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Total Chess World Championship: Carlsen Leads Budapest Field
A new FIDE title mixing classical, rapid and blitz starts in Budapest on 10 November. The 24 players, the format, the scoring, and why it matters.
Chess is getting a new world title. The Total Chess World Championship - organised by Norway Chess with FIDE and the Hungarian Chess Federation - holds its pilot event in Budapest from 10 to 20 November 2026, at the Anantara New York Palace hotel. The winner will be called the FIDE World Combined Champion.
The idea: one champion across three speeds - a fast classical game, rapid and blitz - instead of separate titles for each.
The field
Twenty-four players, led by Magnus Carlsen, the world number one. FIDE's announcement of 23 September listed:
| Players | |
|---|---|
| Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | Fabiano Caruana (USA) |
| Wesley So (USA) | Vincent Keymer (Germany) |
| Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) | R Praggnanandhaa (India) |
| Arjun Erigaisi (India) | Anish Giri (Netherlands) |
| Alireza Firouzja (France) | Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) |
| Liem Le (Vietnam) | Richárd Rapport (Hungary) |
| Levon Aronian (USA) | Hans Niemann (USA) |
| Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) | Ian Nepomniachtchi |
| Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | Jorden van Foreest (Netherlands) |
| Haik M. Martirosyan (Armenia) | Vladislav Artemiev |
| Abhimanyu Mishra (USA) | Andrew Hong (USA) |
| Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) | Vaishali Rameshbabu (India) |
Neither world championship finalist is in the list: Gukesh and Javokhir Sindarov play their title match in Geneva from 24 November, four days after Budapest ends.
How it works
Time controls. Three speeds, all with an increment:
- Fast classical: 45 minutes + 30 seconds a move
- Rapid: 15 minutes + 10 seconds
- Blitz: 3 minutes + 2 seconds
Opening blitz. It starts with a nine-round blitz Swiss. It does not eliminate anyone; its order breaks ties later.
Group stage. Four groups of six play a double round-robin of fast classical games - ten games each over five days - with 3 points for a win and 1 for a draw, to reward playing for a win.
Knockouts. Players then go into brackets by their group finish. Each knockout match lasts two days, and each day has four blitz games, two rapid games and one fast classical game. Longer games are worth more: a classical win scores 8 points, a rapid win 4, a blitz win 1. A tied match goes to Armageddon, where Black has draw odds.
Why it matters
The pilot is a test run for a full tour in 2027, whose best players will meet in a final to decide the combined champion. The tour also offers a path into the next world championship cycle: the two highest-placed players not already qualified earn places in the 2028 Candidates Tournament.
It also answers a long debate. Carlsen has dominated the faster formats for years and gave up the classical title in 2023; a combined title is the format that suits him best. The test is whether a mixed-speed event can produce the kind of drama a classical world championship does - Budapest will give the first answer.
The calendar
Budapest is the start of the busiest month of the chess year:
- 10-20 November: Total Chess World Championship, Budapest
- 24 November-12 December: World Championship, Gukesh vs Sindarov, Geneva
- 24 November-7 December: London Chess Classic
See the full calendar and the current title holders on the News page.
Sources: FIDE, 23 Sep 2026, Wikipedia: Total Chess World Championship 2026. The field may change before the start.