NEW DELHI: The chess world has recently undergone a mix of surprise and confusion after last week’s announcement of the new "Total Chess World Championship", a concept developed by Norway Chess and officially approved by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
From Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi’s witty explainer video to fans debating whether the sport really needs another “world title”, the buzz around this unexpected development is undeniable.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!However, what makes this move remarkable is its timing. Barely months ago, FIDE had been locked in a public feud with the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, the independent tour launched by Magnus Carlsen and German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner.
That clash began in late 2023 when Freestyle organisers tried to call their champion the “Freestyle Chess World Champion”. FIDE objected immediately, insisting it alone held the right to sanction any world championship title in chess.
The disagreement soon became one of the most talked-about controversies in modern chess.
Players feared being barred from official FIDE events, open letters flew between organisers and officials, and Carlsen even published private messages accusing FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich of breaking promises.
The issue finally cooled in February 2025 when Freestyle agreed to drop the “World Championship” label,
with TimesofIndia.com revealing how, in a private Weissenhaus meeting, top-rated Freestyle Chess players unanimously decided the 2025 Grand Slam winner would be crowned "Freestyle Chess Champion".Now, just months later, FIDE appears to have taken a more flexible approach, formally allowing Norway Chess to use the title “World Championship” for its “Total Chess” project.
“We wanted to create something completely new with a tour system, and we wondered if it's possible to get the World Championship title. It would be perfect,” Kjell Madland, founder, CEO and tournament director of Norway Chess told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interaction.
“So, I had a meeting with Arkady (FIDE President) about 14 months ago to explain our ideas. Over the following months, we had very good discussions on how to make this work together. I told him that this is the Norway Chess project, but we want FIDE on board because we want the title and also to collaborate on rules and other details.”
The negotiations were not without challenges as Madland, who is also the tournament director of Norway Chess, revealed, “Of course, there are always challenges, but if you are respectful to the people you’re discussing with and listen carefully while communicating well, both parties will work to solve the issues.”
Behind the scenes, Norway Chess’s credibility also helped.
"We were no strangers to FIDE when we first approached them," Norway Chess COO Benedicte Westre Skog said. "We’ve been in the chess world for quite some years now, and people know us. We have also proven that we're capable of delivering."
Perhaps the most interesting detail is how secretive the process was.
According to Madland, even the top players, including Carlsen and current World Champion D Gukesh, were kept completely in the dark until after the deal was signed.
“Before the deal was signed, we didn't talk to anyone. No players at all, not Magnus or other players. So he didn’t know anything about this,” Madland revealed.
The decision to keep things under wraps was deliberate as the organisers wanted to avoid speculation or leaks before FIDE’s approval. As per our understanding, Norway Chess and FIDE officially signed the agreement on the "World Championship" on October 7, and it was made public later on October 15.
“Since the agreement, we’ve spoken with some players to get their feedback on the regulations, including Magnus, Gukesh, and a few others. But before the deal, no players knew anything about this,” added the tournament director.
The “Total Chess” concept itself differs from Freestyle’s approach. While Freestyle Chess is based on the Fischer Random format and is unrated by FIDE, Norway Chess top bosses wanted to stick to rated forms of chess: classical, rapid, and blitz.
That distinction may have been what allowed FIDE to lend its approval this time.
By staying within the rated framework and maintaining a close contact, Norway Chess, already a proven innovator in the chess world with inventions like Armageddon, the Confession Booth, and more over the years, managed to avoid the jurisdictional clash that sank Freestyle’s attempt.
FIDE, in turn, supported them without appearing to lose control over the “World Championship” title.
But why grant one independent organiser the use of the “World Championship” tag while denying another? The difference, it is understood, lies in how the two sides approached the federation.
With Carlsen only playing the classical format in Norway Chess, there’s a sense that the introduction of this new multi-format championship, combining faster classical, rapid, and blitz, could see the world No. 1 competing for the new title, attracting more attention, sponsorship, and money.
Whether it succeeds in unifying formats and bringing all elites of the game under one roof remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: Norway Chess has managed what even the Freestyle tour could not.
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