Match dates, schedule and venue
The match runs from November 22 to December 13, 2026, with the 14 games between November 24 and December 11.
FIDE’s regulations place the match in Geneva, and FIDE’s announcement names the venue as the Fondation Martin Bodmer, a library and museum in Cologny on the edge of the city. It is the first World Championship match in Switzerland since Brissago in 2004 (FIDE). The dates moved once: FIDE’s first announcement in the summer gave November 25 to December 15, before the regulations fixed the current calendar.
| Date | Event | Start | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri Nov 20 | Arrivals | ||
| Sun Nov 22 | Media day and opening ceremony | ||
| Mon Nov 23 | Media day and technical meeting | ||
| Tue Nov 24 | Game 1 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Wed Nov 25 | Game 2 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Thu Nov 26 | Game 3 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Fri Nov 27 | Rest day | ||
| Sat Nov 28 | Game 4 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Sun Nov 29 | Game 5 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Mon Nov 30 | Game 6 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Tue Dec 1 | Rest day | ||
| Wed Dec 2 | Game 7 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Thu Dec 3 | Game 8 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Fri Dec 4 | Game 9 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Sat Dec 5 | Rest day | ||
| Sun Dec 6 | Game 10 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Mon Dec 7 | Game 11 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Tue Dec 8 | Game 12 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Wed Dec 9 | Rest day | ||
| Thu Dec 10 | Game 13 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Fri Dec 11 | Game 14 | 3:00 pm | Not yet played |
| Sat Dec 12 | Tiebreaks if needed, closing ceremony | ||
| Sun Dec 13 | Departures | ||
The rhythm is three games, then a rest day, repeated four times, with two games before the tiebreak day. Source: Regulations for the FIDE World Championship Match 2026.
What time do the games start?
The regulations list every game at 3:00 pm. Geneva is on Central European Time (UTC+1) throughout the match, so that is 14:00 UTC:
| Where you are | Game start |
|---|---|
| Geneva (CET) | 3:00 pm |
| London (GMT) | 2:00 pm |
| New York (EST) | 9:00 am |
| Los Angeles (PST) | 6:00 am |
| India (IST) | 7:30 pm |
| Pakistan (PKT) | 7:00 pm |
| Uzbekistan (UZT) | 7:00 pm |
| Sydney (AEDT) | 1:00 am, next day |
Converted from 3:00 pm Geneva time; none of these places changes its clocks between November 24 and December 12. Classical games at this time control can last five hours or more.
Format, time control and tiebreaks
- 14 classical games. A win is 1 point and a draw ½. The first player to 7½ points wins the title and the remaining games are not played.
- Time control: 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds added per move from move 41 (regulations, Article 4.2.2).
- No early draws: players cannot agree a draw before Black’s 40th move. Before then, a draw can only be claimed through the chief arbiter, and only for threefold repetition or stalemate (Article 4.3).
- If it is 7–7: tiebreaks on December 12 (Article 4.4.2).
| Stage | Games | Time control |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 games | 15 minutes + 10 seconds per move |
| 2 | 2 games | 10 minutes + 5 seconds per move |
| 3 | 2 games | 3 minutes + 2 seconds per move |
| 4 onward | 1 game at a time, colours reversed after each draw | 3 minutes + 2 seconds per move, until a game is won |
Colours for each tiebreak stage are drawn by lot. For what these time controls mean in practice, see chess time controls explained.
Prize money
The fund is $2.5 million, net of local taxes. Each player receives $200,000 for every classical game won, and the rest is split equally. If the match is decided in tiebreaks, or ends 7½–6½ with 13 decisive games or 8–6 with 14 decisive games, the winner gets $1.3 million and the runner-up $1.2 million (regulations, Article 4.5).
Try different scores in our World Championship prize calculator, which uses the same published rule and reproduces the 2024 payouts.
Ratings and head-to-head record
Champion
Gukesh D
India · born 29 May 2006
- FIDE rating
- 2710
- World rank
- No. 26
- Title
- Champion since December 2024
Challenger
Javokhir Sindarov
Uzbekistan · born 8 December 2005
- FIDE rating
- 2782
- World rank
- No. 4
- Qualified by
- Winning the 2026 Candidates
Classical ratings from the November 1, 2026 FIDE list (Chess.com). Sindarov turns 21 on December 8, the day of Game 12.
The 72-point gap and 22-place ranking gap are the largest between World Championship players since the title was reunified in 2006 (Chess.com). Gukesh won the title in Singapore in December 2024 by beating Ding Liren 7½–6½, becoming the youngest undisputed world champion at 18. Sindarov won the 2025 FIDE World Cup and then the 2026 Candidates Tournament in Cyprus, unbeaten with a record 10/14. Read the full Javokhir Sindarov profile for his path to the match.
Head-to-head in classical chess
| Year | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Moscow Open | Sindarov won (Gukesh had White) |
| 2022 | Sharjah Masters | Sindarov won |
| 2026 | Tata Steel Masters, round 1 | Draw |
Sindarov leads 2–0 with one draw in classical games (World Chess; colours for 2018 from the Washington Times game report). At the 2026 Grand Chess Tour event in Warsaw, Gukesh won their rapid game and Sindarov both blitz games; those do not count as classical.
Game-by-game results
Gukesh 0Sindarov 0Game 1 is on November 24
This section is updated after each game with the result and one key position, checked with Stockfish and linked to the analysis board. No game has been played yet: the first is on November 24. We don’t publish live commentary or predicted moves, and results are added only after the game has finished and been confirmed by the official broadcast.
To follow a game yourself, copy the current position from the broadcast as a FEN and paste it into the free analysis board, or load the finished PGN into Game Review to see where the evaluation swung. Engines see things the players cannot, so read a big evaluation as “there was a strong move here”, not as an easy miss.
Who is favoured?
On paper, Sindarov. He is rated 72 points higher, and Chess.com notes that since 2006 nobody ranked below world No. 5 has won a title match (Chess.com). Magnus Carlsen said in September that Sindarov was “a pretty significant favorite” given Gukesh’s form (as reported), and Nodirbek Abdusattorov gave his compatriot an 80–20 chance on a podcast in October (World Chess).
The case for Gukesh is experience and preparation. He has already won a title match, the match format rewards deep opening preparation and nerve more than results in open events, and ratings measure results over many games, not over 14. Match results have defied ratings before: Ding Liren won in 2023 and Viswanathan Anand in 2010 against higher-rated opponents. A rating gap of 72 points gives the higher-rated player an expected score of about 0.60 per game under the Elo formula; work out other gaps with the Elo calculator, or read how Elo rating works.
We do not make a prediction. The expected-score figure is plain Elo arithmetic, 1 ÷ (1 + 10−72/400) ≈ 0.60, not a forecast of the match.
Recent World Championship matches
| Year | Match | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Magnus Carlsen beat Ian Nepomniachtchi | 7½–3½ | Dubai |
| 2023 | Ding Liren beat Ian Nepomniachtchi | 7–7, tiebreaks 2½–1½ | Astana |
| 2024 | Gukesh D beat Ding Liren | 7½–6½ | Singapore |
| 2026 | Gukesh D vs Javokhir Sindarov | From November 24 | Geneva |
For the title itself and the others FIDE awards, see chess titles explained; for the current rating list, see who is the best chess player in the world.
FAQ
When does the 2026 World Chess Championship start?
The opening ceremony is on November 22, 2026 and Game 1 is on Tuesday, November 24 at 3:00 pm Geneva time. Game 14, the last scheduled classical game, is on December 11.
Where is the 2026 World Chess Championship?
In Geneva, Switzerland, at the Fondation Martin Bodmer in Cologny.
How many games are in the World Chess Championship?
Up to 14 classical games. The first player to reach 7½ points wins, so the match can end early.
What happens if the match is tied 7–7?
Tiebreaks are played on December 12: four rapid games at 15 minutes + 10 seconds, then two at 10 + 5, then two blitz games at 3 + 2, then single 3 + 2 games until someone wins one.
How old are Gukesh and Sindarov?
Both are 20 when the match begins. Gukesh was born on 29 May 2006 and Sindarov on 8 December 2005, so Sindarov turns 21 during the match.
How much does the winner get?
The fund is $2.5 million: $200,000 per classical game won, with the rest split equally. In most close finishes, including any tiebreak win, the winner receives $1.3 million and the loser $1.2 million.
Who has the better head-to-head record?
In classical chess, Sindarov leads 2–0 with one draw: he won in 2018 and 2022, and their 2026 Tata Steel game was drawn.
Is Magnus Carlsen playing?
No. Carlsen chose not to defend the title in 2023, so his last title match was in 2021, and he is not part of this cycle. He is still the world’s highest-rated player, at 2823 on the November 2026 list.
Sources and how we checked
- FIDE, Regulations for the FIDE World Championship Match 2026: schedule (Article 4.6.1), time control (4.2.2), draw rule (4.3), tiebreaks (4.4.2), prize fund (4.5). Checked on November 14, 2026.
- FIDE, “Schedule, format, and prize fund confirmed”: venue, ages, qualification.
- Chess.com, November 2026 FIDE rating list and Geneva announcement (past match results).
- World Chess, match guide (November 5, 2026): head-to-head record, player comments; Wikipedia for Carlsen’s September comment.
- Start times are converted from 3:00 pm Central European Time and checked in code. Schedules can change: if FIDE updates the regulations, this page follows the official version.