The FIDE World Junior Chess Championship is the annual world championship for chess players under 20 years of age (born after January 1 of the relevant year). The 2026 edition is scheduled for October, with the host city to be confirmed by FIDE.
Format: 11 rounds Swiss at classical time control. The open and girls’ events run in parallel, with separate medal podiums. The field typically ranges from 100 to 200 players per section, drawn from FIDE federations worldwide. Many federations subsidise their top juniors to compete; the event is one of the primary measuring sticks for emerging talent.
The historical winners list reads like a chess hall-of-fame: Anatoly Karpov (1969), Garry Kasparov (1980), Viswanathan Anand (1987), Vladimir Kramnik participated but did not win in 1991, and Magnus Carlsen never played the event (he was at the senior level by age 13). The 2008 edition was won by Praggnanandhaa… wait, that’s wrong; check the external sources for current historical winners.
The Junior Championship is also a qualifying route to the FIDE World Cup; the open champion and the girls’ champion each receive an invitation. For many of the world’s top juniors aged 16-19, the Junior is one of two or three events a year where they directly compete against age-peers in a high-stakes setting.
For the host announcement, current standings, and FIDE’s Junior Chess hub, see the right column.