World Youth Chess Championships

The World Youth Chess Championships, often shortened to WYCC, do not produce one combined standing. Regulations of FIDE, the International Chess Federation, define three age groups and organize an Open event and a Girls event in each. Open means that the category is not restricted by sex; it does not mean unrestricted entry without eligibility requirements.

• Under-14: the player must not have reached fourteen before January 1 of the championship year.
• Under-16: the same cutoff date applies with an age limit of sixteen.
• Under-18: the same cutoff date applies with an age limit of eighteen.

The group therefore contains six competitions, each with its own champion. Players may enter through personal rights earned in earlier events or through places and registrations handled by their federations. Winning under-14 is not the same as winning one overall ranking across all ages.

These championships are separate from the World Junior Under-20 Championship. Youth and junior can sound interchangeable in ordinary English, but FIDE uses them for different age groups in these events.