Chess in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a hand-played board game in which two players compete. It is regarded as one of the popular table games locally, and one of the most popular in the world. The first world chess championship began in the Kingdom in 2017, the King Salman World Rapid Championship organized by the Ministry of Sport 'formerly Saudi General Sports Authority', in cooperation with the Saudi and International Chess Federations, in competitive rounds for men and women.
The Saudi Chess Federation (SCF), founded on October 1, 2017, serves as the sports entity governing chess activities in the Kingdom, overseeing their development, and organizing local chess tournaments across the Kingdom's provinces.
History of chess in the Kingdom
The first domestic chess championships began in the 1970s, when al-Jazirah newspaper announced the organization of a chess tournament in the capital Riyadh in 1974. The Saudi Chess Club (SCC) was subsequently established in 2010, which played a role in regulating chess as a mental sport. As a result of the success and activities achieved by the SCC, the Saudi Chess Association was founded in 2013 and gained membership in the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The first internationally ranked chess tournament was then held in the Kingdom, followed by the founding of the Saudi Chess Federation in 2017.
Saudi Chess Federation championships
The Saudi Chess Federation organized the first domestic tournament in 2018, known as the Kingdom Chess Championship, after the SCF’s participation in organizing the King Salman World Chess Championship, which was run for three years from 2017 until 2019. Competition in the Kingdom Chess Championship was limited to Saudi amateurs and players, with more than three hundred players competing in nine rounds.
Internationally, the SCF represents the Kingdom in the World Chess Olympiad tournaments, as the Kingdom participated in the World Chess Olympiad in India in 2022, where it won four world Olympic titles. Also in 2022, SCF Chairman Abdullah Bin Salem al-Wahshi joined the FIDE Advisory Board as the first Arab to join the board. The board oversees all decisions and regulations relating to the world's chess federations and is considered the highest FIDE advisory body.
Digital chess
The SCF launched the Digital Club in 2022 to attract the largest possible segment of male and female players across all age groups. Eight tournaments were organized via the club targeting amateurs and professional players. The Digital Club membership reached six hundred players of both genders.
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