Matches in the sixth Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners are being played on Chess.com from 13 to 15 October 2026. Dubai's correctional institutions are among the teams competing in a tournament whose registration figures differ across reports.
The Dubai Police General Department of Punitive and Correctional Establishments is taking part. The event is organised by the International Chess Federation, or FIDE, and the Cook County Sheriff's Office in Illinois. Dubai Chess and Culture Club is cooperating with the organisers. FIDE says the online format lets correctional facilities thousands of kilometres apart play each other. The competition has men's and women's sections. Youth players compete in a separate section.
The Dubai announcement cites 134 teams from 54 countries. FIDE's official announcement, by contrast, reported record registration of 140 teams from 56 countries. The championship is played in groups across different time zones, with a time control of 10 minutes plus five seconds per move from the first move. The top two teams in each group and section advance to the final stage. Teams finishing second compete for bronze medals.
Chess as part of rehabilitation
Brigadier Sultan Abdullah Mohammed Al Owais, director of the department, said the participation reflects Dubai Police's focus on rehabilitation and preparing inmates for positive reintegration into society. He said chess can build strategic thinking and mental discipline, while giving participants a chance to demonstrate their abilities.
The initiative sits alongside a wider UAE effort to expand chess in schools and communities. A separate partnership in that push is described in a separate chess initiative.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Abdullah Al Obaidli, director of inmate education and training, said the department provides educational and sporting activities to help inmates use their time constructively. He described tournaments as one part of a broader programme that includes formal education and vocational skills. The stated aim is to help inmates become productive after completing their sentences.
Dubai's entry is part of an international programme involving correctional facilities in several countries. Kyrgyzstan, for example, entered men's and women's teams representing inmates from correctional institutions No. 2 and No. 8, according to the news outlet 24.kg. Organisers present chess as an educational and social activity in correctional settings.
A previous tournament win
Dubai Chess and Culture Club secretary-general Saeed Yousef Shukri credited the correctional department with supporting training and internal competitions. Dubai inmates won first place in the championship's fourth edition in 2024, the Emirates News Agency, WAM, reported.
Al Owais and Al Obaidli attended the launch of the inmates' participation. Club secretary-general Shukri and other department officials were also there. This year's edition is being played online over three days, so participants from correctional facilities do not need to travel internationally.
