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Total Chess Pilot: Chess's latest experiment with a world title
A new Total Chess Pilot tournament begins in Budapest ahead of the FIDE World Championship, combining fast classical, rapid and blitz chess.
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Is there such a thing as format fatigue in chess? Is it setting in already? While we catch our breath, a spanking-new chess tournament with a somewhat complicated format – the Total Chess Pilot, strategically scheduled just ahead of the Fide World Chess Championship – is here for its pilot run in Budapest.
It will be played across three time controls – fast classic, rapid and blitz – and features a galaxy of top players, with the man who went cold turkey on the classical World Championship after five consecutive title wins – Magnus Carlsen, spotted watching Peppa Pig on his flight to Budapest in his new role as a father – leading the line-up.
A nine-round blitz Swiss on the opening day carries no points or prize money but serves as a tiebreaker for the group stage and determines the seeding of the knockout semi-finalists. The group stage will run from November 11 to 15, with 24 players divided into four groups, playing two fast classical games (45 minutes plus 30 seconds per move) each day. The knockouts that follow will feature all three time controls – four blitz games, two rapid games and one fast classic game.
Last week, Carlsen posted a picture from his pre-tournament training camp in Spain, where he was analysing with his coach Peter Heine Nielsen, friend and commentator David Howell, and what appeared to be his training partner, world No.5 Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Also present at the table was Carlsen’s toddler son. Abdusattorov, who has spoken of helping Javokhir Sindarov prepare for his World Championship match against D Gukesh, will also play in the tournament. So will three of India’s stars – R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Vaishali Rameshbabu.
Also Read: India's GM century: The high cost of chasing a chess dream
Two of the three Indians – Vaishali and Arjun – have been drawn in the same group. Bibisara Assaubayeva, the only other female player in the tournament, is also in their group.
Carlsen, two-time World Championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi and Anish Giri are in the same group, with Carlsen playing Giri in Round 1.
A full Total Chess World Championship Tour is planned for the first half of 2027 and the eventual winner will be crowned FIDE World Combined Champion.
“The weird thing is we’re going to have these different World Championships, which are not the classical one," world No.3 Fabiano Caruana, who too is among the tournament's star-studded line-up, said on the C-Squared podcast. “And then if Magnus wins, we’re going to say: ‘This proves that the classical World Championship is getting more obsolete.’ And if Magnus doesn’t win, then the winner of this new championship is just an accident.”
Speaking to HT on Tuesday, Nepomniachtchi called the Tour interesting for its blend of formats, while maintaining that the classical World Championship would remain unmatched in history and prestige.
“This tournament reminds me a bit of the Grand Chess Tour, and also the Grand Prix, which I miss because it was one of my favourite ways to qualify for the Candidates earlier. The title, of course, is quite important, but perhaps even more important is that, I believe, starting with the next season two top players would qualify for the Candidates directly.
“Hikaru (Nakamura) isn't playing here. But besides that, I guess arguably, like, everyone from the top 20 is participating. It’s really, really great to see so many strong players on the list.
“So, of course, it's not even about the title, but about the opportunity to win in such a strong and arguably close competition.”
