What is Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge? Magnus Carlsen announces new “format” of Chess competition 

Chess Grandmaster and reigning World Number 1, Magnus Carlsen, has unveiled a fresh tournament titled the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge. Carlsen introduced the event via his official X account, describing it as a new format showcasing top GMs from around the globe. It is set to take place at the WEISSENHAUS Private Nature Luxury Resort (Germany), from February 9 to 16.

Although the competition will primarily occur face-to-face on the chessboard, it will also be broadcast live on the Chess.com website and YouTube page for viewers around the world to follow.

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What is the format of Magnus Carlsen's new chess tournament?

Magnus Carlsen has consistently voiced his disinterest in the current format of the World Chess Championship. This sentiment led to his decision to decline defending his title last year and to abstain from participating in the Candidates tournament in 2024.

Carlsen will now be joining other players in the upcoming Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge next month. True to its name, this event will not adhere strictly to conventional rules and will offer a format that diverges from classical chess norms.

Here are the rules:

• Round robin: Rapid 25 min for the game + 10 sec per move according to A5 of the FIDE laws of chess.
• Tiebreak: First direct encounter, second: number of wins, third: Sonneborn-Berger.
• Quarter-, semi- and finals: Two games standard 90 min/40 Moves + 30 min rest of the game additional 30 sec per move.

In case there is a tie-break, this will be followed:

• Two rapid games 15 min for the game + 10 sec per move
• Two blitz games 5 min for the game + 2 sec per move
• Then one more blitz game until a winner is found

The rules for the upcoming tournament (Image via freestyle-chess.com)

The games in the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge will follow the Fischer Random setup (Chess 960), where pieces are randomly shuffled at the start, allowing for unconventional starting positions (for example, the white Knight may be placed on C1 instead of its usual spot at B1).

Here's a screenshot of one of the possible set-ups:

Here's how the pieces could be set up (Image via freestyle-chess.com)

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Who will participate in the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge?

Tournament to feature a total of eight players. (Image via freestyle-chess.com)

While Magnus Carlsen is undoubtedly the headline player in the tournament, seven other Grandmasters from around the world will also participate in the event, including young players such as Alireza Firouzja and Gukesh D. Here are all the players set to participate:

• Magnus Carlsen (World Number 1)
• Ding Liren (Current World Champion)
• Fabiano Caruana (World Number 2)
• Alireza Firouzja (World Number 7)
• Nodirbek Abdusattorov (World Number 14)
• Vincent Keymar (World Number 16)
• Gukesh D (World Number 18)
• Levon Aronian (World Number 25)

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World Number three, current Fischer Random World Champion, and Twitch streamer Hikaru "GMHikaru" will not be participating in the event. However, he is expected to provide coverage of all the games streamed on his Kick or Twitch account.