Press release
The 2026 event is officially designated as a pilot, designed to test the full concept, format, and regulations of the Total Chess World Championship Tour. The inaugural full Tour season, including the official crowning of the first Total Chess World Champion, will begin in 2027.
The pilot tournament is scheduled to take place from 3–15 October 2026. The host destinations and venues will be announced at a later date.
Formal invitations to the qualified players will be sent out in the coming days and over the course of the next week.
Based on the qualification criteria approved by FIDE, the field already includes the top 13 players from the January classical rating list, the Women’s World Champion, and additional elite qualifiers from the World Rapid and World Blitz Championships — a highly competitive lineup for the 2026 pilot event.
Players who have earned the right to receive an invitation
1–2. World Champions
- GM Gukesh Dommaraju – World Champion
- GM Ju Wenjun – Women’s World Champion
3–5. World Rapid Championship 2025 (three places)
The three medalists of the 2025 World Rapid Championship have earned the right to be invited:
- GM Magnus Carlsen
- GM Vladislav Artemiev
- GM Arjun Erigaisi
6–7. World Blitz Championship 2025 (two places)
The two qualifiers from the 2025 World Blitz Championship are:
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (qualified via the lowest average sum of placements)
8–16. Top-9 rated players (January 2026 list, with replacements)
Based on the classical rating list as of 1 January 2026, and applying the agreed replacement rules (to account for players already qualified via World Championships and World Rapid/Blitz), the following players have earned the right to receive an invitation via rating:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura
- GM Fabiano Caruana
- GM Vincent Keymer
- GM Anish Giri
- GM Alireza Firouzja
- GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa
- GM Wei Yi
Two further places are filled according to the replacement criteria:
- GM Wesley So – first replacement (lowest average sum of placements)
- GM Viswanathan Anand – replacement according to rating
A star-studded field and the road ahead
In summary, the right to receive an invitation to the 2026 Total Chess pilot tournament has currently been granted to 16 players, comprising:
- The top 13 players from the January classical rating list
- GM Vladislav Artemiev
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
- The Women’s World Champion, GM Ju Wenjun
The next two players to earn the right to receive invitations will be determined in April 2026, following the conclusion of the FIDE Candidates Tournament and the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. The winners of both events will qualify for the Tour.
They will be joined by:
- The top three players from the standard rating list as of 1 June 2026 (excluding those already qualified), and
- Three FIDE Open Circuit qualifiers (from a special ranking including only open events).
The 2026 pilot will be a 24-player tournament held from 3–15 October 2026, with destinations and venues to be announced later. The inaugural full Total Chess World Championship Tour season will then launch in 2027.
Regulations of the Total Chess World Championship Tour
FIDE and Norway Chess also announce that the official Regulations of the Total Chess World Championship Tour have now been published. These regulations define in detail:
- The full qualification system
- Event structure and scoring across Fast Classic, Rapid, and Blitz
- Tie-break and replacement rules
- Prize fund distribution and Tour standings
The regulations are available here:
