 120 submissions from 30 different countries! 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\u2019s 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 \u2013 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, \u201cWe 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.\u201d 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 \u2013 Experimental Primary School, Songling Road Branch, Zichuan District, Zibo City, Shandong Province, China This photo doesn\u2019t 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 \u2013 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, \u201cDuring 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.\u201d 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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":46231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[164,392],"regular":[],"sticky-post":[],"class_list":["post-46230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fide-news","tag-chess-in-education","tag-chess-in-schools"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46230"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46241,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46230\/revisions\/46241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46230"},{"taxonomy":"regular","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regular?post=46230"},{"taxonomy":"sticky-post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sticky-post?post=46230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}