On September 1, 2026, FIDE and World Chess announced that an application had been submitted to ICANN to create .chess, a new generic top-level domain (gTLD) dedicated to the chess ecosystem. That does not mean addresses ending in .chess already exist or can be registered. The application entered ICANN's 2026 Round process and still has to pass evaluations, any applicable contention mechanisms, contracting, and technical delegation before the TLD can operate on the Internet.
The key point for anyone who saw the announcement is to separate the proposal from the outcome: FIDE and World Chess have already described the project's intent and overall model, but the decision to allow .chess into the DNS root depends on ICANN's process.
What FIDE and World Chess asked ICANN for
According to the official FIDE announcement and the World Chess publication, the application was filed through a dedicated World Chess subsidiary, on behalf of and in cooperation with FIDE. The proposal designates .chess as a Community Application.
Under this model, FIDE acts as the institutional sponsor. World Chess says it manages and funds the project and, if the application succeeds, intends to operate the extension on FIDE's behalf. The goal is to turn .chess into chess-specific digital infrastructure instead of relying only on addresses spread across .com, .org, and country-code domains.
“Community Application,” however, does not mean automatic approval. ICANN explains that an applicant self-identifies as community-based; Community Priority Evaluation (CPE) is a contention-resolution mechanism used when there is contention and the community applicant elects to participate in that evaluation.
Who could use a .chess address
FIDE and World Chess describe an extension intended for recognizable participants in the chess ecosystem. The announcement mentions national federations, clubs, academies, organizers, tournaments, platforms, media, chess businesses, and players. Titled players are explicitly named among the groups that could have a verified .chess name.
| Group | What has been announced |
|---|---|
| National federations | The proposal provides for dedicated names allocated in coordination with FIDE. |
| Clubs and academies | They could register names associated with their chess activity, subject to the future registry rules. |
| Tournaments and organizers | They could use an identifier directly tied to the sport. |
| Platforms, media, and businesses | They are among the categories cited as part of the ecosystem the extension is intended to serve. |
| Players | The official communication mentions players and specifically titled players as possible registrants. |
These categories describe the project's intent, not a final and immutable eligibility list. Under ICANN rules, a Community Application must propose registration policies stating who may register names and how second-level names will be selected. Those policies still have to be evaluated and, if the application advances, approved for inclusion in the registry agreement. Therefore, the definitive operational verification and eligibility rules should only be treated as final once the ICANN process and the future registry's rules are settled.
Why the .chess domain does not exist yet
ICANN's 2026 Round opened its application window on April 30 and closed it on August 12, 2026. On August 13, ICANN said it had received more than 1,600 primary applications, subject to administrative review and the stages that follow. FIDE and World Chess's September 1 announcement confirms that the .chess proposal was submitted in that round, but it does not remove any subsequent step.
1. Administrative review and Reveal Day
ICANN first performs an administrative check of the applications. It then publishes the public portions of the proposals on Reveal Day. On August 13, the organization said that, absent extraordinary circumstances, it expected Reveal Day to occur no later than nine weeks after the application window closed and that it would announce the date and the timeline for subsequent milestones in mid-September. As of September 5, 2026, the round's official public application list was therefore still pending.
2. String confirmation, comments, objections, and appeals
ICANN's Applicant Journey provides for string replacement and confirmation stages after publication, followed by community input, comments, objections, and appeals. A published application does not receive automatic approval merely because it passed the initial administrative check.
3. String evaluation
ICANN evaluates the applied-for string for technical and policy requirements. The 2026 Round documentation includes reviews of similarity, stability, safeguards, geographic names where applicable, and name-collision risk. Among other purposes, this stage checks whether the string can proceed safely and in line with program rules.
4. Possible contention over .chess
If another application creates contention with .chess, contention-resolution procedures come into play. For eligible Community Applications, ICANN provides for Community Priority Evaluation; if the contention is not resolved that way, an ICANN auction may follow under the round's rules.
CPE examines criteria such as community establishment, the nexus between the community and the string, registration policies, and community support. FIDE and World Chess's choice to submit a Community Application can therefore matter in a contention set, but it does not guarantee that they will prevail or that the TLD will be approved.
5. Applicant and application evaluations
Operational and financial evaluations follow, along with background screening of key individuals and reviews of technical components and the Registry Service Provider. ICANN itself describes the journey as going from application to potential delegation, not automatic delegation.
6. Contracting, onboarding, and delegation
If the application clears the applicable stages, the successful applicant must sign the 2026 registry agreement, complete technical onboarding, and pass the required testing. Only then can delegation occur: adding the new TLD to the DNS root. That is the step that turns an approved string into an operational Internet extension.
That is why there is currently no ordinary registration of names such as club.chess or player.chess. FIDE and World Chess say registrations will open only if and when ICANN approves the application.
What is already a fact and what still depends on ICANN
| Already a fact | Still dependent on the process |
|---|---|
| FIDE and World Chess announced the submission of the .chess application. | Publication of the application in the official Reveal Day list. |
| The proposal was filed as a Community Application. | Whether another application will be in contention with .chess. |
| FIDE is presented as institutional sponsor and World Chess as the party managing and funding the project. | Passing string, applicant, and application evaluations. |
| The project is intended to serve federations, clubs, academies, tournaments, players, platforms, media, and chess businesses. | Approval of community registration policies and final eligibility criteria. |
| An interest list exists for project updates. | Signing the agreement, technical testing, DNS delegation, and the actual opening of registrations. |
What to do now if you want a .chess domain
There is no operational .chess domain to register at this time. FIDE says national federations will receive further information as the process advances and that no action is required from them at this stage. People and organizations that want to follow the project can join World Chess's update list at worldchess.com/domains.
That list is not the same as owning a delegated domain. Until ICANN completes the process and the TLD is actually delegated, a name ending in .chess does not function as a normal public DNS domain.
In summary
FIDE and World Chess's request is real and was submitted in the 2026 new-gTLD round, but .chess remains an application. The proposal aims to create a verified extension for the chess community and was structured as a Community Application, which may matter if there is contention over the string. Before any registration can happen, however, ICANN still has to make the applications public, conduct the applicable evaluations and participation or contention procedures, complete contracting, and technically delegate the TLD. Until then, .chess is a project under review, not an Internet address that is available for registration.
