The sixth Open International World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik Cup will be held in Moscow from August 11 to 18, 2026. This youth team tournament will feature players from the CIS countries – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as reported by the mfgs-sng.org.
The organizer is the Association of Chess Federations with the assistance of the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of the CIS Member States (IFHC).
The competition will be held in a nine-round round-robin format with a classic time control of 90 minutes per game, with a 30-second increment for each move. Chess fans around the world will be able to follow the action live via online streams.
The competition format is quite unique. Each team consists of four young chess players under 14 (three boys and one girl), led by an experienced captain with the rank of grandmaster. In addition to managing their team, the captains will play simultaneous exhibitions with a clock against young players from opposing teams. The final score will be determined by the sum of points scored by both the players and their coaches.
For many aspiring athletes, the Botvinnik Cup serves not only as important practice but also as a key springboard into professional sports. The effectiveness of this competition has been proven over time: past editions of the tournament have given a powerful boost to the careers of a host of talented players. Chess players such as Alexandra Maltsevskaya, Ivan Skitsko, Gleb Dudin, Vyacheslav Zarubitsky, Olga Badelko, Nicolozi Katcharava, Ravan Aliev, Armen Barseghyan, Murad Ibrahimli, Kazybek Nogerbek, Ramazan Zhalmakhanov, Arystan Isanzhulov, Ilya Martinovich, and Nikoloz Petriashvili have already risen to the ranks of International Masters and Grandmasters. Today, they successfully defend the honor of their countries at World Chess Olympiads, Asian Championships, and World Championships.
