FIDE “ChessMom 2026” Project – application submission deadline coming soon. “Set to Empower Professional Players with Families”

The International Chess Federation (FIDE), alongside the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess, has officially opened registration for the ChessMom 2026 Project. This groundbreaking initiative provides critical financial, logistical, and accommodation support to professional women chess players who are navigating the balancing act of competitive careers and motherhood.

Following its highly praised debut at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, ChessMom returns at a larger scale for the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Eligible female competitors now have until the firm application deadline of July 1, 2026, to submit their requests for this cycle.

Expanded Eligibility Criteria for 2026

To maximize impact, FIDE has expanded the project’s parameters for this edition:

• Age Range: Mothers with children under two years of age at the time of the Olympiad are now fully eligible to apply (expanded from the under-one limit enforced in 2024).
• Support System: The program delivers financial assistance to cover travel and logistics for the player’s infant alongside a dedicated caregiver.
• Accommodation Upgrade: Participating national federations will have the player’s standard single team room upgraded to a double room at no additional cost. This ensures the baby and caregiver can remain comfortably within the delegation’s official hotel block without diminishing the federation’s overall room quota.

Important Project Timeline

• Application Deadline: July 1, 2026
• Selection Announcement: July 10, 2026

How to Register

Eligible players and national federations must prepare and email required materials—including official FIDE IDs, child birth details, visa requirements for Uzbekistan, a personal player request letter, and a formal letter of concurrence from their National Federation—directly to the Project Coordinator, Francisco Javier Cruz Arce through fj_007@yahoo.com. For more details, please visit the FIDE website News Portal.