The organizers of the London Chess Classic announced that Magnus Carlsen will play at the 2026 Super Rapid event. The tournament will take place from December 5 to 6 at the London Novotel West in Hammersmith.

Top 10 invited Grandmasters by Rapid ratings:

  • 🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen (2801)
  • 🇺🇸 Levon Aronian (2738)
  • 🇮🇳 Nihal Sarin (2712)
  • 🇫🇷 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2712)
  • 🇺🇿 Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2704)
  • 🇳🇱 Anish Giri (2656)
  • 🇫🇷 Jules Moussard (2642)
  • 🇬🇧 Luke J McShane (2610)
  • 🇬🇧 Michael Adams (2607)
  • 🇬🇧 Gawain Maroroa Jones (2602)

The event features a Rapid 15+30 time control over 10 Swiss rounds between more than 200 players. The winner will be determined by Tiebreaks in case of a tie for first place. The tournament prize fund is £35,000 (~$47,000), with £10,000 (~$13,400) for first place.

The London Chess Classic is an annual international chess event held in London since 2009. The event is organized by the charity Chess in Schools and Communities and sponsored by the algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets. The 2025 edition of the Super Rapid event was won by Nikolas Theodorou.

Credit: Michal Walusza / Norway Chess