The first 16 players have been determined for the 2026 Total Chess World Championship Tour pilot tournament (“Total Chess 2026 Pilot”), FIDE and Norway Chess announced on Tuesday. This year’s event is a test run for the 2027 inaugural season, which will crown the first total chess world champion. The pilot tournament is scheduled to take place from 3–15, October 2026, and the locations will be announced at a later date. Invitations will be sent and have yet to be accepted.
Unlike the FIDE world championship cycle, which predominantly features classical chess, the Total Chess World Championship Tour will feature three time controls: fast classic, rapid, and blitz.
♟️ Total Chess 2026 Pilot | Qualified Players ♟️
The first sixteen players have earned the right to receive an invitation to the 2026 Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot, the new combined competition across Fast Classic, Rapid, and Blitz, with more qualifiers to follow.… pic.twitter.com/UKlYjPmXxd
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) January 6, 2026
The players who will receive invitations are:
- GM Gukesh Dommaraju, world champion
- GM Ju Wenjun, women’s world champion
- GM Magnus Carlsen, 2025 World Rapid Championship first place
- GM Vladislav Artemiev, 2025 World Rapid Championship second place
- GM Arjun Erigaisi, 2025 World Rapid Championship third place
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, 2025 World Blitz Championship second place
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, 2025 World Blitz Championship (qualified via the lowest average sum of placements)
- GM Hikaru Nakamura, via rating
- GM Fabiano Caruana, via rating
- GM Vincent Keymer, via rating
- GM Anish Giri, via rating
- GM Alireza Firouzja, via rating
- GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, via rating
- GM Wei Yi, via rating
- GM Wesley So, first replacement (lowest average sum of placements)
- GM Viswanathan Anand, first replacement according to rating
Two more participants will be announced in April after the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament and Women’s Candidates Tournament. The winners of those events will qualify for the Tour, in addition to their respective world championship matches.
Regulations have been published here.
