Norway Chess 2027

Dates and Venue

2027 Status

No dates, venue, or players announced as of September 19, 2026

Tour Start

March 2027 for the full season

Last Edition

May 25 to June 5, 2026, at Deichman Bjørvika in Oslo

Defending Champions

R. Praggnanandhaa (open) and Bibisara Assaubayeva (women)

2026 Format

Six players per event, double round-robin, 10 rounds

Round Start in 2026

5 PM in Oslo (8:30 PM IST)

Official Site

norwaychess.no

As of September 19, 2026, the organizer has not announced any dates, venue, or edition number for a Norway Chess tournament in 2027. Their website states that the existing tournament will likely be incorporated into the Total Chess World Championship Tour.

While this suggests a probable integration, it does not confirm a standalone 2027 tournament or a Tour event in Norway. The organizer plans to launch the Tour in the first quarter of 2027, with the Tour's official website more specifically noting a March 2027 start for its full season.

From 2013 to 2025, every edition of Norway Chess was held in the Stavanger region. The 14th edition, held from May 25 to June 5, 2026, marked a move to Oslo, specifically at Deichman Bjørvika. Oslo had never hosted the tournament before. For dates of other announced elite chess events, refer to the list of upcoming chess tournaments.

Norway Chess and the Total Chess Tour

The organizer of Norway Chess is also the developer, owner, and operator of the Total Chess World Championship Tour. The annual Tour plan includes four tournaments in different cities worldwide, with a total prize pool of at least $2.7 million. Three of these events feature 24 players each, with only the top four from these events advancing to the final tournament.

The Tour incorporates three time controls: Fast Classic, rapid, and blitz. Fast Classic games are rated as classical chess, though each player receives only 45 minutes with a 30-second increment (time added to the clock after every move).

Beginning in the 2027 season, players can qualify through world titles, previous Tour titles, classical rating, and results in events like the FIDE Candidates. The organizer also reserves the right to fill up to three spots in each Tour leg with wildcards (invitational entries).

The organizer has not publicly stated whether one of the Tour events will retain the "Norway Chess" name or occupy the May to June slot of the 2026 edition. As of September 19, 2026, the host cities and dates for the four Tour tournaments have not been announced.

A pilot tournament for the Tour is scheduled to begin in Budapest on November 10, 2026, featuring 24 players divided into four groups of six. The organizer's Total Chess site lists November 20 as the final day, while FIDE's August 25, 2026, notice states November 21.

FIDE has confirmed 18 of the participants for the pilot, five of whom played in the Norway Chess 2026 open tournament: Magnus Carlsen, Vincent Keymer, Wesley So, Alireza Firouzja, and R. Praggnanandhaa. Bibisara Assaubayeva, the winner of Norway Chess Women 2026, is also on FIDE's list.

Norway Chess 2027 Schedule

As of September 19, 2026, no schedule exists for Norway Chess 2027, as neither dates nor a format have been announced. While Tata Steel Chess 2027 is the elite classical event for January 2027 and the Tour's full season begins in March, the 2026 edition provides the most recent pattern: 10 rounds and two rest days over 12 days.

• —Dates in 2026: Rounds ran from May 25 to June 5, with rest days on May 29 and June 3.
• —Round Start: Every round in 2026 began at 5 PM in Oslo.
• —Latest Finish: Games in 2026 concluded no later than 10 PM.
• —Indian Time: The 2026 rounds started at 8:30 PM IST.

The 5 PM start in Oslo corresponded to 8:30 PM IST, as Oslo observes Central European Summer Time (UTC+2) in May and June. India is precisely three and a half hours ahead of that clock, making the 10 PM finish limit 1:30 AM IST.

Format, Scoring and Armageddon

In 2026, both the open tournament and Norway Chess Women featured six players in a double round-robin format (each player faced every opponent twice) over 10 rounds. The classical time control allotted each player 120 minutes for 40 moves, followed by a 10-second increment per move from move 41.

Armageddon games are used as tie-breakers following drawn classical games. In 2026, the player who had White in the classical game retained White for the Armageddon, receiving 10 minutes against Black's 7 minutes. A draw in the Armageddon game counted as a win for Black.

Scoring awarded 3 points for a classical win and 0 points for a classical loss. After a drawn classical game, the Armageddon winner received 1.5 points, and the loser received 1 point. For example, a player with two classical wins, one Armageddon win, and one Armageddon loss would accrue 8.5 points from four rounds.

Players were not permitted to agree to a draw before both had completed 30 moves. The 2026 rules stipulated a two-game blitz match to break a tie for first place between two players. If still tied, a second match and then a single Armageddon game would follow.

The tournament generally followed a single round-robin format with 10 players through 2019. It became a six-player double round-robin in 2020 and 2021, returned to 10 players in 2022 and 2023, and has been six players again since 2024.

A win was worth 1 point until 2019, when the organizer introduced the Armageddon game after every drawn classical game. In that edition, a classical win earned 2 points, with 1.5 points for the Armageddon winner and 0.5 for the Armageddon loser. Since 2020, a classical win has been worth 3 points, and the Armageddon loser has received 1 point.

As of September 19, 2026, no rules for 2027 have been announced. Given that the Tour uses different time controls and plans Armageddon games for playoffs, the rules for a 2027 event may differ from those of 2026.

Players and the Women's Field

As of September 19, 2026, no invitations for Norway Chess 2027 have been announced. The 2026 open field comprised six players: Carlsen, Keymer, Wesley So, Firouzja, Praggnanandhaa, and Gukesh. Norway Chess Women 2026 featured Ju Wenjun, Zhu Jiner, Koneru Humpy, Assaubayeva, Anna Muzychuk, and Divya Deshmukh.

Norway Chess Women debuted in 2024, running concurrently with the open tournament under the same format and with equal prize money. The organizer plans to continue at least one women's super-tournament with an appropriate budget but has not identified such an event for 2027.

Ju Wenjun won the inaugural Norway Chess Women in 2024 and placed fourth in 2026. She is set to defend her world title in the Women's World Chess Championship 2026 against Vaishali Rameshbabu, who participated in Norway Chess Women in 2024 and 2025.

From the 2027 season, Tour events are open to reigning world champions and previous Tour champions. Top finishers from the Candidates and the Grand Swiss, as well as World Cup finalists, are also eligible. The women's editions of these three events offer the same access.

A high classical rating is another qualification path, and the organizer can add up to three wildcards per leg. The list of the best chess players in the world shows the current rankings of the highest-rated players. No complete field for a 2027 Tour event has been announced.

Prize Money

As of September 19, 2026, no prize fund for Norway Chess 2027 has been announced. The organizer's prize page lists 1,690,000 Norwegian kroner (NOK) for each tournament of the latest edition, ensuring equal funds for the open tournament and Norway Chess Women.

The winner receives 700,000 NOK, with second and third places earning 350,000 NOK and 200,000 NOK, respectively. Places four through six receive 170,000 NOK, 150,000 NOK, and 120,000 NOK. These six prizes account for the entire fund.

The Total Chess World Championship Tour has its own planned annual prize pool of at least $2.7 million. Each of the first three events carries a minimum of $750,000, while the final for the top four players has a minimum of $450,000.

Norway Chess 2026 Final Standings

Praggnanandhaa won the open tournament with 18 points. He defeated Gukesh with Black in round 9 on June 4, 2026. Despite this, Wesley So narrowly led after that round with 15.5 points against Praggnanandhaa's 15. Praggnanandhaa surpassed him in round 10 on June 5 by defeating Keymer with White, earning 3 points. Wesley So added 1.5 points that day, finishing second with 17 points, while Firouzja and Carlsen placed third and fourth with 15.5 and 13 points, respectively.

Assaubayeva secured the women's title in round 9 on June 4, 2026, with one round remaining. Although Zhu Jiner defeated Divya in the only decisive classical game of that women's round, she remained 3.5 points behind Assaubayeva, with a maximum of 3 points still available. Assaubayeva subsequently lost to Ju Wenjun in round 10 on June 5, where all three classical games in the women's tournament were decisive. She ultimately finished first with 16.5 points, with Zhu Jiner ending half a point behind her.

Past Champions

Norway Chess has crowned seven open champions across its 14 editions. However, their winning scores are not comparable due to scoring system changes: a win was worth 1 point from 2013 to 2018, 2 points in 2019, and 3 points from 2020 onward.

Carlsen holds the record with seven titles, including four consecutive wins from 2019 to 2022. Sergey Karjakin is the only other player with multiple titles, having won the first two editions in 2013 and 2014. Single titleholders include Veselin Topalov (2015), Levon Aronian (2017), Fabiano Caruana (2018), Hikaru Nakamura (2023), and Praggnanandhaa (2026).

Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian champion in 2026. Norway Chess Women has seen a different winner in each of its three editions from 2024 to 2026. Ju Wenjun scored 19 points in 2024, while Muzychuk (2025) and Assaubayeva (2026) each won with 16.5 points.

Indian Players at Norway Chess

Praggnanandhaa is the sole Indian winner of Norway Chess, taking the 2026 title with 18 points after a third-place finish in 2024. Indian players have competed since the inaugural edition in 2013, when Viswanathan Anand finished sixth.

Anand's best results were second place in 2015 and third place in 2022. Pentala Harikrishna finished seventh in 2016. Arjun Erigaisi placed fifth in 2025. Gukesh secured third place with 14.5 points in both 2023 and 2025 but finished sixth in 2026.

Indian players have defeated Carlsen in classical games in three successive editions. Praggnanandhaa beat him in 2024, and Gukesh scored his first classical win against Carlsen in 2025. Praggnanandhaa then defeated Carlsen twice in 2026: in round 3 on May 27 and in round 8 on June 2.

Koneru Humpy has played in all three editions of Norway Chess Women, achieving her best finish of third place with 15 points in 2025. Vaishali finished fourth in 2024 and fifth in 2025, while Divya finished fifth in 2026.

FIDE has confirmed Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa, and Vaishali for the Total Chess pilot in Budapest. This confirmation applies only to the pilot; no Indian player has been announced for a 2027 event as of September 19, 2026. Gukesh is not among the 18 confirmed names and is scheduled to defend his world title against Javokhir Sindarov in Geneva from November 24 to December 12, 2026.

How to Watch

• —Live Games: In 2026, the chess.com event page provided live coverage of every game as moves were played, along with separate pages for games and results.
• —Stream and TV: The organizer states that chess.com streams the tournament live. TV 2 Sport has been an official partner of the event since 2014.
• —In Person: Tickets for the 2026 edition were available online and at Deichman Bjørvika during the tournament. Doors opened at 4:15 PM for the 5 PM start.

As of September 19, 2026, no broadcast partner, live page, or ticket plan for 2027 has been announced. The organizer's official site provides games, standings, statistics, player pages, and rules for each event year, and any position from these games can be examined on the analysis board.

Norway Chess 2027 FAQ