New world championship tour in chess launched

Dubai: A new championship titled the Total Chess World Championship Tour will be launched by Norway Chess in the next year.

The championship will consist of four events each year and crown a combined champion across three disciplines – Fast Classic, Rapid, and Blitz chess.

“We expect this to become one of the most prestigious events in the entire chess Calendar,” said Kjell Madland, CEOof Norway Chess and of the new championship.

The vision of the championship tour is to find the player who best masters the disciplines Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz combined.

“We are looking for “the total chess player” – a versatile, tactically intelligent, and technically skilled athlete who seamlessly adapts to multiple time controls,” Madland added.

The tour will take place in various cities across the globe and during the final stop an overall winner will be crowned: the official Fide World Combined Champion. A one-tournament pilot version will kick off during fall 2026, to test the new tour format, with the full official tournament to follow in 2027.

The championship tour features a robust prize pool: a minimum of $750,000 for each of the first three events. The Finals will award at least $450,000 to a four-player field. Additional performance bonuses will be available for the highest point total at each tournament and for the top overall score across the Tour.

“We want to create an entertaining tournament using cutting-edge technology, innovative and engaging TV and streaming broadcasts, and faster formats to open up the sport of chess to a broader audience than ever before. We expect this to become one of the most prestigious events in the entire chess Calendar. We are very honored by the strong trust FIDE has shown in the project. From the very beginning, the federation has been an active and engaged partner — ensuring the project aligns with FIDE’s vision and standards. We want to thank them, and especially the FIDE President, for their close involvement and support,” says Kjell Madland.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said: “We are always looking for ways to innovate and push the boundaries of what chess can be. Although chess is already one of the most popular games in the world, its growth potential is still enormous. With the Total Chess World Championship Tour, we give players a new title to compete for, and the audience a faster tournament format, and we hope the tournament can captivate both the existing chess fans and new audiences.”

“We see this as a great addition to the traditional and prestigious World Chess Championship, where we crown the undisputed champion of classic chess. The championships will complement each other and offer even more excitement for the fans. This is not a short-term initiative, but a long-term agreement between FIDE and Norway Chess,” he added.