At the 2025 FIDE World Cup in Goa, India, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich shared his views on the newly announced Total Chess World Championship Tour, a bold new competition launched by Norway Chess and officially approved by FIDE. While endorsing innovation, Dvorkovich made it clear that the traditional Classical World Championship title remains the crown jewel of world chess.
“First of all, we do believe that our Classical Championship title is the most important one,” Dvorkovich said. “That’s a chess tradition and history, and we do know from talking to people, from opinion polls, from viewership data, that the Classical World Championship is still the most likable. People believe that is the best player in the world anyway.”
However, the FIDE President acknowledged that modern life and audience preferences are reshaping the sport.
“The reality is that life is faster, and even Classical chess is getting faster,” he continued. “The World Cup time control, for instance, is shorter than the World Championship match control or the Candidates’ Tournament control. Personally, I believe that this time control is better than the others.”
Dvorkovich’s comments reflect a subtle shift in FIDE’s thinking: a recognition that faster time controls—like those featured in the new Total Chess Tour—are increasingly attractive to both fans and sponsors.
“For spectators and sponsors, faster controls are more likable in terms of viewing,” he explained. “So we do believe that we should complement the pure Classical time control with other things.”
The Total Chess World Championship Tour, announced by Norway Chess in October, will combine three formats—“fast classical,” rapid, and blitz—to crown a new FIDE World Combined Champion. The first full season will begin in 2027, following a pilot event in late 2026. FIDE’s approval of the tour marks one of the federation’s most significant modern innovations in decades.
Dvorkovich revealed that the collaboration with Norway Chess emerged naturally.
“It came like a kind of coincidence,” he said. “We were thinking about something like that, but then Norway Chess came to us with this initiative. It was common thinking that we should try. Why not?”
He also praised the Norwegian organizers for their professionalism and respect toward the game’s heritage.
“The difference with other attempts was that they were very respectful to FIDE, to the institution, to the history, to the tradition,” Dvorkovich noted. “They said, ‘We want to complement it with something new, not substitute it.’ They wanted to make sure it’s approved by FIDE, that it’s in our hands—and they are very good partners.”
For Dvorkovich, the key idea is balance—preserving the timeless value of Classical chess while embracing formats that appeal to today’s faster-paced world.
“It looks like so many people are thinking about the same thing,” he concluded. “We should try to do it. But the Classical title will always remain the most important.”
With the Total Chess Tour set to debut in 2026, FIDE now faces the challenge of modernizing chess without losing its soul—a task Dvorkovich seems determined to approach with both caution and curiosity.
I’m Xuan Binh, the founder of Attacking Chess, and the Deputy Head of Communications at the Vietnam Chess Federation (VCF). My chess.com and lichess rating is above 2300. Send me a challenge or message via Lichess. Follow me on Twitter (X) or Facebook.
