NEW DELHI: Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the 2026 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship on Sunday, defeating American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana in a dramatic final held in Weissenhaus, Germany. The championship took place from February 13 to 15 and featured the world’s top chess players competing in the increasingly popular Freestyle (also known as Fischer Random) chess format.
Carlsen sealed the title with a final score of 2.5–1.5. In the fourth and last game, a draw was enough for him to secure victory, and he calmly held an equal position to clinch the match. The turning point came in game three, when Carlsen pulled off a stunning comeback, winning from what experts described as a nearly lost position. That win gave him the edge going into the final game.This tournament is historic because it is the first official Freestyle Chess World Championship recognised by FIDE, the international chess governing body. Carlsen, who is currently the world’s top-ranked player, had previously tried but failed to win a Fischer Random world title. With this victory, he adds the Freestyle crown to his collection, bringing his total to an astonishing 21 world titles across different chess formats.In other matches, Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov finished third after defeating Germany’s Vincent Keymer, while Hans Niemann took fifth place and Levon Aronian finished seventh. In a women’s exhibition match, Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva defeated former world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk.The tournament offered a prize fund of $300,000, with Carlsen taking home $100,000. The top three players have also qualified for the 2027 Freestyle World Championship, setting the stage for another exciting battle next year.
