Istanbul, Türkiye, will host the 2026 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships from December 26-30, FIDE announced on Thursday. GMs Magnus Carlsen, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Bibisara Assaubayeva are the defending champions heading into the annual event that crowns up to four world champions.

With less than two months until the championships, players and fans had been impatiently awaiting confirmation of the host city. Thursday’s announcement finally provided an answer, although the venue, tournament regulations, and registration details remain to be announced.

🇹🇷♟ Istanbul to host FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2026 Istanbul, Türkiye, will welcome the world’s elite chess players this December as the host city of the 2026 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships, one of the most anticipated events on the international chess calendar. Freedom Holding Corp., FIDE’s strategic partner since 2023, has become the title sponsor of the event. As part of the 2026 cooperation agreement, Freedom supports not only major FIDE events like Candidates and World Championship match, but also chess training centres, school programmes, and talent scouting initiatives worldwide. FIDE President Timur Turlov (@TurlovforChess): “We are delighted to bring the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships to Istanbul. Türkiye has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to organise world-class chess events while making an outstanding contribution to the growth of our game at every level. I would like to thank the Turkish Chess Federation and its partners for their commitment and cooperation. We look forward to celebrating the end of the chess year together in one of the world’s most dynamic and welcoming cities.” Read more: https://t.co/brNuikKStD

— International Chess Federation ( @FIDE_chess) October 29, 2026

The event moves to Istanbul after last year’s championships in Doha, Qatar, where Carlsen completed his fifth rapid and blitz double championship. The Norwegian won his sixth World Rapid title with 10.5/13, finishing a full point clear of the field, before defeating GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov 2.5–1.5 in the blitz final to secure his ninth title in that discipline.

Goryachkina won her first Women’s World Rapid title after beating GM Zhu Jiner in a playoff. Assaubayeva won the Women’s World Blitz Championship for the third time, overcoming GM Anna Muzychuk 2.5–1.5 in the final.

The event is once again backed by Freedom Holding, FIDE's main sponsor since 2023. The financial services group is led by FIDE President Timur Turlov, who was elected to head the federation in September.

"We are delighted to bring the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships to Istanbul," Turlov said in the announcement. "Türkiye has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to organise world-class chess events while making an outstanding contribution to the growth of our game at every level."

Türkiye has regularly hosted major youth tournaments, such as the World U9–U17 Rapid & Blitz Championships in Antalya in December 2025. Now Istanbul is preparing to welcome the world’s elite, 14 years after staging the 2012 Chess Olympiad. These events would give the country’s leading young stars, GMs Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and Ediz Gurel, an opportunity to challenge the world’s best on home soil.

The regulations for the events are not yet announced, but last year's rapid championships were Swiss tournaments, while the blitz concluded with four-player knockouts after an initial Swiss stage.