Magnus Carlsen will lead a 24-player field in the Total Chess 2026 pilot tournament, which will be held in Budapest from November 10 to 20. The competition will be the first test of a new format combining accelerated classics, rapid and blitz within a single tournament.
The Anantara New York Palace will host the event. The program begins on November 10 with an opening ceremony and a nine-round blitz tournament. The group stage is scheduled for November 11-15, with a day off on November 16, and the eliminations will be played on November 17-20.
24 names in the first squad
The participants include Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Kaymer, Wesley So, Anish Giri, Nodirbek Abdusatorov, Arjun Erigaisi, Alireza Firuzja, R. Praggnanandha, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Richard Rapport, Hans Niemann, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Haik Martirosyan and Vladislav Artemiev.
The squad also includes Bibisara Asaubaeva, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Levon Aronian, Liem Le, Jorden van Forest, Abhimanyu Mishra, Shahriyar Mamedyarov and Andrew Hong. The last six names were added to the final line-up on September 23.
World champion Gukesh D and title challenger Yavokshir Sindarov will not play in Budapest. The reason is that the two are scheduled to meet in the classic world title match in Geneva immediately after Total Chess. Hikaru Nakamura, who also received an invitation based on the rating, is not included in the final line-up.
Three chess disciplines in one tournament
In the group stage, the 24 participants will be divided into four groups of six. Each player will play the others in the group twice, or a total of 10 games over five days.
The games will be in the new Fast Classic format - 45 minutes per player with an increment of 30 seconds after each move. A win will be worth three points, a draw - one, and a loss - zero.
The results of the blitz tournament on November 10 will be used to determine the tiebreakers in the groups. This way, the competition will begin even before the official start of the group phase.
Eliminations with different game weights
The elimination matches will last for two days. Each day's program includes four blitz games, two rapid games, and one Fast Classic game. A win in blitz is worth one point, in rapid - four, and in fast classic - eight. In the event of a draw, half of the corresponding asset is awarded.
The score is reset at the beginning of each day. If both players win one day or both days end in a draw, the winner will be determined with Armageddon. In it, white has 10 minutes, black has seven, and black has an advantage in the event of a draw. The addition of one second begins after the 40th move.
Carlsen supports the idea of unifying the various controls, and when presenting the concept, he defined the format as an opportunity for a “more complete picture“ of the chess player.
Pilot before the full world tour
The tournament in Budapest will not produce a world combined champion. It will test the rules before the start of the full Total Chess World Tour, planned for March 2027.
The initial plan calls for three tournaments with 24 participants each. Players will collect points based on their performance, and the top four will qualify for the Grand Final. The winner of this will receive the title of FIDE World Combined Champion.
A minimum annual prize fund of $2.7 million has been announced for the full tour. Each of the three main tournaments will have at least $750,000 in prize money, and the Grand Final will have at least $450,000.
Sources: worldchess.com