Overview
- Scheduled for February 13–15 in Weissenhaus, the event carries a $300,000 prize pool with $100,000 for the winner.
- Six players qualified via the 2025 Grand Slam Tour: Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi and Javokhir Sindarov.
- Freestyle Chess nominated Hans Niemann, and the final berth will be awarded through a January 14–15 Chess.com Play‑In open to verified titled players, using a Swiss plus knockout format.
- The three‑day structure features a rapid round‑robin on day one (10+5), semifinals and placement matches on day two (25+10), and a four‑game final on day three (25+10).
- A women’s exhibition match will run alongside the main event, and organizers confirmed a women’s freestyle world championship for late 2026 with a $50,000 purse after reconciliation talks reportedly held in Qatar.