A total of 99 solvers (plus 6 additional unofficial participants) competed in the WCSC, significantly surpassing the previous record for participants at a world championship (90 solvers in Bern and Vilnius). At the same time, 20 teams were in the competition. Especially on the first day, the problems selected by Paz Einat were far too easy, resulting in 20 solvers having a perfect score at the halfway point. Four teams, including the German team with by far the best time, have full points. On the second day, the problems became significantly more difficult, allowing the best solvers to come out on top in the individual competition.-> Read more
WCSC 2026 Team winners, photo by Günter Büsing (WCCC 2026 official website)
See Highlights & Decisions of the Magdeburg Congress 2026
Special Awards
The WFCC Dawson–White Award was established to recognize outstanding contributions to the world of chess composition. The first awards presented to:
Thomas Maeder — for his outstanding contribution as a member of the Popeye Team, which develops open-source software supporting multiple chess-composition genres;
Dmitri Turevski — for his work on the open-source programs Olive and Py2Web, as well as the YACPDB database;
Axel Steinbrink — for his long-standing service as Director of the WCSC, ECSC, ISC and other solving events.
Upcoming Events
23rd International Solving Contest (ISC): 24 January 2027; Central Controller — Arvydas Mockus
10.08.2026. Open Solving tournament. Main Judge: Axel Steinbrink | Assistant: Luc Palmans | Problems Selected by: Paz Einat
A total of 114 solvers competed in the Open, filling the tournament hall to capacity. The problems were not overly difficult, so that in the end, four solvers achieved a perfect score. The winner based on time was Eddy Van Beers (Belgium), ahead of Danila Pavlov and Ural Khasanov (both competing under the FIDE flag), who tied for second, as well as Taras Rudenko (Ukraine).
Schwalbe, deutsche Vereinigung für Problemschach e.V., and the local organizing committee have the honour to invite national representatives of the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC), national chess solving teams, individual solvers and composers and everybody interested in problem chess, to attend the 68th World Congress of Chess Composition (WCCC) and 49th World Chess Solving Championship (WCSC).
The congress will be held at the Maritim Hotel in Magdeburg, Germany, from Saturday, 8 August 2026 (arrival), to Saturday, 15 August (departure). The Open Solving will take place on Monday, 10 August 2026, and the WCSC on Tuesday and Wednesday, 11-12 August 2026.
I am pleased to announce that the 68th World Congress of Chess Composition, including the 49th World Chess Solving Championship, will take place from 8–15 August 2026 at the Maritim Hotel Magdeburg, Germany (with the program starting on Sunday, 9 August).
The bid for WCCC 2026 was approved by email voting of 29 out of 44 WFCC delegates, with 28 votes in favor and one abstention. This strong support reflects our shared appreciation and gratitude to Torsten Linß and the German team for stepping in and successfully securing WCCC 2026. Further details of the bid can be found here
A dedicated congress website, including registration information, will be launched by the end of January.
The end of 2025 has also brought several encouraging developments:
During the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship in Doha (Qatar), the 1st Vice-President of WFCC, Abdulla Ali Aal Barket, and the WFCC Secretary, Mohammad Alhallak, held a constructive meeting with FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE Special Tasks Director Akaki Iashvili, and FIDE Chief Operating Officer Sava Stoisavljević. The FIDE officials were informed about key WFCC projects, including: FIDE & WFCC youth solving championships, FIDE titles for trainers and mentors in solving and composing, the WFCC Fujairah Grand Prix 2025–26, the FIDE Album, and the FIDE World Cup in Composing. At the conclusion of the meeting, the WFCC Vice-President presented the FIDE Album 2019–21 to the FIDE President.
On the initiative of WFCC Honorary President Klaus Wenda, the WFCC Presidium agreed to organize a special composing tourney in eight traditional sections, marking 70 years of WFCC (1956–2026). Narayan Shankar Ram has accepted the role of tourney director. Prize funds for each section will be €200, €150, and €100 for the first three places. The tourney is planned to be announced in the first months of 2026.
The Fujairah Chess & Culture Club invites WFCC delegates to apply for Fujairah Government grants supporting WFCC development projects in 2026. Written proposals aimed at spreading chess composition in new regions and among younger generations should be submitted to the WFCC President by 1 March 2026. Projects using the WFCC Fujairah Grand Prix logo may receive funding of up to €3,000 in 2026.
With this encouraging news, I would like to wish you all a very happy and successful New Year, and to thank you once again for your continued support, cooperation, and collegial spirit.
Today, 20.11.2025, the Spanish organizers informed the WFCC president that they have to cancel the WCCC & WCSC, planned for August 1-8 in Sant Vicent del Raspeig due to unforeseen technical problems.
With deep regrets from both sides about such an unfortunate outcome, Joaquim Crusats and Patricia Claros Aguilar deserve a grattitude for all their attempts to organize the first WFCC event in Spain since 1990.
During the next few months the main task of WFCC will be to try to find a new host of the WCCC & WCSC 2026.
All the candidates to organize these events should send their general intentions and planned dates during the next month, at latest by Christmas.
The deadline for more detailed bids will be extended till the end of January 2026 and the final decision will be made in February.
The potential organizers may count on 1,000€ support from WFCC and 3,000€ support from the WFCC Fujairah Grand Prix budget.
31 member countries were present, 9 of them via Zoom connection.
Upcoming events 2026:
22nd International Solving Contest (ISC) at the end of January 2026, the central controller Arvydas Mockus
19th European Chess Solving Championship (ECSC) in Skopje, North Macedonia, 8-10 May 2026
68th World Congress of Chess Composition (WCCC) and 49th World Chess Solving Championship (WCSC) – the deadline for bids was extended till 1st October, the final decisions to be made in WFCC online meeting three weeks later.
