Magnus Carlsen shared his plans for the 2026 season at the World Rapid & Blitz closing press conference on December 30, noting his tournament list will be similar to his 2025 calendar. Magnus plans to participate in Rapid, Blitz and Freestyle events, alongside several Classical tournaments.

Magnus Carlsen

Magnus Carlsen

Five-time world champion

“It’s been a really good year overall. It feels great. And what’s to come next year, I will probably play a lot of the same things as last year and then probably at least two, but maybe three classical tournaments. And that’s a lot for me.”

In 2025, Magnus Carlsen (2840) won the Esports World Cup, the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, and Clutch Chess. He concluded the year by winning both the FIDE World Rapid and World Blitz Championships, securing his 20th total World Championship Title across Classical (5 times), Rapid (6 times), and Blitz (9 times).