Norway Chess launches New World Championship format in 2026 – the Total Chess World Championship. The event will be a tour played in three time controls – fast classical, rapid, and blitz. The winner of the tour will be the holder of the newly created Total World Champion title by the organizers of Norway Chess 2026 and FIDE. Additionally, the event will award two spots to the Candidates tournament.
In a video titled Interplanetary Galactic Total World Chess Championship Hikaru Nakamura analyzes in detail the newly announced Total Chess World Championship. There he shares, “I was invited to Norway Chess 2026, about three weeks ago, and there was no mention of it being part of something bigger.” Nakamura adds, “That makes me wonder when it all came together and how recently it was, but I was invited to Norway Chess 2026 and there was no mention of [the Total Chess World Championship]”
