Magnus Carlsen backs controversial ‘Total Chess World Championship Tour’ amid backlash from top players: ‘Magnus Tour is back’

World No 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen has praised the new ‘Total Chess World Championship Tour’ as “well-thought-out step” to “develop” the sport of chess amid stinging criticism of the proposed new world championship from top chess players like Hikaru Nakamura and Susan Polgar. Carlsen, who hails from Norway and shares a close relationship with the Norway Chess organisers, has also faced criticism for supporting a tournament that is being seen as a back-door entry for him to become the world champion again.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) already has multiple world championships. The classical world chess championship has the longest history and is the most prestigious among all titles. India’s D Gukesh is currently the world champion after he won the 2024 World Chess Championships by beating Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren.
FIDE also hosts World Rapid & Blitz Championships regularly and has organised the Chess960 World Championships in the past.

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Carlsen and German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner launched the Freestyle Grand Slam tour earlier this year. The winner of the tour will be called the Freestyle Chess Champion after FIDE disputed the organisers’ plan to use the world champion for its eventual winner.

Total Chess World Championship Tour kicks off new controversy

Now, Norway Chess organisers, in partnership with FIDE, have launched the Total Chess World Championship Tour. The event will be pilot tested in 2026 before a formal launch in 2027. It will crown a ‘Total champion’ after events across fast classic, rapid, and blitz formats.

Two players from the Total Chess World Championship Tour would also qualify for the Candidates.

“We expect this to become one of the most prestigious events in the entire chess Calendar,” Kjell Madland, CEO of Norway Chess, said.

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Carlsen said a multi-format championship would give a better view of a player’s strengths.

“This seems like a well-thought-out step to further develop chess,” Carlsen was quoted as saying by Norway Chess’ social media handle. “Bringing multiple formats together under a single title will provide a more complete view of the players’ strengths, while the time controls suit today’s players and audience. I’m looking forward to the pilot in 2026 and to seeing how the first season in 2027 unfolds. It’s impressive that Norway Chess has achieved this.”

Carlsen slammed by fans; top chess player question new world championships

Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri, however, doesn’t seem impressed as he labelled the tournament as “Magnus Tour,” while a few fans questioned the need for the tournament.

The Magnus Tour is back.🔥 https://t.co/V3Xdrl0wmz

— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) October 16, 2025

BREAKING NEWS:
Magnus Carlsen IS IMPRESSED with HIS newly created Tour!! https://t.co/2Nc4kgRzJK pic.twitter.com/92IJgfIqyi

— Abhiraj (@mytywarriorking) October 16, 2025

FIDE wants Magnus back so much, it’s created a new World Championship.

The Total Chess World Championship Tour will crown a combined champion across classical, rapid, and blitz, exactly what @MagnusCarlsen been calling for.
Has the classic title been devalued?
Story in comments pic.twitter.com/LsZaN8dfPh

— World Chess (@theworldchess) October 15, 2025

Legendary Susan Polgar also slammed FIDE and Norway Chess for unnecessarily trying to unite all the formats when competing separately has benefited chess in the past.

“What is the difference between World Classical Championship, World Rapid Championship, and World Blitz Championship and the winner of all 3 is World Triple Crown Champion, something which was achieved by only 3 players in history (2 women and 1 man), and a Total World Championship? So then will the other 3 events be canceled?” Polgar questioned.

What is the difference between World Classical Championship, World Rapid Championship, and World Blitz Championship and the winner of all 3 is World Triple Crown Champion, something which was achieved by only 3 players in history (2 women and 1 man), and a Total World… https://t.co/OQIglUSbQy

— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) October 16, 2025

“Wimbledon is on grass, French Open is on clay and US Open/Australian Open on hard court (even though different bounce/speed). 🎾 Tennis thrived big time without combining all 3 in one tournament. They remained independent titles. But maybe chess people know better.”

Carlsen’s close friend Nakamura struggled to find the “purpose” of the new championship when the Grand Chess Tour, which includes all three formats, already exists.

“The thing that stands out to me about this is I do not understand the purpose of this because we already have the Grand Chess Tour, which has regular classical chess, rapid and blitz events like the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz, the SuperBet in Zagreb, Croatia. So, to me, on the surface, I don’t understand the purpose of this at all. FIDE is involved with this which is also never a good sign,” Nakamura said.

“I don’t understand this. What exactly is going on here? We’re now going to count 45-minute chess as classical chess. I would have understood the notion of trying to maybe have games with one-hour counting as classical chess, but counting games in 45 minutes as classical chess, I’m really confused. I’m not going to lie. I’m actually really confused by this. Because to me, 45-minute chess is not classical chess. I don’t think it ever will be or it ever should be. This feels like a lot of fluff and trying to start something. It actually in some ways reminds me a little bit of freestyle. It feels like total fluff,” he added.