BUDAPEST: World No 1 Magnus Carlsen will lead a field of 24 players at the Total Chess World Championship Tour pilot in Budapest, where organisers will test a format that combines fast classical, rapid and blitz chess. The event has a prize fund of $650,000.
The field includes Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So of the United States, Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, Alireza Firouzja of France and India’s R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi. Hungary’s Richard Rapport will compete on home soil, while Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva and India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu are also in the line-up.
The players will be divided into four groups of six. Each will play 10 fast classical games over five days, with 45 minutes per player and an additional 30 seconds after each move. A win earns three points and a draw one. A nine-round blitz tournament held before the group stage will determine the order for group-stage tie-breaks.
Group standings will determine placement in the knockout brackets. Each knockout match will run over two days and feature four blitz games, two rapid games and one fast classical game. Longer games will carry more weight, and an Armageddon game will decide any match that ends level.
The format was developed by Norway Chess and approved by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). Under the planned tour format, the four highest-ranked players will advance to a Grand Final to contest the inaugural FIDE World Combined Championship title.
Organisers said the Budapest pilot would be available in more than 200 countries and territories. DAZN is the global broadcast partner, with coverage also available through NDTV, Chess.com, ChessBase India, Norway’s TV 2 and the Norway Chess YouTube channel.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
