Chess at the Edge of the Earth: Antarctica and the South Pole to Host the First FIDE-Rated Tournament

Chess has long moved far beyond traditional tournament halls. Games have been played in stadiums, museums, aboard aircraft, and in some of the most unusual places imaginable. But a new project promises to take that idea to an entirely different level: the Polar Chess Expedition will bring an official FIDE-rated tournament to Antarctica and then take it all the way to the geographic South Pole.

Six chess players representing all six inhabited continents will travel to one of the most extreme places on the planet. The tournament will be played in rapid chess, the games will be broadcast live, and the organizers hope to establish several unusual records along the way.

Six Continents — One Chessboard

The expedition's main feature is not simply its location. Six players will take part in the tournament, with each representing one of the world's inhabited continents.

The lineup is as follows:

* Aung Kyaw Moe — Candidate Master from Myanmar, Asia;

* Damaris Abarca González — Woman FIDE Master from Chile, South America;

* Jesse February — Woman International Master from South Africa, Africa;

* Nigel Short — Grandmaster from England, Europe;

* Sean Press — FIDE Master from Papua New Guinea, Oceania;

* Tris-Ann Richards — Woman Candidate Master from Saint Lucia, North America.

The chessboard will therefore become a symbolic meeting point for players from every inhabited part of the world.

The participants were not selected at random either. Each of them is connected to a national or regional chess federation.

Nigel Short to Lead the Unusual Lineup

The best-known participant in the expedition will be English Grandmaster Nigel Short.

Antarctica has a special significance for him. The idea for the project began with Short, who previously noted that he had managed to win tournaments on every continent except Antarctica.

That observation eventually evolved from an interesting personal fact into a full-scale expedition. Aung Kyaw Moe took the initiative in turning the idea into reality. Together with Short, he began discussions with chess federations across different continents, and the unusual journey eventually developed into an official FIDE-rated tournament.

Short also brings considerable sporting credentials to the project. In 1993, he became the first Englishman in more than a century to play a World Championship match, facing Garry Kasparov. Short currently also serves as FIDE Director of Chess Development.

The Tournament Will Take Place on Antarctic Ice

The organizers plan to stage the competition in the rapid-chess format. The first games will take place in Antarctica, after which the participants will continue their journey toward the geographic South Pole.

The final destination will be 90° south latitude — the point commonly known as the South Pole.

Each tournament round is scheduled to be broadcast live. This will allow viewers around the world to follow the games from what could become the most remote chess venue on the planet.

There is also an unusual factor to consider: the players will have to deal not only with their opponents, the clock, and the position on the board, but also with the extreme environmental conditions.

As Oceania representative Sean Press noted, in such a place, the biggest opponent might not be the person sitting across the board, but the weather.

An Attempt to Set Chess Records

The Polar Chess Expedition was conceived as more than simply an unusual journey. The organizers are aiming for several achievements.

The primary goal is to have the event recognized as the southernmost chess tournament in history.

The project could also become the first chess event to bring representatives of all six inhabited continents together at the geographic South Pole itself.

If the attempt succeeds, the geography of chess will gain a remarkable new symbolic point.

Why This Tournament Matters Beyond the Record

At first glance, the project may seem primarily like an unusual way to attract attention to chess. But its significance goes much further.

Chess does not require a stadium, large amounts of equipment, or complex infrastructure. A game needs a board, pieces, a clock, and two opponents. That simplicity allows the game to exist in almost any environment.

But the South Pole transforms an ordinary chess game into a genuine test.

The six participants will find themselves in a place associated more with scientific expeditions and extreme exploration than with sporting competitions. Yet the fundamental chess challenge will remain exactly the same: limited time, difficult decisions, and a constant battle for the initiative.

Chess That Brings the Planet Together

The geography of the participants gives the project an additional layer of symbolism.

Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Oceania — all six inhabited continents will be represented around a single chessboard.

For Damaris Abarca González, the idea carries particular significance: chess can represent not only an individual player but an entire continent. Tris-Ann Richards, meanwhile, has emphasized that taking part in such an expedition demonstrates just how far chess can take a person, regardless of the size of their country.

That is why the Polar Chess Expedition looks like more than just another unusual tournament.

It is an attempt to present chess as a global language capable of bringing people together even in one of the most inaccessible places on Earth.

The South Pole Could Become a New Point on the Chess Map

The history of chess stretches back centuries, yet the game continues to find new forms and new locations.

Now Antarctica could become the next such destination.

If the expedition goes according to plan, six players will do something that until recently sounded more like an idea from an adventure film: they will play an official FIDE-rated tournament among the Antarctic ice and then take chess all the way to 90° south latitude.

Ultimately, the potential record is not the only thing that matters. The more intriguing idea is the concept itself — bringing chess to a place with virtually no permanent human life and showing that, for this game, borders can truly disappear.

The Polar Chess Expedition could turn the South Pole into one of the most extraordinary locations in the history of world chess. And if the participants succeed in completing the project, a game played at the edge of the Earth will become more than a sporting event — it will become a distinct chapter in chess history.

Source: Official announcement from the organizers of the Polar Chess Expedition, published on September 7, 2026.