Overview
- The three-day championship runs February 13–15 in Weissenhaus, Germany with a $300,000 purse and begins with a rapid round-robin before knockout matches.
- Six qualifiers are confirmed from the 2025 Grand Slam: Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi, and Javokhir Sindarov.
- Freestyle Chess nominated Hans Niemann as a wildcard, with a Chess.com Play-In on January 14–15 to determine the eighth spot.
- FIDE will govern the event within its world championship framework, affirming that official titles require its consent.
- A women’s exhibition will run alongside the event, and FIDE plans a Women’s Freestyle Championship in late 2026 with a $50,000 prize fund.