The chess world has a World Chess Championship 2026, where Gukesh will battle with the winner of Candidates 2026. It also has a World Rapid & Blitz Championships that will take place in December. There used to be a Fisher Random / Freestyle / Chess960 World Championship as well.
Now the chess world will have a new Total World Chess Championship format. Norway Chess launches New World Championship format in 2026, approved by FIDE, and titled Total World Chess Championship. It will consist of four events each year and crown a combined champion across three disciplines – Fast Classic, Rapid, and Blitz chess. See what is Fast Classic here
Viswanathan Anand is the first among the FIDE top 100 Indian players to voice an opinion about the Total Chess World Championship. Signed as Deputy President of FIDE he backs the championship approved by FIDE and says, “Chess at its best is about the entire range, the ability to think deeply, and then switch gears at an instant. A combined world title finally recognizes that full spectrum. Fast classic rewards quality, rapid tests intuition, and blitz exposes your nerves, but over a season, consistency separates a great day from a great champion. As a player I love the concept. And as FIDE Deputy President, I welcome a format that combines disciplines, is modern, and is compelling for audiences.”
Total Chess World Championship timeline
15.10 Total World Chess Championship announced
15.10 Reuters: Norway Chess gets approval for combined Total World Chess Title
15.10 Indian Express: Total Chess will be the fourth World Chess Championship
15.10 Two players from the Total World Chess Championship qualify for Candidates
15.10 Brian Karen: “There are tours within tours, finals after finals…”
15.10 Hans Niemann, “There has never been a better time to be a chess professional, kudos to FIDE”
15.10 Anish Giri, “Very messy”
16.10. Hikaru Nakamura, “Interplanetary Galactic Total World Chess Championship”
16.10. Magnus Carlsen, “Total Chess World Championship seems like a well-thought-out step”
16.10 Nakamura says no mention of Total Chess World Championship in the Norway Chess 2026 invitation
16.10 Jacob Aagaard about Total Chess World Championship, “Hopefully this is the end of the rating spot for Candidates”
16.10 Anand about Total Chess World Championship, “Chess at its best is about the entire range”
