Freestyle Chess World Championship: The fun begins on Friday

From dispute to agreement

The FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026 will be staged from 13 to 15 February at the Schloss Weissenhaus resort in Wangels, Germany. It will be the first world championship under that title and the third official World Chess960 Championship organised by FIDE. The event is being held under a joint framework between FIDE and Freestyle Chess, following the cooperation agreement signed by the two parties on 7 January 2026.

Freestyle Chess, also known as Chess960 or Fischer Random according to the FIDE Charter, uses randomly generated starting positions for the back-rank pieces, subject to specific rules. The format has previously been used for FIDE world championship events in 2019 and 2022. The 2026 tournament continues that line, now formally coordinated with Freestyle Chess Operations. It is the first time that the title in this format is awarded under a joint arrangement between FIDE and a private organiser.

One year ago, relations between FIDE and Freestyle Chess had deteriorated over the use of the World Championship designation in connection with freestyle events. Although both sides described their discussions as long and constructive, they were unable to reach an agreement, and aspects of the dispute became public.

The announcement in early January 2026 that a joint World Championship would take place in Weissenhaus therefore marked a change in direction. Jan Henric Büttner, the leading figure behind the Freestyle Chess project, stated that he was pleased to have reached a long-term agreement with FIDE. He also referred to the successful staging of the 2025 Grand Slam Tour and the establishment of new sponsorship arrangements.

The main building of the majestic Weissenhaus resort | Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The main event: Participants and format

The championship will feature eight players. Six secured their places through their results on the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour: Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi and Javokhir Sindarov.

Two additional participants were selected separately. Freestyle Chess nominated Hans Niemann as a wildcard, citing his performance in the Freestyle Chess event in Las Vegas. The final place was determined through an online qualification tournament organised by FIDE on chess.com, in which Nodirbek Abdusattorov claimed the eighth and final berth.

Images: Freestyle Chess

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Friday, February 13: The tournament opens with a rapid round-robin stage, following the format used in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam events. All eight players face each other once with a time control of 10 minutes plus 5-second increment. The top four players advance to the semifinals, while the remaining players move into placement matches.

Saturday, February 14: The knockout stage begins with the semifinals and placement matches, played with a time control of 25 minutes plus 10-second increment. The semifinals will be played as four-game matches.

Sunday, February 15: The final, played over four games, and the placement matches use the same 25 minutes plus 10-second increment. In the final, the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Champion is determined.

All final places from first to eighth will be decided over the board. The total prize fund is $300,000, with $100,000 awarded to the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Champion.

Women’s exhibition match

In parallel with the main championship, a Women’s Exhibition Match will be played in Weissenhaus as a precursor to the inaugural FIDE Women’s Freestyle Chess World Championship, scheduled for later in 2026. The original plan had been for Hou Yifan to face Bibisara Assaubayeva. However, Hou Yifan was unable to travel due to visa issues. Alexandra Kosteniuk subsequently stepped in to play in the match.

The exhibition will consist of four games played on 14 and 15 February, starting at 15:00 local time, with a time control of 25 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move. If the score is level after the four games, a tiebreak will be held. The total prize fund for the match is $15,000.

The Alapin Variation (1.e4 c5 2.c3) offers a simple yet highly effective solution to all major Sicilian lines, by sidestepping them with 2.c3.
Facing the Sicilian doesn’t have to be complicated. The Alapin Variation (1.e4 c5 2.c3) offers a simple yet highly effective solution to all major Sicilian lines, by sidestepping them with 2.c3. Whether your opponent plays the Najdorf, Taimanov, or Dragon, the Alapin lets you take control of the game as early as move two.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: 2…g6

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