Geography of chess

Chess is played all over the world. The international governing body of chess is FIDE, established in 1924. Most national chess federations are now members of FIDE; several supranational chess organizations are also affiliated with FIDE.

National level: Current FIDE members

The table below lists the member federations of FIDE and their national championship. The number of grandmasters and players registered for each federation in the FIDE database as of September 2016 are also indicated.

Country	Zone	National federation	#GM	#FIDE	National championship
Afghanistan	3.4	Afghan National Chess Federation	0	197	Afghan Chess Championship
Albania	1.5a	Albania Chess Federation [1]	1	507	Albanian Chess Championship
Algeria	4.1	Fédération Algérienne des échecs [2]	2	3295	Algerian Chess Championship
Andorra	1.10	Federació d'Escacs Valls d'Andorra [3]	2	146	Andorran Chess Championship
Angola	4.3	Federação Angolana de Xadrez	0	995	Angolan Chess Championship
Antigua and Barbuda	2.3.5	Antigua and Barbuda Chess Federation	0	15	–
Argentina	2.5	Argentine Chess Federation [4]	23	8982	Argentine Chess Championship
Armenia	1.5b	Armenian Chess Federation [5]	39	1124	Armenian Chess Championship
Aruba	2.3.5	Federashon di Ajedrez di Aruba	0	42	–
Australia	3.6	Australian Chess Federation [6]	8	2001	Australian Chess Championship
Austria	1.2a	Österreichischer Schachbund [7]	9	3561	Austrian Chess Championship
Azerbaijan	1.8	Azerbaijan Chess Federation [8]	23	1701	Azerbaijani Chess Championship
Bahamas	2.3.5	Bahamas Chess Federation [9]	0	34	Bahamian Chess Championship
Bahrain	3.1	Bahrain Mind Sports Association	0	53	Bahraini Chess Championship
Bangladesh	3.2	Bangladesh Chess Federation [10]	5	1322	Bangladeshi Chess Championship
Barbados	2.3.5	Barbados Chess Federation [11]	0	138	Barbadian Chess Championship
Belarus	1.8	Belarus Chess Federation [12]	16	1048	Belarusian Chess Championship
Belgium	1.1b	FRBE-KBSB-KSB [13]	9	3039	Belgian Chess Championship
Bermuda	2.3.5	Bermuda Chess Association [14]	0	68	–
Bhutan	3.2	Bhutan Chess Federation	0	7	Bhutan National Premier Chess Championship
Bolivia	2.4	Federación Boliviana de Ajedrez [15]	1	1043	Bolivian Chess Championship
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1.2b	Sahovski Savez Bosne i Hercegovine [16]	8	875	Bosnia and Herzegovina Chess Championship
Botswana	4.3	Botswana Chess Federation	0	392	Botswana Chess Championship
Brazil	2.4	Confed. Brasileira de Xadrez [17]	14	4,943	Brazilian Chess Championship
British Virgin Islands	2.3.5	British Virgin Islands Chess Federation	0	4	–
Brunei	3.3	Brunei Chess Federation [18]	0	79	Brunei Chess Championship
Bulgaria	1.4	Bulgarian Chess Federation [19]	31	1779	Bulgarian Chess Championship
Burkina Faso	4.4	Comité National Burkinabé des Échecs	0	15	Burkinabé Chess Championship
Burundi	4.2	Burundi Chess Federation	0	11	Burundian Chess Championship
Cambodia	3.3	Cambodian Chess Federation	0	2	Cambodian Chess Championship
Cameroon	4.4	Cameroon Chess Federation [20]	0	16	Cameroonian Chess Championship
Canada	2.2	Chess Federation of Canada [21]	14	1605	Canadian Chess Championship
Cape Verde	4.4	Federação Cabo-verdiana de Xadrez	0	22	Cape Verdean Chess Championship
Central African Republic	4.4	Chess Federation of Central African Republic	0	4	Central African Chess Championship
Chile	2.5	Fed. Deportiva Nacional De Ajedrez	5	2140	Chilean Chess Championship
China	3.5	Chinese Chess Association [22]	43	1445	Chinese Chess Championship
Chinese Taipei	3.3	Chinese Taipei Chess Association [23]	0	120	Taiwanese Chess Championship
Colombia	2.3.4	Fed. Colombiana de Ajedrez [24]	7	2559	Colombian Chess Championship
Comoros	4.3	Comoros Islands Chess Federation	0	0	Comorian Chess Championship
Republic of the Congo	4.3	Congolese Chess Federation	0	7	Congolese Chess Championship
Costa Rica	2.3.2	Federacion Central de Ajedrez [25]	1	653	Costa Rican Chess Championship
Croatia	1.2b	Hrvatski šahovski savez [26]	29	3135	Croatian Chess Championship
Cuba	2.3.3	Fed. Cubana de Ajedrez	24	2033	Cuban Chess Championship
Cyprus	1.10	Cyprus Chess Federation [27]	0	134	Cypriot Chess Championship
Czech Republic	1.4	Šachový svaz České republiky [28]	35	7539	Czech Chess Championship
Denmark	1.3	Dansk Skak Union [29]	11	3880	Danish Chess Championship
Djibouti	4.2	Djiboutian Chess Federation	0	8	Djiboutian Chess Championship
Dominican Republic	2.3.5	Federación Dominicana de Ajedrez [30]	1	657	Dominican Chess Championship
Ecuador	2.3.5	Fed. Ecuatoriana de Ajedrez [31]	1	1208	Ecuadorian Chess Championship
Egypt	4.2	Egyptian Chess Federation	5	2026	Egyptian Chess Championship
England	1.1a	English Chess Federation [32]	36	3390	British Chess Championship
El Salvador	2.3.2	Federación Salvadoreña de Ajedrez [33]	0	294	Salvadoran Chess Championship
Eritrea	4.2	Eritrea Chess Federation	0	6	Eritrean Chess Championship
Estonia	1.7	Eesti Maleliit [34]	6	425	Estonian Chess Championship
Ethiopia	4.2	Ethiopian Chess Federation [35]	0	77	Ethiopian Chess Championship
Faroe Islands	1.10	Talvsamband Foroya [36]	1	165	Faroese Chess Championship
Fiji	3.6	Fiji Chess Federation [37]	0	43	Fijian Chess Championship
Finland	1.3	Suomen Keskusshakkiliitto [38]	5	1045	Finnish Chess Championship
France	1.1b	French Chess Federation [39]	50	22,351	French Chess Championship
Gabon	4.4	Fédération Gabonaise des Échecs	0	3	Gabonese Chess Championship
Gambia	4.4	Gambia Chess Federation	0	9	Gambian Chess Championship
Georgia	1.5b	Chess Federation of Georgia	31	1163	Georgian Chess Championship
Germany	1.2a	Deutscher Schachbund [40]	92	25,470	German Chess Championship
Ghana	4.4	Ghana Chess Association [41]	0	66	Ghanaian Chess Championship
Greece	1.5a	Elliniki Skakistiki Omospondia [42]	13	5497	Greek Chess Championship
Guam	3.6	Guam Chess Federation	0	28	–
Guatemala	2.3.2	Fed. Nac. de Ajedrez de Guatemala	0	235	Guatemalan Chess Championship
Guernsey	1.10	Guernsey Chess Federation [43]	0	25	Guernsey Chess Championship
Guyana	2.3.5	Guyana Chess Federation	0	29	Guyanese Chess Championship
Haiti	2.3.5	Haitian Chess Federation	0	12	Haitian Chess Championship
Honduras	2.3.2	Federación Nacional de Ajedrez de Honduras [44]	0	192	Honduran Chess Championship
Hong Kong	3.3	Hong Kong Chess Federation	0	258	Hong Kong Chess Championship
Hungary	1.4	Magyar Sakkszovetseg [45]	48	6229	Hungarian Chess Championship
Iceland	1.3	Skáksamband Íslands [46]	13	600	Icelandic Chess Championship
India	3.7	All India Chess Federation [47]	52	30,609	Indian Chess Championship
Indonesia	3.3	Persatuan Catur Seluruh Indonesia [48]	3	808	Indonesian Chess Championship
Iran	3.1	Chess Fed. of Islamic Rep. of Iran [49]	15	9502	Iranian Chess Championship
Iraq	3.1	Iraqi Chess Federation	0	679	Iraqi Chess Championship
Ireland	1.1a	Irish Chess Union [50]	1	656	Irish Chess Championship
Israel	1.2b	Israel Chess Federation [51]	42	2321	Israeli Chess Championship
Italy	1.1c	Federazione Scacchistica Italiana [52]	14	9618	Italian Chess Championship
Ivory Coast	4.4	Fédération Ivoirienne des Échecs	0	33	Ivorian Chess Championship
Jamaica	2.3.5	Jamaica Chess Federation [53]	0	233	Jamaican Chess Championship
Japan	3.3	National Chess Society of Japan [54]	0	206	Japanese Chess Championship
Jersey	1.10	Jersey Chess Federation [55]	0	26	Jersey Chess Championship
Jordan	3.1	Royal Jordanian Chess Federation [56]	0	495	Jordanian Chess Championship
Kazakhstan	3.4	Kazakhstan Chess Federation [57]	14	2162	Kazakhstani Chess Championship
Kenya	4.2	Chess Kenya [58]	0	438	Kenyan Chess Championship
Kosovo	1.2b	Kosovo Chess Federation [59]	0	205	Kosovan Chess Championship
Kuwait	3.1	Kuwait Chess Federation	0	111	Kuwaiti Chess Championship
Kyrgyzstan	3.4	Chess Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic	0	319	Kyrgyzstani Chess Championship
Laos	3.3	Lao Chess Federation	0	16	Laotian Chess Championship
Latvia	1.7	Latvijas Šaha Federācija [60] (previously - Latvijas Šaha Savienība)	11	678	Latvian Chess Championship
Lebanon	3.1	Federation Libanaise des Echecs [61]	0	214	Lebanese Chess Championship
Lesotho	4.3	Chess Federation of Lesotho	0	98	Lesotho Chess Championship
Liberia	4.4	Liberia Chess Federation	0	13	Liberian Chess Championship
Libya	4.1	General Libyan Chess Federation	0	480	Libyan Chess Championship
Liechtenstein	1.10	Liechtensteiner Schachverband	0	15	Liechtenstein Chess Championship
Lithuania	1.7	Lietuvos šachmatų federacija [62]	6	1022	Lithuanian Chess Championship
Luxembourg	1.10	Federation Luxembourgeoise des Echecs [63]	0	290	Luxembourg Chess Championship
Macau	3.3	Grupo de Xadrez de Macau	0	39	–
North Macedonia	1.2b	Chess Federation of Macedonia [64]	9	573	Macedonian Chess Championship
Madagascar	4.3	Madagascar Chess Federation	0	248	Malagasy Chess Championship
Malawi	4.3	Chess Association of Malawi [65] Archived 2019-10-11 at the Wayback Machine	0	177	Malawian Chess Championship
Malaysia	3.3	Malaysian Chess Federation [66]	0	1573	Malaysian Chess Championship
Maldives	3.2	Maldives Chess Federation	0	34	Maldivian Chess Championship
Mali	4.1	Federation Malienne du Jeu D'Echecs	0	10	Malian Chess Championship
Malta	1.10	Il-Federazzjoni Maltija tac-Cess [67]	0	142	Maltese Chess Championship
Mauritania	4.1	Mauritanian Chess Federation [68]	0	70	Mauritanian Chess Championship
Mauritius	4.3	Mauritius Chess Federation [69]	0	27	Mauritian Chess Championship
Mexico	2.3.1	Fed. Nac. de Ajedrez de Mexico AC [70]	3	1818	Mexican Chess Championship
Moldova	1.8	Federația de Șah a Republicii Moldova [71]	7	618	Moldovan Chess Championship
Monaco	1.10	Monaco Chess Federation	3	69	Monaco Chess Championship
Mongolia	3.3	Mongolian Chess Federation [72]	4	530	Mongolian Chess Championship
Montenegro	1.5a	Montenegro Chess Federation [73]	6	404	Montenegrin Chess Championship
Morocco	4.1	Fed. Royale Marocaine des Echecs [74]	1	344	Moroccan Chess Championship
Mozambique	4.3	Mozambique Chess Federation	0	58	Mozambican Chess Championship
Myanmar	3.3	Myanmar Chess Federation [75]	0	647	Myanmar Chess Championship
Namibia	4.3	Namibia Chess Federation [76]	0	61	Namibian Chess Championship
Nauru	3.6	Nauru Chess Federation	0	8	Nauruan Chess Championship
Nepal	3.2	Nepal Chess Association [77]	0	724	Nepalese Chess Championship
Netherlands	1.1b	Koninklijke Nederlandse Schaakbond [78]	35	4128	Dutch Chess Championship
Netherlands Antilles	2.3.5	Curaçao Chess Federation	0	44	Netherlands Antilles Chess Championship
New Zealand	3.6	New Zealand Chess Federation [79]	1	446	New Zealand Chess Championship
Nicaragua	2.3.2	Federacion Nicaragüense de Ajedrez [80] Archived 2019-10-09 at the Wayback Machine	0	361	Nicaraguan Chess Championship
Nigeria	4.4	Nigeria Chess Federation [81]	0	307	Nigerian Chess Championship
Norway	1.3	Norges Sjakkforbund [82]	16	3025	Norwegian Chess Championship
Oman	3.1	Oman Chess Committee [83]	0	82	Omani Chess Championship
Pakistan	3.2	Chess Federation of Pakistan [84] Archived 2014-07-06 at the Wayback Machine	0	120	Pakistani Chess Championship
Palau	3.6	Palau Chess Federation [85]	0	112	Palauan Chess Championship
Palestine	3.1	Palestine Chess Federation	0	183	Palestinian Chess Championship
Panama	2.3.2	Fed. de Ajedrez de Panama [86]	0	246	Panamanian Chess Championship
Papua New Guinea	3.6	Papua New Guinea Chess Federation	0	10	Papua New Guinean Chess Championship
Paraguay	2.5	Federacion Paraguaya de Ajedrez [87]	4	1089	Paraguayan Chess Championship
Peru	2.4	Federacion Peruana de Ajedrez [88]	8	6201	Peruvian Chess Championship
Philippines	3.3	National Chess Federation of the Philippines [89]	14	2619	Philippine Chess Championship
Poland	1.4	Polish Chess Federation [90]	41	18,252	Polish Chess Championship
Portugal	1.1c	Federação Portuguesa de Xadrez [91]	3	5320	Portuguese Chess Championship
Puerto Rico	2.3.5	Fed. de Ajedrez de Puerto Rico [92]	0	670	Puerto Rican Chess Championship
Qatar	3.1	Qatar Chess Association [93]	3	123	Qatari Chess Championship
Romania	1.4	Federatia Romana de Șah [94]	21	6592	Romanian Chess Championship
Russia	1.6	Russian Chess Federation [95]	234	59,294	Russian Chess Championship
Rwanda	4.2	Rwanda Chess Federation [96]	0	79	Rwandan Chess Championship
San Marino	1.10	Federazione Sammarinese degli Scacchi [97]	0	15	Sammarinese Chess Championship
São Tomé and Príncipe	4.4	Sao Tome and Principe Chess Federation	0	18	São Tomé and Príncipe Chess Championship
Saudi Arabia	3.1	Saudi Chess Association [98]	0	993	Saudi Arabian Chess Championship
Scotland	1.1a	Chess Scotland [99]	6	708	Scottish Chess Championship
Senegal	4.1	Senegalese Chess Federation	0	21	Senegalese Chess Championship
Serbia	1.5a	Chess Federation of Serbia [100] Archived 2020-12-09 at the Wayback Machine	55	7732	Serbian Chess Championship
Seychelles	4.2	Seychelles Chess Federation	0	50	Seychelles Chess Championship
Sierra Leone	4.4	Sierra Leone Chess Federation	0	14	Sierra Leonean Chess Championship
Singapore	3.3	Singapore Chess Federation [101]	3	2377	Singaporean Chess Championship
Slovakia	1.4	Slovensky Sachovy Zvaz [102]	10	6192	Slovak Chess Championship
Slovenia	1.2a	Sahovska Zveza Slovenije [103]	12	4143	Slovenian Chess Championship
Solomon Islands	3.6	Solomon Islands Chess Federation	0	35	Solomon Island Chess Championship
Somalia	4.2	Somali Chess Federation	0	43	Somali Chess Championship
South Africa	4.3	Chess South Africa [104]	1	2478	South African Chess Championship
South Korea	3.3	Korea Chess Federation [105]	1	752	South Korean Chess Championship
South Sudan	4.2	South Sudan Chess Federation	0	74	South Sudanese Chess Championship
Spain	1.1c	Federacion Espanola de Ajedrez [106]	47	39,632	Spanish Chess Championship
Sri Lanka	3.2	Chess Federation of Sri Lanka	0	8993	Sri Lankan Chess Championship
Sudan	4.2	Sudan Chess Federation	0	312	Sudanese Chess Championship
Suriname	2.3.5	De Surinaamse Schaakbond [107]	0	355	Surinamese Chess Championship
Eswatini	4.3	Eswatini National Chess Federation	0	63	Swazi Chess Championship
Sweden	1.3	Sveriges Schackförbund [108]	21	4561	Swedish Chess Championship
Switzerland	1.2a	Schweizerischer Schachbund [109]	8	3685	Swiss Chess Championship
Syria	3.1	Syrian Arab Chess Federation	0	801	Syrian Chess Championship
Tajikistan	3.4	Federazijai Shakhmati Tajikistan	1	166	Tajikistani Chess Championship
Tanzania	4.2	Tanzania Chess Association	0	76	Tanzanian Chess Championship
Thailand	3.3	Thailand Chess Association [110]	0	704	Thai Chess Championship
Timor-Leste	3.3	Federação Xadrez de Timor-Leste	0	58	Timorese Chess Championship
Togo	4.4	Togolese Chess Federation [111]	0	95	Togolese Chess Championship
Trinidad and Tobago	2.3.5	Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association [112]	0	535	Trinidad and Tobago Chess Championship
Tunisia	4.1	Tunisian Chess Federation [113] Archived 2019-06-08 at the Wayback Machine	2	941	Tunisian Chess Championship
Turkey	1.5a	Turkish Chess Federation [114]	10	24,200	Turkish Chess Championship
Turkmenistan	3.4	Turkmenistan Chess Federation	5	410	Turkmen Chess Championship
Uganda	4.2	Uganda Chess Federation [115] Archived 2019-09-10 at the Wayback Machine	0	369	Ugandan Chess Championship
Ukraine	1.9	Ukrainian Chess Federation [116]	87	8713	Ukrainian Chess Championship
United Arab Emirates	3.1	UAE Chess Federation [117]	2	1949	Emirati Chess Championship
United States	2.1	United States Chess Federation [118]	90	13,579	U.S. Chess Championship U.S. Women's Chess Championship
United States Virgin Islands	2.3.5	US Virgin Islands Chess Federation [119]	0	50	–
Uruguay	2.5	Federación Uruguaya de Ajedrez [120]	1	952	Uruguayan Chess Championship
Uzbekistan	3.4	Chess Federation of Uzbekistan [121]	12	1073	Uzbekistani Chess Championship
Venezuela	2.3.5	Fed. Venezolana de Ajedrez [122]	1	4700	Venezuelan Chess Championship
Vietnam	3.3	Vietnam Chess Federation [123]	9	1855	Vietnamese Chess Championship
Wales	1.1a	Welsh Chess Union [124]	1	475	Welsh Chess Championship
Yemen	3.1	Yemen Chess Association	0	280	Yemeni Chess Championship
Zambia	4.3	Chess Federation of Zambia	1	893	Zambian Chess Championship
Zimbabwe	4.3	Zimbabwe Chess Federation [125]	0	433	Zimbabwean Chess Championship

Former FIDE members

The list below includes nations that no longer exist as well as national federations that are currently not members of FIDE.

Country	National federation	National championship
Belize	Belize Chess Federation [126]	Belizean Chess Championship
Czechoslovakia		Czechoslovak Chess Championship
Soviet Union	USSR Chess Federation	USSR Chess Championship
Yugoslavia		Yugoslav Chess Championship

Supranational level

Countries (zone)	Federation	Official Website	Championships
Europe (1)	European Chess Union (ECU)	http://www.europechess.org	Individual, Youth, Junior, Senior and Team
America (2)	Confederation of Chess for America (CCA)	http://www.fideamerica.com	Pan American Chess Championship
Asia (3)	Asian Chess Federation (ACF)	http://www.asianchess.com	Asian Chess Championship, Asian Senior Chess Championship
Africa (4)	African Chess Confederation (ACC)	http://africa-chess.org	African Chess Championship
Arab world	Arab Chess Federation (ACF)	http://www.arabfide.com	Arab Chess Championship
ASEAN	ASEAN Chess Confederation	http://aseanchess.org/	–
Commonwealth of Nations	Commonwealth Chess Association (CCA)	http://www.commonwealthchess.com	Commonwealth Chess Championship
European microstates	–	–	European Small Nations Chess Championship
Francophone countries	International Chess Federation of French-speaking countries (AIDEF)	https://web.archive.org/web/20170809133711/http://aidef.ffechecs.org/	AIDEF Chess Championship
Ibero-America	Iberoamerican Chess Federation (FIBDA)	http://www.fibda.com	Iberoamerican Chess Championship
Mediterranean countries	Mediterranean Chess Association	http://www.medchess.org	Mediterranean Chess Championship
Nordic countries	Nordic Chess Federation	http://www.sjakk.no/nordisk/ Archived 2011-10-17 at the Wayback Machine	Nordic Chess Championship
Oceania (3.6)	Oceania Chess Confederation (OCC)	http://www.oceaniachess.com/	Oceania Chess Championship
South America	-	-	South American Chess Championship