Total Chess World Championship Tour, the FIDE-approved global event conceptualised by Norway Chess, has announced six more leading international chess players who will compete in the official pilot event in Budapest from 10–20 November 2026. The list of 24 elite chess players is now complete for the Pilot event.
The latest additions to the field are Levon Aronian, Liem Le, Jorden van Foreest, Abhimanyu Mishra, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Andrew Hong, further strengthening an elite line-up featuring some of the biggest names in world chess.
They join a field led by World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, alongside World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana and a host of leading players from across the global chess community.
Hosted at the iconic Anantara New York Palace Budapest Hotel, the pilot will showcase the unique Total Chess format, bringing together Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz in a single championship. The event serves as the official pilot ahead of the inaugural global Total Chess World Championship Tour season in 2027.
Expressing his eagerness to compete in this format, World No. 20 Levon Aronian said:
“As one of the more experienced players in chess, I’m excited to be part of this new and innovative format. Bringing Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz together creates a very different challenge for players. I’m looking forward to seeing how the Total Chess World Championship Tour develops and what it can bring to the future of elite chess.”
Kjell Madland, CEO of Total Chess, said:
“The addition of these six exceptional players makes an already outstanding field even stronger. Their experience, personalities and different approaches to the game reflect exactly what Total Chess is about. It brings the very best of chess together across formats and creates a championship that can engage a new generation of fans. Budapest is an important first step as we build towards the global tour in 2027.”
The Total Chess World Championship Tour is designed to determine the FIDE World Combined Champion, bringing together performance across the three principal formats of elite chess – Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz.
The Budapest pilot will provide the first competitive showcase of the concept before the Tour launches its inaugural global season in 2027, with elite events planned across leading international cities.
The Budapest field brings together 24 elite players, representing a diverse mix of established world champions, leading contenders, rising stars and some of the most exciting young talent in the game.
Players confirmed (ranked by their September 2026 FIDE standard rating):
Magnus Carlsen (Norway) — World No. 1
Fabiano Caruana (United States) — World No. 3
Wesley So (United States) — World No. 5
Vincent Keymer (Germany) — World No. 6
Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) — World No. 7
R Praggnanandhaa (India) — World No. 8
Arjun Erigaisi (India) — World No. 9
Anish Giri (Netherlands) — World No. 10
Alireza Firouzja (France) — World No. 11
Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) — World No. 13
Liem Le (Vietnam) – World No. 18
Richard Rapport (Hungary) — World No. 19
Levon Aronian (USA) – World No. 20
Hans Moke Niemann (United States) — World No. 21
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) – World No. 22
Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) — World No. 23
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) — World No. 24
Jorden van Foreest (Netherlands) – World No. 30
Haik M. Martirosyan (Armenia) — World No. 50
Vladislav Artemiev (FIDE) — World No. 65
Abhimanyu Mishra (USA) – World No. 96 – World’s Youngest Grandmaster
Andrew Hong (USA) – World No. 152
Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) — Women’s World No. 5
Vaishali Rameshbabu (India) — Women’s World No. 16
