Norway Chess

♟️ About Norway Chess

Norway Chess is an elite international chess organizer based in Sandnes, Norway. The project began in 2012, while the first official Norway Chess tournament took place in 2013. It quickly developed into one of the strongest annual invitational events in world chess. After thirteen years in Stavanger, the organization moved its flagship tournaments to Oslo in 2026, with Deichman Bjørvika becoming the new playing venue. Norway Chess focuses on elite competition, innovative tournament formats, professional broadcasting, commercial partnerships, and spectator-focused presentation. Its flagship program now consists of Norway Chess and Norway Chess Women, which run side by side with the same number of players, format, playing conditions, and prize fund. The organization is particularly known for using an Armageddon game after every drawn classical game, ensuring a decisive result in every match. Kjell Madland is the Founder, CEO, and Tournament Director of Norway Chess. He has led the project from its earliest years and developed several concepts associated with the tournament’s identity. In 2026, Norway Chess entered a new phase: it successfully staged its first Oslo edition and continued developing the Total Chess World Championship Tour, a separate international championship brand that Norway Chess founded, owns, and operates.

📜 History and Innovation

The idea for Norway Chess emerged from an ambition to bring the world’s strongest players to Norway during the rise of Magnus Carlsen. The inaugural tournament followed in 2013 and immediately attracted leading grandmasters. Over the following years, Norway Chess became known for both competitive strength and experimentation. In 2017, it staged what the organizer describes as the highest-rated ten-player tournament ever held. The tournament also developed several distinctive presentation concepts. These include Armageddon deciders, the confessional booth, innovative broadcast elements, and the Game Theory Corner. As a result, Norway Chess has consistently combined elite competition with new ways of presenting chess to spectators.

👑 Norway Chess Women

A major development came in 2024, when Norway Chess launched Norway Chess Women. The women’s event runs alongside the main tournament with identical competitive conditions. Both tournaments use the same format, the same number of players, and equal prize funds. Therefore, Norway Chess Women created a new benchmark for prize equality at elite invitational level. The competition continued in 2025 and returned for its third edition in 2026. Previous champions include Ju Wenjun in 2024 and Anna Muzychuk in 2025. For 2026, each tournament offered a total prize fund of NOK 1,690,000, including NOK 700,000 for first place.

🏆 Norway Chess 2026

The Norway Chess 2026 tournaments took place from May 25 to June 5, 2026 at Deichman Bjørvika in Oslo. This edition marked the first move away from Stavanger after thirteen years. Both competitions featured six players in a double round-robin format over ten rounds. A classical victory earned three points. However, every drawn classical game was followed by Armageddon. The Armageddon winner received 1.5 points, while the losing player received one point. GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu won Norway Chess 2026 with 18 points. Wesley So finished second with 17 points, while Alireza Firouzja placed third with 15.5. In Norway Chess Women, GM Bibisara Assaubayeva secured the title with 16.5 points. Zhu Jiner finished only half a point behind, while Anna Muzychuk took third place.

🌍 Total Chess World Championship Tour

Norway Chess has expanded beyond its original annual tournament through the creation of the Total Chess World Championship Tour. The new championship is developed, owned, and operated by Norway Chess. However, it operates publicly under the separate Total Chess brand. Therefore, Total Chess and Norway Chess should remain separate organizer profiles while retaining a clear organizational connection. The FIDE-approved Tour combines Fast Classic, Rapid, and Blitz to determine the FIDE World Combined Champion. Its official pilot is scheduled for November 10–20, 2026 at the Anantara New York Palace Hotel in Budapest. The full international Tour is planned to launch in 2027. Norway Chess developed the concept as its next major step toward building a recurring global championship series across several host cities.

🏛️ Organization and Leadership

Kjell Madland leads Norway Chess as Founder, CEO, and Tournament Director. He remains the organization’s principal operational and commercial representative. Benedicte Westre Skog is Co-Owner and Chief Operating Officer. She has worked with Norway Chess since 2015 and has played an important role in its strategic development and the establishment of Norway Chess Women. The wider team includes specialists in finance, technology, events, marketing, media, partnerships, and digital content. Norway Chess continues to operate from its organizational base in Sandnes while staging its flagship elite tournament in Oslo.