FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championship 2026

Prize fund €500,000 (Rapid €310k · Blitz €190k)

Rapid format Swiss · 12 rounds · 15min+10sec

Blitz format Pool (11 rounds) + R16 → KO · 3min+2sec

Teams 48 teams · 6–9 players each

Team rule 1 female + 1 recreational (≤2000 ELO) per match

Venue Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Organiser FIDE

Sponsors Freedom Holding Corp · Enicar

Contact worldrapidblitzteams@fide.com

Overview

About the event

Part of FIDE's official World Team Championships calendar, this is one of the most prestigious team competitions in chess. Over 300 players from 48 teams compete across rapid and blitz formats.

WR Chess participates with two lineups: the WR Chess team and the WR Chess-sponsored Chess United team. The full rosters of all 48 teams are on the official FIDE tournament site.

Team format: 6–9 players per team, with a captain who may also play. Each match is contested on 6 boards and must include at least one female player and one recreational player (one who never achieved a FIDE Standard, Rapid or Blitz rating of 2000 Elo up to and including the March 2026 rating lists). Teams may combine club members, federation members or any chess players.

Outcome

Final results

For viewers

Watch the replays

Catch up on every round on demand:

FIDE Tickets via tickets.fide.com →

Commentary: TBA (English)

Languages: English

Venue & travel

Venue

Queen Elizabeth Stadium

Address

18 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Getting there

Hong Kong's premier multi-purpose venue (opened 1980) — a 3,500-seat arena in the heart of Wan Chai.

◉ Open in maps

The field

Players

WR Chess

Magnus Carlsen

Rating 2841

Fabiano Caruana

Rating 2792

Wesley So

Rating 2753

Jan-Krzysztof Duda

Rating 2739

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Rating 2721

Aleksandra Goryachkina

Rating 2536

Alexandra Kosteniuk

Rating 2496

Wadim Rosenstein

Rating 1780

Gombojav Zandanshatar

Rating TBA

All 48 teams and their full rosters are listed on the official FIDE tournament site.

View all teams on FIDE

For players & arbiters

Format & regulations

System: FIDE World Team Championships — Rapid (Swiss 12 rounds) + Blitz (Pool + R16 + KO)
Rounds: Rapid: 12 Swiss rounds · Blitz: 11 pool rounds → Round of 16 → QF → SF → Final
Time controls: Rapid: 15 minutes for the whole game + 10-second increment from move 1
Blitz: 3 minutes for the whole game + 2-second increment from move 1
Tiebreak: Per FIDE World Team regulations.
Overall standings: Match points decide both events — win 2, draw 1, loss 0. Rapid: Swiss, 12 rounds. Blitz: pool round-robin (Stage 1) → 16-team knockout (Stage 2).