FIDE Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners sets participation record

The 6th Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, held from October 13 to 15, established a new record with 140 teams from 56 countries participating. Organized by FIDE and the Cook County Sheriff's Office, the competition included men's, women's, and youth sections across various time zones.

The championship is part of the ‘Chess for Freedom’ initiative, which aims to use chess as an educational and social tool within correctional facilities to promote critical thinking, emotional control, and teamwork to support societal reintegration.

In Argentina, specifically within the Corrientes province, chess programs have operated in five correctional facilities for over a decade. Through the ‘Taragüi Koe’ educational program, inmates access computers and internet in libraries for training and competition. High-performing inmates with good behavior may occasionally receive judicial authorization to compete in tournaments outside prison walls.