We’re excited to announce the 2026 cycle of the Chess.com Community Championships! The series kicks off in January with the Chess.com Puzzles Championship and will feature 12 events in total, with a $37,500 prize fund.
As always, the Championships will feature a different chess variant every month. Each variant’s distinctive features add an extra spice to the competition, allowing players to enjoy chess in new and fun ways.
Any Chess.com member is welcome to participate in the championships. The events are a unique opportunity for members to play against titled players—sometimes even delivering the upset of a lifetime since everyone’s playing in unfamiliar territory. They are also a chance for anyone to play in an official Chess.com prize event.
Throughout 2026, most events will follow the usual format: eight arena qualifiers, followed by a double-elimination knockout final.
In 2025, more than 24,000 members, including strong masters, participated in the Chess.com Community Championships. It all started with GM Andy Woodward having a remarkable run at the Chess.com Puzzles Championship, ending GM Ray Robson‘s five-year reign.
Other familiar faces showed up throughout the year to claim their titles: GM Andrew Tang dominated in hyperbullet, GM Lucas Moroni won in spell chess for the second year in a row, and variants specialist IM Nhat Minh To took home titles in duck chess and Seirawan chess.
Now, we’re ready to start a new year of exciting competition in our community’s most beloved chess variants! Below you can see the variants and schedule for 2026:
- Chess.com Puzzles Championship: Jan 15-16
- Chess.com 3-Check Chess Championship: February 19-20
- Chess.com Atomic Chess Championship: March 5-6
- Chess.com 4-Player Chess Championship: April 6-10
- Chess.com King of the Hill Chess Championship: May 7-8
- Chess.com Hyperbullet Chess Championship: June 18-19
- Chess.com Spell Chess Championship: July 9-10
- Chess.com Bughouse Chess Championship: August 3-7
- Chess.com Duck Chess Championship: September 3-4
- Chess.com Seirawan Chess Championship: October 1-2
- Chess.com Crazyhouse Chess Championship: November 5-6
- Chess.com Fog of War Chess Championship: December 17-18
What’s your favorite variant from the Chess.com Community Championships? Let us know in the comments below!
