FIDE World Amateur Chess Championship opens in Klang with 392 players
Published · By TG, the site operator
The FIDE World Amateur Chess Championship 2026 began on 5 November in Klang, Malaysia. FIDE reports 392 players in three rating sections. The Crown Prince of Selangor, who attended as Royal Patron of the event, opened it at the KSL Esplanade Hotel. The Selangor Chess Association runs the championship under FIDE and the Malaysian Chess Federation.
Three rating bands, each with its own tournaments
The sections are Under-2300, Under-2000 and Under-1700. Each section holds a separate open and a women's tournament, so a player meets only others entered in the same band. Each tournament has nine rounds, so a bad first round is not the end of the event.
First-round results: the seeds lose
The host nation made a strong start in the open Under-2300. Nik Ahmad Farouqi beat the top seed, FM Gyula Mester of Hungary, with the Black pieces. Tin Shan Wen beat the second seed, FM Ramon Junior Gonzalez Parejo of Colombia, with White. CM Shen Ree Herng beat FM Ammar Sedrani of the United Arab Emirates. In the women's Under-2300, three WCMs each scored a full point in round one: Nithyalakshmi Sivanesan of Malaysia, Kristina Kim of Kazakhstan and Mumtozbegim Mansurova of Uzbekistan.
A seeded player who loses in round one still has most of the event ahead, so the early scores matter less than the results over the following rounds.
Dates to note
- 5 November: play begins.
- 8 November: rest day.
- 12 November: final round and closing ceremony.
Playing Black against a stronger opponent
The most useful result here is the top seed's loss with the Black pieces. White moves first, so Black usually starts with less room to act. A practical plan is to keep the position simple, avoid early weaknesses and let the opponent overextend. Against a stronger player, the game is often decided by who makes fewer committal moves, not by who sees the most lines.
Play Black against the computer and keep the position simple →
Practise it on this site
Open the gear button above the board and set "Your pieces" to "Black — computer moves first". Choose Normal, which looks two plies ahead, so it will usually take a piece you leave hanging. Easy mostly plays random legal moves, which suits learning the moves rather than testing a plan. Use the flip button to see the board from Black's side. After the game, find the first move where you were reacting rather than choosing.
The FAQ explains the computer levels in more detail, and the rules guide covers the draw rules that come up in a long game.
Sources
- Crown Prince of Selangor opens FIDE World Amateur Chess Championships in Klang, Malaysia — FIDE, 6 November 2026
- FIDE World Amateur Chess Championships 2026 - U2300 (tournament information) — FIDE ratings database
- Frequently asked questions — chessplayonline.com
- Rules guide — chessplayonline.com
Written by the operator of this site from the sources listed above. Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected] and it will be corrected.