FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships head to Hong Kong
Hong Kong will host the fourth edition of FIDE’s World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships, from 17 to 21 June 2026. Bringing together top pros like Magnus Carlsen and amateur players in a fun, high-stakes format, the event is expanding its global reach to East Asia for the first time. After Dusseldorf in 2023, Astana in 2024 and London in 2025, the World Rapid and Blitz Teams heads to Hong Kong, giving chess a new global stage. Organised by FIDE, the event features rapid and blitz championships, scored with match points. Each team must include at least one female player and one recreational player, defined as someone who has never reached 2000 Elo in standard, rapid or blitz. “We are proud and delighted to bring the fourth edition of the event to the world. As we have seen in previous WRB Teams, this is more than a tournament. The competition attracts players and fans from different cultural and professional backgrounds, helping build connections and creating opportunities,” FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said. A mix of fun and high stakes competition, the tournament attracts teams from the corporate and sports worlds across the globe. WR Chess which has dominated the event since its launch, has already announced the key players in its team, including Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Hou Yifan and others. In recent years Hong Kong has become a serious international host for large open and regional events. The Hong Kong International Open Chess Championship in 2025 drew more than 400 players, including more than 80 titled participants. Most recently, the city hosted the 2025 Eastern Asia Juniors and Girls Chess Championships at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. “This is the first time Hong Kong will host a major global chess event and it is important to us to use the opportunity to promote the tournament, chess and the host city to a new audience,” Dvorkovich added. The winners of the World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships since 2023 In 2023, the inaugural FIDE World Rapid Team Championship featured rapid only with no blitz. It was a 12 round Swiss event, won by the WR Chess Team. In 2024, the event expanded to include blitz. The rapid remained a 12 round Swiss and was won by Al Ain ACMG from the UAE, while the blitz debuted in a two-stage format, with pool round robins, followed by a 16-team knockout. WR Chess won the blitz. In 2025, the structure stayed the same. Rapid was a 12 round Swiss, won by Team MGD1. Blitz followed the same format of pool stage and a 16 team knockout and was again won by WR Chess Team. More details about the regulations, prize fund and competition will be announced in due course.
Jan Timman (1951-2026)
FIDE and the entire chess community mourn the passing of Jan Timman, who died on February 18 at the age of 74. The nine-time Dutch champion, elite player from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, multiple-time Candidates participant, he will be remembered for his imaginative playing style, outstanding competitive achievements and rich literary legacy. Born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Timman learned chess around the age of eight and quickly showed exceptional talent. His first notable success came at the 1967 World Junior Championship in Jerusalem where, aged just 15, he won the bronze medal. Timman earned the International Master title in 1971 and he was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1974, becoming only the third Dutch player to achieve this honor after Max Euwe and Jan Hein Donner. The same year he won his first Dutch championship title. His rapid ascent continued with a string of excellent results in international tournaments. In Hastings 1973/74 he shared victory with Tal, Kuzmin, and Szabó; he then went on to win Sombor 1974 (jointly with Boris Gulko), Netanya 1975, Reykjavík 1976 (with Fridrik Olafsson), Amsterdam IBM 1978, Nikšić 1978 (with Gulko) and Vidmar Memorial 1979. At the peak of his career, Timman stood out as the best non-Soviet player earning the moniker “the best of the West”. By 1982 he was ranked second in the world, behind only Anatoly Karpov. In the 1980s Timman won a number of very strong tournaments, including Amsterdam IBM in 1981, Wijk aan Zee in 1981 and 1985, Linares in 1988, Euwe Memorial 1987 (with Karpov) and 1989, and the 1989 World Cup tournament in Rotterdam. Other triumphs included Las Palmas 1981, Mar del Plata 1982, Bugojno 1984, and Sarajevo 1984 (shared with Korchnoi). Timman’s quest for the chess crown began in 1972, but he first qualified for the Candidates in 1985 after winning the Interzonal in Taxco. His pursuit culminated in the title match of the 1993 FIDE World Championship against Anatoly Karpov (organized by FIDE following the Kasparov–Short split), which Timman lost. Timman represented the Netherlands in 13 Chess Olympiads from 1972 to 2004, playing on the top board on 11 occasions. In 1976 he won the gold medal for the best individual performance on board one. Beyond competition, Timman made significant contributions as a chess writer and editor, including long-term roles with New in Chess magazine and authoring several acclaimed books such as The Art of Chess Analysis (1980), The Art of Attacking Chess (2014) and Timman’s Titans (2016). He was also a distinguished endgame study composer – one of the strongest practical players to excel in chess compositions. In October 2025, Jan Timman was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in recognition of his enduring contributions to chess. FIDE and global chess family extend their deepest condolences to Jan Timman’s family, friends and loved ones. Photo: Harry Gielen
2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championships to be held in Weissenhaus
Hamburg, February 19, 2026 – FIDE and Freestyle Chess have agreed that the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championships will again be staged in Weissenhaus, Germany in 2027. The agreement confirms the continuation of the championship at the Baltic Sea venue following the inaugural edition in 2026. The FIDE Women’s Freestyle Chess World Championship, will take place over three days on the first weekend of February 2027, followed by the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship over three days on the second weekend of February 2027. The format and calendar have been coordinated between FIDE and Freestyle Chess to ensure continuity within the international chess schedule. The decision follows the successful staging of the first FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship in February 2026. In that event, Magnus Carlsen (Norway) won the title in Weissenhaus, defeating Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2.5–1.5 in the final. As finalists in 2026, Carlsen and Caruana have already qualified for the 2027 World Championship. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan), who secured third place in 2026, also earned direct qualification for the 2027 edition. Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) qualified for the 2027 Women’s FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship by winning the 2026 exhibition match against Alexandra Kosteniuk (Switzerland). By returning to the Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort, FIDE and Freestyle Chess aim to consolidate the venue as the home of the Freestyle World Championship. The location provides stable conditions for a compact, high-level knockout format and allows for consistent organizational standards year to year. The continuation at the same venue is intended to strengthen the identity of the Freestyle title within the broader FIDE world championship framework. The partnership between FIDE and Freestyle Chess, formalized ahead of the 2026 edition, establishes the FIDE Freestyle World Championship as an officially recognized world title. The agreed multi-year planning framework provides predictability for players, organizers, and commercial partners, and supports the integration of Freestyle Chess into the global competitive calendar. The championship cycle will continue to include qualifying events. The next confirmed step in that pathway is the grenke Freestyle Chess Open, to be held April 2–6, 2026, in Karlsruhe, Germany. For the first time, the grenke event will carry official qualification status for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship. Jan Henric Buettner, co-founder and CEO of Freestyle Chess, said: “The decision to return to Weissenhaus in 2027 reflects our commitment to building a stable and credible world championship cycle for Freestyle Chess. Continuity of venue and structure allows us to focus on sporting quality and long-term development.” Arkady Dvorkovich, President of FIDE, said: “The 2026 championship marked an important milestone as the first official Freestyle Chess World Championship, recognized by FIDE. By confirming Weissenhaus as the stage for 2027, we are reinforcing the institutional framework of the title and supporting the continued growth of this format within the international chess ecosystem, in compliance with FIDE’s rules and regulations.” Freestyle Chess is also known as Chess960 or FIDE Fischer Random Chess, as per the FIDE Charter. The FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship is a continuation of FIDE’s previous events in the Fischer Random format (held in 2019 and 2022).
Selection completed for the Freedom Asian Chess Initiatives (FACI) 2026 Project
The Kazakhstan Chess Federation has announced the results of the selection process for national chess federations in the Freedom Asian Chess Initiatives (FACI) 2026 project. The application period for the new stage of the initiative, implemented with the support of Freedom Holding Corp., FIDE, and the Asian Chess Federation (ACF), concluded in early January. Following a comprehensive review of applications, the following countries have been approved as participants of FACI 2026: 🇰🇭 Cambodia 🇯🇵 Japan 🇯🇴 Jordan 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan 🇳🇵 Nepal 🇵🇰 Pakistan 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan The selection was based on compliance with the project criteria and the potential for sustainable chess development in the respective countries. The FACI project aims to foster at the sustainable development of chess across Asia through strengthening national federations, enhancing professional training standards, and promoting international cooperation. The program includes training camps, educational seminars, and support for participation in international competitions. In 2025, FACI supported seven national chess federations: Oman, Cambodia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, Jordan, and Pakistan. The participating countries demonstrated strong sporting results, including prize-winning finishes at international tournaments. Several federations also received grant support to participate in the FIDE World Cadet Chess Championship held in Almaty, providing young players with valuable experience competing at the highest international level. KazChess warmly congratulate selected federations on becoming part of FACI 2026. May this initiative open new opportunities, and contribute to the continued growth and unity of the Asian chess community. More detailed information about the FACI project is available in our video feature and on our website.