Norway Chess organisers to roll out World C’ship Tour

The organisers of Norway Chess announced the launch of the Total Chess World Championship Tour on Wednesday. It will consist of four events each year and crown a combined champion across three disciplines, Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz chess.

Norway Chess CEO Kjell Madland said a long-term agreement has been signed with the International Chess Federation (FIDE) for the tournament, which will be an annual affair and begin in 2027. "We expect the Total Chess World Championship Tour to become one of the most prestigious events in the entire chess calendar," said Madland.

He said the World Championships, which is held in the Classical format, and the newly conceptualised Total Chess World Championship Tour will complement each other as it has been officially approved by FIDE.

"The tour will consist of four tournaments per year in various global cities with a minimum US $2.7 million annual prize pool across the Tour (US $750,000 per event for the first three events; USD 450,000 for the Finals plus performance bonuses," Madland said.

"A pilot tournament is planned for the fall of 2026 with the first full championship season beginning in 2027," he said.

The status agreement between Norway Chess and FIDE was signed early October. "The vision of the Total Chess World Championship Tour is to find the player who best masters the disciplines Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz combined. Fast Classic is an innovation of classical chess, featuring a time limit as short as 45 minutes. This will receive rating the same way as classical chess," he said.

The conceptualisation of the event could have been driven by the fact that the likes of World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway and No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura have, of late, have moved away from the classical format and are now playing more on the Grand Chess Tour and competing in rapid and blitz tournaments.

"We are honoured 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," said Madland.

FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich has expressed strong support for the initiative. "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. We hope the tournament can captivate both the existing chess fans and new audiences," said Dvorkovich.

Norway Chess said it is inviting potential host cities to engage in discussions about joining the Total Chess World Championship.