Total Chess Pilot 2026
Budapest10–20 November 2026Starts on 10 November 2026Schedule
Day by day
10 November 2026
Opening ceremony and Blitz Swiss
Opening ceremony and press conference 16:00. Then 9 rounds of Blitz (3+2) from 18:00 — its ranking breaks ties in the group stage and seeds the knockout.
11–15 November 2026
Group Stage
4 groups of 6, double round-robin. Two Fast Classic games (45+30) a day at 15:00 and 18:30. Win 3, draw 1.
16 November 2026
Rest day
17–18 November 2026
Knockout semifinals
Two days, each 4 Blitz (from 15:00), 2 Rapid (16:15, 17:30) and 1 Fast Classic (18:45). Armageddon on day two if needed.
19–20 November 2026
Knockout finals
Finals and 3rd-place matches in all six brackets, same two-day format. The Knockout 1 winner wins Budapest 2026.
The Format
- Fast Classic
- 45 min + 30 sec
- Rapid
- 15 min + 10 sec
- Blitz
- 3 min + 2 sec
Blitz Swiss
9 rounds at 3+2, played before the opening ceremony. Its ranking sets the tiebreak order for every group stage situation.
Group Stage
4 groups of 6, double round-robin over 5 days — 10 games per player at Fast Classic 45+30, scored 3 / 1 / 0.
Knockout
Group placings feed 6 brackets. Each match runs two days of 4 Blitz, then 2 Rapid, then 1 Fast Classic.
