Pragg, Vaishali and Arjun Set for Inaugural Total Chess World Championship in Budapest

Three Indians, led by R. Praggnanandhaa, have been named among the confirmed elite players for the inaugural Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot, scheduled to be held in Budapest from November 10 to 21. The star-studded field will also feature world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and No. 2 Fabiano Caruana.

Praggnanandhaa, who is enjoying a rich run of form after winning the Norway Chess title and the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament before reaching the final of the latest Grand Chess Tour leg, will be joined by his elder sister and Women’s Candidates winner R. Vaishali, as well as Arjun Erigaisi, one of India’s leading players in rapid and blitz. The three are part of an 18-player field announced so far, with six more players due to be revealed in September.

The Budapest event is the official pilot for a new championship concept developed by Norway Chess and approved by FIDE. The full Total Chess World Championship Tour is scheduled to begin in 2027 with four tournaments in different global cities, culminating in the crowning of the FIDE World Combined Champion. The concept aims to identify the most complete player by combining Fast Classical, Rapid and Blitz rather than awarding separate titles for individual time controls.

The 24-player Budapest field will begin with four groups of six, playing a double round-robin over five days. Each player will contest 10 Fast Classical games at 45 minutes plus a 30-second increment, with three points for a win and one for a draw. A nine-round Blitz Swiss will determine tie-break rankings.

The knockout stage will combine four Blitz games (3+2), two Rapid games (15+10) and one Fast Classical game (45+30), with longer formats receiving greater weight. Tied matches will be decided by Armageddon.

The confirmed field includes 18 players, among them Carlsen, Caruana, Vincent Keymer, Wesley So, Anish Giri, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun, Alireza Firouzja, Praggnanandhaa, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Richard Rapport, Hans Niemann, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Haik Martirosyan, Vladislav Artemiev, Bibisara Assaubayeva and Vaishali.

The tournament also carries significance beyond its format. The pilot is designed to test the structure before the full global championship begins in March 2027, while the Tour is backed by a minimum annual prize pool of $2.7 million. Its qualification system draws from world champions, major rapid and blitz results, classical ratings, Candidates events and FIDE circuits.

For India, Budapest offers a particularly compelling test of depth and versatility. With Praggnanandhaa’s current form, Vaishali’s Candidates triumph and Arjun’s speed-chess credentials, the trio will be among the players looking to make an early mark in what organisers hope will become a new global championship in elite chess.