The FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026 will be held from February 13 to 15 at the Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort in Wangels, Germany. For the first time, the event is being jointly organised by FIDE and Freestyle Chess, marking a big shift from the tension seen between the two sides just a year ago.

This is also the first time the tournament is officially called the ‘FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship’, even though FIDE had earlier organised world title events in the same format in 2019 and 2022 under the name Fischer Random World Championship.

How the structure has changed from 2025

In 2025, Freestyle Chess was run as a year-long Grand Slam Tour with multiple legs across the world. However, there is no full Freestyle Tour this year. Instead, the world championship is now a standalone three-day event with rapid time controls and a reduced prize fund.

The qualification system has also changed this year. In 2026, six players qualified through the 2025 Freestyle Grand Slam Tour, wne wildcard was nominated, and one player came through an online play-in open to titled players. The final event features eight players in total.

Tournament format in 2026

• February 13: Single round-robin group stage (7 rounds) with a 10+5 time control.

• February 14: Semifinals (best-of-four matches, 25+10 time control).

• February 15: Final (best-of-four match, 25+10 time control).

Only the top four players from the group stage advance to the knockout stage. The total prize pool is $300,000 (Rs 2.7 crore), with $100,000 (Rs 90 lakh) going to the champion.

Who are the participants?

The eight players fighting for the title are:

• Magnus Carlsen

• Fabiano Caruana

• Levon Aronian

• Vincent Keymer

• Arjun Erigaisi

• Javokhir Sindarov

• Hans Niemann

• Nodirbek Abdusattorov

India’s
D Gukesh and
R Praggnanandhaa are notable absentees, while Nakamura has decided not to defend his title.

Nakamura, who won the 2022 Fischer Random World Championship, declined to participate this time, citing the rushed arrangement, change in format, and his focus on the Candidates Tournament.

Who are the favourites?

Magnus Carlsen enters as the top-rated player in the world and arguably the biggest favourite. His rapid skills make him very dangerous in a short event like this. Fabiano Caruana is another strong contender. Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov are also among the favourites.

For Indian fans, Arjun Erigaisi will be the one to watch out. He has already shown good form in the World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2025 late last year, winning bronze medals in both events.

Reigning world champion D Gukesh has been honoured with the ‘Titan of the Year’ award by Tata Group’s watch-making giant, Titan which has launched a limited edition watch as a tribute to his efforts on the chess board.

Gukesh became the youngest chess world champion at the age of just 18 when he defeated Ding Liren in late 2024. He is also only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to become a chess world champion.

Price of Gukesh’s Titan watch

Titan had last year given the award to Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma who was the first Indian to travel to space, a feat he achieved in 1984. In his honour also a watch was unvieled called the ‘Unity watch’.

Gukesh became the second recipient of the award and the first from the sports industry. The watch was unveiled on February 6 at an event in Mumbai where Gukesh was honoured as well.

“Gukesh never rushed the moment. While others chased speed, he chose stillness. While the clock counted down, his clarity only grew sharper. In chess, time reveals temperament. In Gukesh, it revealed composure far beyond his years. To honour that calm command over seconds and decisions, we introduce the Titan Grandmaster, a 500-piece limited edition tribute watch,” Titan wrote in a social media post.

Presenting Titan of the Year 2026: Gukesh Dommaraju – The Youngest World Chess Champion

Gukesh never rushed the moment.

While others chased speed, he chose stillness.
While the clock counted down, his clarity only grew sharper.

In chess, time reveals temperament.
In Gukesh,… pic.twitter.com/NvLpYU6F6h

— Titan Watches India (@titanwatches) February 10, 2026

The watch is priced at a whooping Rs 69,995 and capped at 500 pieces. It has chess pieces at hour marks like Queen at 12 O’clock, Rook at 9 O’clock, Bishop at 3 O’clock and King at 6 O’clock, while the remaining indices take the form of pawns. A chess board is also engraved in the face of the watch.

Gukesh prepares to defend his title

The reigning world champion did not have the best of 2025 and this year too did not start on the best of notes as he had an
underwhelming outing at the recent Tata Steel Chess Masters. This year is going to be crucial for Gukesh as he prepares to defend his crown which will be on the line towards the end of 2026.

His challenger will be determined next month at the Candidates where his compatriot R Praggnanandhaa is one of the eight competitors.