Chess.com and Freestyle Chess are proud to launch the Freestyle Friday Championship, a brand-new, season-long race that will award a direct spot in the 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship and in the 2027 FIDE Women’s Freestyle Chess World Championship.
As in our popular Titled Tuesday Grand Prix, the new Freestyle Friday Championship will make every weekly event a part of a larger journey. Starting this week, the road to next year’s world championship officially runs through Chess.com!
Just days ago, GM Magnus Carlsen secured yet another world championship title by winning the 2026 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship in Weissenhaus, Germany. Together with the runner-up, GM Fabiano Caruana, and third-place GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, they secured automatic qualification for the world championships, which take place in Weissenhaus, Germany, in February 2027.
The next chapter begins now: From February 20 to December 18, 2026, every Freestyle Friday counts towards the overall leaderboard standings. Players who finish in the top 10 of the weekly event will earn points. At year’s end, the player who stands alone at the top of the leaderboard earns the coveted qualification spot.
In addition, the Freestyle Friday Championship will feature a separate women’s leaderboard, awarding one spot for the inaugural 2027 FIDE Women’s Freestyle Chess World Championship.
Freestyle Friday is Chess.com’s weekly 11-round Swiss event for titled players. The variant, also known as Chess960 or Fischer Random, features a randomized starting position that strips away opening theory, and has become increasingly popular in recent years.
Each event features a prize fund of $1,000, but now the journey will be about more than the weekly prizes. An actual spot in the next world championship is on the line.
Beginning this week, Freestyle Friday will also see a key change: Instead of the 3+1 time control used until now, we have added one second to the increment, and the event will be played as 3+2.
FIDE recently announced the qualification path for next year’s event, which will feature a field of eight players. In addition to the three players who have already secured their spots, another player will qualify from the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open (April 2-6). Chess.com is the host of the season-long qualification series.
If the Freestyle Friday Championship winner has already qualified by other means—such as through Grenke or a top-three finish in 2026—the qualification spot will pass down to the next highest eligible player on the final standings.