FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz in Hong Kong 2026

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FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championship 2026 in Hong Kong

FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz in Hong Kong 2026
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The main chess event of the summer of 2026: over 800 participants, star grandmasters and the first amateur World Cup in the heart of Asia.

About the FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz 2026 Tournament

FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2026 is the fourth World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship, which will be held in East Asia for the first time this year. The competition will be held from June 16 to 22, 2026. This unique tournament brings together world chess leaders, top female players, juniors, as well as amateurs and representatives of the corporate sector under one roof. This year, a record number of participants is expected - over 800 chess players, including participants in the first-ever World Team Amateur Rapid Chess Cup. The tournament is held under the auspices of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and is an official rating competition.

Historical background

The World Rapid and Blitz Team Championship (FIDE WRBT) is a relatively young but already extremely popular tournament, launched in 2023. The debut championship was held in Düsseldorf (Germany) with the participation of 36 teams. Every year the scale of the competition has grown rapidly: in 2024, 38 teams competed in Astana (Kazakhstan), and in 2025, a real breakthrough took place in London (Great Britain) with almost 60 teams. In 2026, Hong Kong raises the bar even higher: 48 teams (about 400 players) will participate in the main tournament, and the accompanying Amateur Cup will attract more than 400 participants.

FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz in Hong Kong 2026

Venue and infrastructure

The competition will be held in the heart of Hong Kong at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. This modern multi-purpose sports arena has extensive experience in hosting international events, including the recent 2025 East Asian Youth Championship. As a global business and tourism hub, Hong Kong offers a first-class infrastructure: convenient transportation, world-class hotels and a unique cultural atmosphere where East meets West. The organizers are FIDE in conjunction with the Hong Kong Chess Federation of China.

Prize Fund and Organizers

The total prize pool of the tournament is a record and amounts to 525,000 euros:

  • Main Tournament (Rapid and Blitz): €500,000 (€310,000 for rapid and €190,000 for blitz).
  • The winner of the rapid will receive 110,000 euros, and the winner of the blitz will receive 75,000 euros.
  • Amateur Cup: prize fund 25,000 euros (10,000 euros for first place).

The tournament is organized by FIDE with the support of local sponsors and the Hong Kong Chess Federation.

Participants and conditions of participation

The tournament has unique team formation rules. Each team consists of 6–9 players and must include at least one woman and one amateur (a player with an Elo rating below 2000 as of March 2026). The star participants include the world's strongest chess players:

  • WR Chess (main favorites): Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wesley So, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Oleksandra Kosteniuk.
  • Hexamind: Levon Aronian, Anish Giri, Alireza Firuja, ViDit Gujrati, Kateryna Lagno.
  • Team MGD1 (reigning rapid champions): Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin.
  • Dragon Chilling: Ding Liren, Wei Yi, Yu Yanyi, Ju Wenjun.
  • Uzbekistan: Нодірбек Абдусатторов, Жавохір Сіндаров та капітан Рустам Касимджанов.

Official website and where to follow

You can follow the progress of the competition, schedule, results and draw on the official FIDE website. Live broadcasts of the games with expert commentary will be available on the official FIDE YouTube channel, starting from the first day of the rapid - June 17. Tickets for spectators in Hong Kong can be purchased through the official URBTIX platform.

Location: Гонконг

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