Eight of the world's top grandmasters will compete this weekend for the inaugural FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship title in Weissenhaus, Germany. The tournament, running from February 13 to 15, 2026, features a $300,000 prize fund, with the champion taking home $100,000. World number one Magnus Carlsen leads the formidable lineup, aiming to add another world championship crown to his decorated career.[liquipedia+9]
New Era for Freestyle Chess
This event marks a significant milestone as the first official FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship held under a joint agreement between the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Freestyle Chess Operations GmbH.Freestyle Chess, also known as Chess960 or Fischer Random, is a chess variant designed to minimize opening theory and encourage creativity.Unlike traditional chess, the back-rank pieces are randomized at the start of each game, leading to 960 possible starting positions.Pawns remain in their standard positions, and specific rules ensure castling is still possible, with the king always placed between the two rooks and bishops on opposite-colored squares.[fide+22]
Magnus Carlsen, a co-founder of Freestyle Chess, has been a strong advocate for the format.He believes it promotes improvisation and tactical thinking from the very first move, moving away from deep memorization of opening lines.Carlsen previously won the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge in 2024 and was the overall champion of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.His success in these precursors positions him as a strong contender for the new world title.[fide+12]
Elite Field Gathers in Germany
The championship features an elite field of eight grandmasters. Six players qualified through their performance in the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour: Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi, and Javokhir Sindarov.American grandmaster Hans Niemann received a wildcard nomination from Freestyle Chess.The final spot went to Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, who triumphed in an online Play-In qualifier hosted by Chess.com.[liquipedia+30]
Notable among the absent players is Hikaru Nakamura, the reigning 2022 Fischer Random World Champion.Nakamura declined his invitation, citing concerns over format changes, rushed arrangements, a reduced prize fund, and his focus on the upcoming Candidates Tournament 2026.Despite his absence, the lineup promises high-level competition.Fabiano Caruana, for instance, finished on the podium twice in 2025 Freestyle Chess events and prepared in Germany ahead of the championship.[en+7]
Tournament Structure and Schedule
The championship kicks off on Friday, February 13, with a rapid round-robin stage.All eight players will compete against each other once, with a time control of 10 minutes per game plus a 5-second increment per move.The top four players from this stage will advance to the semifinals.[liquipedia+14]
The knockout stage begins on Saturday, February 14, featuring the semifinals and placement matches.These matches will consist of four games each, played with a longer time control of 25 minutes per game and a 10-second increment per move.The grand final will take place on Sunday, February 15, following the same four-game match format to determine the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Champion.All places from first to eighth will be decided over the board.[liquipedia+15]
Broadcast and Future Plans
The entire tournament will be streamed globally, free-to-view, on DAZN, with English commentary available.This broad accessibility aims to bring the fast-growing discipline to a worldwide audience.[dazngroup+1]
In addition to the main championship, a Women's Exhibition Match will run concurrently in Weissenhaus.This exhibition serves as a prelude to the inaugural FIDE Women's Freestyle Chess Championship, which FIDE and Freestyle Chess plan to launch later in 2026.The women's championship is set to feature a $50,000 prize fund.[fide+6]
The FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship represents a new chapter for this dynamic chess variant. With Magnus Carlsen and a field of top grandmasters competing, the event promises to be a showcase of creativity and adaptability on the chess board.
