The first official FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship to be hosted in Weissenhaus
Weissenhaus / Hamburg / Germany, January 7, 2026 The International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Freestyle Chess Operations GmbH have agreed to stage the first official FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship in Weissenhaus, Germany, from February 13–15, 2026. The event is governed by FIDE in collaboration with Freestyle Chess. On January 7, 2026, FIDE and Freestyle Chess signed a cooperation agreement, giving the green light to the first joint World Championship. This is the first time that the World Championship title in this format is awarded under a joint framework between FIDE and a private organiser. As confirmed by the Parties, “no event may be designated as an official ‘World Chess Championship’ in any format, including Freestyle Chess, without the prior written consent of FIDE”. Freestyle Chess is also known as Chess960 or FIDE Fischer Random Chess as per the FIDE Charter. The FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship will be a continuation of FIDE’s previous events in the Fischer Random format (previously held in 2019 and 2022) and will feature eight players. Six players have qualified based on their results during the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour: Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi, and Javokhir Sindarov. Two additional participants will be selected separately, one by FIDE and one by Freestyle Chess. Freestyle Chess has already nominated Hans Niemann, due to his outstanding performance in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas. FIDE will hold an Online Qualification Tournament on Chess.com as early as January 14 and 15 to determine the eighth player. A Women’s Exhibition Match between two of the best women will be held in parallel in Weissenhaus. Additionally, the Parties have agreed to the launch of the inaugural FIDE Women’s Freestyle Chess Championship in late 2026. The event will feature a $50,000 prize fund, financed from the payment made by Freestyle Chess under the current agreement with FIDE. “This World Championship and signed cooperation agreement bring FIDE and Freestyle Chess together within a clear and transparent sporting framework,” said Arkady Dvorkovich, President of FIDE. “It is important that elite competition in this format is governed under established international standards administered by FIDE as the sole governing body of world chess.” “Our aim from the outset was to build a serious competitive structure, not isolated events,” said Jan Henric Buettner, CEO of Freestyle Chess. “After completing our first Grand Slam season, a World Championship in cooperation with FIDE is the logical next step – a defined title, a fixed venue, and a clear competitive peak.” The FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026 follows the conclusion of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025, which recently crowned Freestyle Chess co-founder Magnus Carlsen as its first overall champion at the season final in South Africa. The inaugural Grand Slam Tour established Freestyle Chess as a structured, season-long elite circuit. Set on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast, Weissenhaus has already established itself as a distinctive venue for elite chess events. The historic estate offers seclusion, architectural character, and controlled playing conditions, providing a focused environment for top-level competition and broadcast production. Format and Schedule 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. Arrivals are scheduled for February 11, with February 12 reserved as a media and content day. The event concludes on Sunday, February 15, followed by departures on February 16.
FIDE introduces updated Circuit format for 2026-2027
FIDE has approved a new format for the FIDE Circuit, introducing a series of regulatory and structural updates that will apply to the 2026 and 2027 seasons. The revised regulations further define the Circuit as a unified system of top individual chess tournaments worldwide and strengthen its role as a performance-based qualification pathway, with increased emphasis on consistency, strength of opposition, and participation at the highest level. The updated regulations were approved by the FIDE Council on 26 December 2025 and will come into force on 1 January 2026. Summary of key changes: Introduction of a two-year Circuit cycle covering the 2026 and 2027 seasons Expansion of the number of results counted toward the final score Introduction of a separate FIDE Open Circuit sub-ranking Updated tournament strength calculation Expanded eligibility for rapid and blitz tournaments Inclusion of the Total Chess World Championship Tour Adjusted bonus scoring for the World Championship Match For the first time, the FIDE Circuit will operate over a two-year cycle. Instead of an annual ranking, results from the 2026 and 2027 seasons will be combined into a single Circuit ranking. A player’s final score will be calculated as the sum of their twelve highest event scores achieved across the two-year period, or all event scores if fewer than twelve are available. Alongside this expansion, new balance rules have been introduced to ensure that a player’s final score reflects a broad and competitive tournament portfolio. When a final score includes eleven or twelve event scores, no more than four rapid or blitz tournaments may be counted. In addition, no more than seven events, in the case of eleven results, or eight events, in the case of twelve results, may come from tournaments with fewer than 50 participants. When a final score is based on ten or fewer events, these limits are reduced accordingly. These measures reinforce classical chess as the core of the Circuit, while allowing rapid and blitz events to contribute in a limited and clearly defined way. To be eligible to qualify for the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2028 via the Circuit, a player’s final score must include at least eight eligible tournaments, of which at least five must be standard time-control events. Depending on the total number of tournaments counted, a minimum number of these standard tournaments must also have participation of 50 players or more. Event scores of zero points may be included for the purpose of meeting participation requirements. A new Open Circuit sub-ranking has been introduced as part of the overall structure. This ranking will include only tournaments with more than 50 participants and is intended to highlight performances in large open events. The top players in this sub-ranking will earn qualification opportunities for selected FIDE competitions, such as the Total Chess Tour, further strengthening the link between open tournaments and the elite pathway. Another significant update concerns tournament strength calculations. The average rating used to determine a tournament’s strength will now be based on the top twelve players, rather than eight as in previous cycles. This adjustment provides a more accurate reflection of the competitive level of elite events and aligns scoring more closely with the actual strength of the field. Eligibility for rapid and blitz tournaments has also been expanded. The minimum average rating threshold required for such events to be included in the Circuit has been lowered from 2700 to 2650. Eligible rapid and blitz events remain subject to reduced weighting through established multipliers. The Total Chess World Championship Tour 2026-2027 has been formally included in the FIDE Circuit. Results from these events will count toward Circuit scores, with specific coefficients applied, and are treated as standard tournaments for the purposes of participation requirements. Adjustments have also been made to bonus scoring related to the World Championship Match, where the runner-up of the World Championship match will get fewer points with a coefficient decrease to 1.5 compared to the Circuit 2025, ensuring a better balance between match results and tournament performance across the Circuit as a whole. “It is extremely important for FIDE to provide equal competitive opportunities to grandmasters of all levels and increase the role of sporting merit in selection. The new FIDE Open Circuit allows all grandmasters to compete for direct spots in the most prestigious FIDE tournaments. Thus, the top 3 players in the 2026 FIDE Open Circuit standings as of September 1, 2026, qualify for the 2026 pilot Total Chess event. Furthermore, the top 2 players as of January 1, 2027, will also qualify for the 1st leg of the 2027 event,” said FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. The revised regulations further clarify eligibility criteria for tournaments, including minimum numbers of players and rounds, rating thresholds, federation representation requirements, the mandatory application of FIDE Fair Play procedures, and advance notification obligations for organisers. The FIDE Council retains authority over the regulations, with any unforeseen circumstances or formats not covered referred to the FIDE President for a final decision. The official FIDE Circuit rankings will be published and updated on a weekly basis throughout the 2026-2027 cycle. Regulations are available in the FIDE Handbook: handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/Regulations_for_FIDE_Circuit_2026.pdf FIDE Circuit 2026-2027 page: fide.com/fide-circuit-2026-2027/