The final path to complete the fields for the 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship is set, with three places still open in both the Open and Women’s events. Those remaining berths will be decided through the continuation of the Freestyle Friday Championship and two rounds of online qualifiers scheduled for late 2026 and early 2027.
Upcoming Championship Events
Freestyle Friday Championship Part 2 begins on October 2, 2026, and runs every Friday on Chess.com through December 4. Points from Part 1 carry over. The top eligible players from the combined standings advance to knockout rounds on December 11 and December 18. The winner in each field secures a World Championship spot.
The first set of online qualifiers will take place from November 29 to December 3, 2026, with separate events for the Open and Women’s fields. Each qualifier awards one place at Weissenhaus. The format starts with an open Swiss on November 29, followed by a second Swiss on November 30 for all titled players and the top eight from the first Swiss. The top 16 from the second Swiss move to a knockout stage on December 2 and 3, and the winner qualifies.
A second set of online qualifiers follows January 3–7, 2027, again for both fields and using the same structure: an open Swiss, a restricted Swiss for titled players plus the top eight from the first stage, and a 16-player knockout. Each winner takes the final available spot.
All online qualifiers are open to players in the respective field who have not yet earned a place at the 2027 championship. The first Swiss stage in both the November/December and January events is open to all players. The second Swiss stage is open to all titled players (GM, WGM, IM, WIM, FM, WFM) along with the top eight finishers from the first stage.
Five of the eight places in each field are already confirmed. In the Open, Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov qualified via the 2026 championship in Weissenhaus, Vincent Keymer earned his spot by winning the GRENKE Freestyle Chess Open 2026 in Karlsruhe, and Pranav Venkatesh qualified through Freestyle Friday Part 1 by topping the standings with 60 points. In the Women’s event, Bibisara Assaubayeva qualified through the 2026 exhibition match in Weissenhaus; Harika Dronavalli, Alua Nurman, and Dinara Wagner earned places at the GRENKE Freestyle Chess Open 2026; and Anna Muzychuk advanced by winning the Women’s Freestyle Friday Part 1 standings with 88 points.
The 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship will be staged at the Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort in northern Germany. The Women’s event runs from February 5 to 7, 2027, followed by the Open from February 12 to 14. The full line-ups in both fields will be finalized by January 7, 2027.