Chess welcomes new Total World Championship, but Hikaru Nakamura labels it's 'Total fluff'

Chess is set to have a fourth World Championship a couple of years from now with the organisers of the prestigious Norway Chess, an annual Classical event that takes place in Norway’s Stavanger, announcing the ‘Total Chess World Championship Tour’.

And unlike Freestyle Chess’s attempt to launch a world championship of their own that led to a face-off with FIDE, Norway Chess has secured the Lausanne-based governing body’s support for the ambitious project. FIDE, after all, has made it clear in the past that a tournament cannot be termed a ‘World Championship’ without their approval and the organisers of Norway Chess have ensured they remain in their good graces.

So what exactly is this new World Championship, which will get underway in 2027 after a pilot event in late 2026 and will carry a total prize fund of $2.7 million, all about? And what will be the format of this new tournament, especially since there already exists a World Championship in each of the other three time controls?

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What is the format of the Total Chess World Championship Tour? 

In the words of the organisers, the tournament seeks to crown the ‘Total Chess Player’ – someone who can excel across time controls and is not limited to any one of them. That’s because the Total Chess World Championship Tour will have events taking place in each format – a modified version of Classical chess along with Rapid and Blitz.

The ‘fast Classical’ format will have a time control of 45 minutes with a 30-second increment – instead of the 90 minutes that are allotted to a player for the first 40 moves in Standard time control. Despite the shorter time control, ‘fast Classical’ games will count for classicaly-rated games under FIDE regulations.

What if there were a World Chess Champion across all time controls? 🤔
Fast Classic. Rapid. Blitz.

That is what we imagined, and we are making it a reality. ♟️

Introducing the Total Chess World Championship Tour, a new FIDE-recognised series that will crown the FIDE World… pic.twitter.com/sBVcX65l81

— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) October 15, 2025

The tour will have a total of 24 players, some of whom will be qualifying on the basis of their rating and the rest via eligible tournaments such as the World Rapid & Blitz Championship. Each of the first three events will carry a prize fund of $750,000 while the corresponding amount for the fourth event, which will be a four-player final that will crown the FIDE World Combined Champion, stands at $450,000.

“We are looking for ‘The Total Chess Player’—a versatile, tactically intelligent, and technically skilled athlete who seamlessly adapts to multiple time controls,” Norway Chess CEO Kjell Madland was quoted by Chess.com as saying.

Nakamura slams ‘bizarre’ tour

The new tour has been met with mixed reactions. While some of the leading players such as Hikaru Nakamura have termed it a “total fluff” that will only confuse chess fans, FIDE has termed it a “great addition” to the traditional World Championships.

“The naming of this tour is just bizarre to me. As someone who tends to look at things from the outside versus the inside these days, calling it the Total Chess World Championship Tour sounds really really clunky to me. It does not sound catchy at all,” Nakamura, who also happens to be a popular chess streamer, said on YouTube.

Nakamura added that he doesn’t quite understand the purpose of the tournament, since the Grand Chess Tour also comprises events that have games played across formats. The American Grandmaster, currently ranked second in the Classical ratings, added that he isn’t a fan of the new 45-minute time control.

“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 continued.

“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.

Carlsen and FIDE on the same page, for once

World No 1 and reigning Norway Chess champion Magnus Carlsen, however, disagreed with long-time rival Nakamura, describing the upcoming event as a “well-thought-out step to further develop chess”.

“This seems like a well-thought-out step to further develop chess. 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,” the seven-time Norway Chess champion said.

♟🤩 Norway Chess Launches New World Championship – Approved by FIDE

The new championship, titled the Total Chess World Championship Tour, will consist of four events each year and crown a combined champion across three disciplines – Fast Classic, Rapid, and Blitz chess. “We… pic.twitter.com/RxNuAUF38n

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) October 15, 2025

FIDE president President Arkady Dvorkovich, however, was all praise for what he describes as an event that is set to “push the boundaries of what chess can be”.

We are always looking for ways to innovate and push the boundaries of what chess can be," he said. “We see this as a great addition to the traditional and prestigious World Chess Championship, where we crown the undisputed champion of classical chess. The championships will complement each other and offer even more excitement for the fans,” Dvorkovich was quoted by Chess.com as saying.