Press launch by FIDE
The world’s greatest names in chess, led by five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, will collect in Budapest from November 10-21 for the inaugural Whole Chess World Championship Tour Pilot, marking the start of an formidable new chapter in skilled chess.
Conceptualised by Norway Chess and authorized by FIDE, the tour introduces a revolutionary international championship format that may culminate in crowning the FIDE World Mixed Champion throughout Quick Traditional, Speedy and Blitz disciplines. The Budapest Pilot serves as the primary showcase of the Tour’s imaginative and prescient, bringing collectively lots of the world’s finest gamers forward of the official launch of the multi-city World Championship Tour in 2027.
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The elite discipline options reigning and former World Championship contenders, Olympiad heroes, elite grandmasters and a number of the brightest younger skills in world chess, representing Europe, Asia and North America.
The confirmed lineup to date contains (ranked by their August 2026 FIDE commonplace score):
- Magnus Carlsen (Norway) — World No. 1
- Fabiano Caruana (United States) — World No. 2
- Vincent Keymer (Germany) — World No. 5
- Wesley So (United States) — World No. 6
- Anish Giri (Netherlands) — World No. 7
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) — World No. 8
- Arjun Erigaisi (India) — World No. 9
- Alireza Firouzja (France) — World No. 10
- Praggnanandhaa R (India) — World No. 12
- Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) — World No. 13
- Richard Rapport (Hungary) — World No. 18
- Hans Moke Niemann (United States) — World No. 21
- Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) — World No. 24
- Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) — World No. 28
- Haik M. Martirosyan (Armenia) — World No. 54
- Vladislav Artemiev (FIDE) — World No. 65
- Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) — Ladies’s World No. 5
- Vaishali Rameshbabu (India) — Ladies’s World No. 14
With this star-studded line-up of 18 gamers, the Budapest Pilot displays the Tour’s dedication to creating one of many strongest recurring fields in world chess. The remaining six gamers might be introduced in September.
Gamers will compete throughout Blitz, Speedy and Quick Traditional codecs, offering a singular aggressive atmosphere that rewards versatility throughout all three time controls. Outcomes from the pilot will assist form the aggressive framework of the Whole Chess World Championship Tour, which is able to characteristic 4 premier tournaments in several cities worldwide starting in 2027.
The Whole Chess World Championship Tour has been created to redefine elite chess via a season-long narrative, bringing collectively the world’s main gamers in a format designed for contemporary audiences whereas preserving the aggressive integrity of classical chess.
Talking of his participation, World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen mentioned:
I stay up for enjoying the Whole Chess World Championship in Budapest this 12 months. It is all the time fascinating to check out new codecs.
Confirming his participation, India’s Praggnanandhaa R, who can be the reigning Norway Chess champion, mentioned:
It is an thrilling format that challenges gamers to point out their finest efficiency in all three Classical, Speedy and Blitz codecs. Wanting ahead to being a part of the primary version.
Kjell Madland, CEO of Whole Chess mentioned:
The Budapest Pilot represents way over one other elite match. It is step one in the direction of creating a very international championship ecosystem that celebrates each format of the sport whereas giving followers a season-long journey to observe. Bringing collectively this calibre of gamers for our inaugural occasion is a testomony to the idea the world’s finest have within the imaginative and prescient of Whole Chess.
Concerning the format
The Fritz Powerbook 2026 accommodates 25 hundreds of thousands opening positions, derived from 1.7 million excessive class match video games. Along with every place all related info is saved: all strikes that have been performed within the place, by gamers of what common score, with what success and efficiency outcomes.
The Whole Chess World Championship Tour Pilot introduces a groundbreaking competitors format designed to establish the world’s most full chess participant by combining Quick Traditional, Speedy and Blitz right into a single championship. The pilot occasion will deliver collectively 24 elite gamers, who will start the match in a bunch stage comprising 4 teams of six gamers every. Each group follows a double round-robin format over 5 days, with gamers contesting ten Quick Classical video games (45 minutes plus a 30-second increment). Victories earn three factors, whereas attracts are value one level. A nine-round Blitz Swiss match held earlier than the competitors determines tiebreak rankings.
Following the group stage, gamers progress into knockout brackets based mostly on their ending positions. Every knockout match is performed over two days and exams rivals throughout all three disciplines – 4 Blitz video games (3+2), two Speedy video games (15+10) and one Quick Classical recreation (45+30) – with weighted scoring rewarding success in longer codecs.
The 4 highest-ranked gamers throughout the Tour qualify for the Grand Ultimate, the place semifinals and the championship match decide the inaugural FIDE World Mixed Champion. Ought to a knockout match stay tied, an Armageddon recreation is used to determine the winner, making certain each contest produces a definitive end result. The format rewards consistency, versatility and excellence throughout each main self-discipline of elite chess.
Additional match particulars, format, schedule, prize fund and broadcast info might be introduced within the coming weeks.
Three disciplines. One champion. One international tour. The journey begins in Budapest.
For extra info, go to: www.totalchess.com
About Whole Chess
Whole Chess is a world championship platform established to redefine elite aggressive chess for the fashionable period. Developed by Norway Chess and authorized by FIDE, the Whole Chess World Championship Tour introduces a unified format that crowns the world’s final champion by testing excellence throughout three disciplines: Quick Classical, Speedy and Blitz.
The Tour will deliver collectively the world’s prime 24 women and men gamers to compete throughout 4 premier worldwide occasions hosted in main international cities. Designed to raise the game’s industrial attraction and fan engagement, Whole Chess combines world-class competitors with innovation, expertise and immersive spectator experiences to create a brand new benchmark for skilled chess.
With a imaginative and prescient to make chess one of many world’s most participating and commercially sustainable sports activities, Whole Chess goals to develop the sport’s international footprint, encourage the following technology of gamers and join hundreds of thousands of followers via a dynamic championship that celebrates intelligence, technique and sporting excellence.
For extra info or press inquiries, contact press@totalchess.com.
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