Norway Chess is an annual closed chess tournament, typically taking place in the May to June time period every year. The first edition took place in the Stavanger, Norway, from 7 to 18 May 2013. The 2013 tournament had ten participants, including seven of the ten highest rated players in the world per the May 2013 FIDE World Rankings.Paul Fridtjov Svendsen: Sandnes får forsmak på VM-finalen i sjakk Stavanger Aftenblad, 2 April 2013 It was won by Sergey Karjakin, with Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura tied for second place.Lubomir Kavalek (21 May 2013): Karjakin Wins Norway Chess 2012, Edges Carlsen and Nakamura Huffington Post, retrieved 23 June 2013 Norway Chess 2015 took place in mid-June 2015 and was a part of the inaugural Grand Chess Tour. The tournament has since decided to withdraw from the Grand Chess Tour.
In 2025, Norway Chess announced they were developing the Total Chess World Championship Tour, with the approval of FIDE. Total Chess World Championship 2026 will be the first Total Chess World Championship event. It will be held in Norway on 15 October 2026.
In 2026, it was held in Oslo instead of Stavanger from May 25 to June 5. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu from India won the open section and Bibisara Assaubayeva from Kazakhstan won the women's section. In 2026 edition, R Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian to win Norway Chess Tournament, defeating World No 1 Magnus Carlsen twice in classical games within the same event, the first player to do so since Veselin Topalov.
Winners Open section {| class="sortable wikitable" ! # !! Year !! Winner (classical) !! Winner (blitz) |- | style="text-align:center;"|1||2013|||| |- | style="text-align:center;"|2||2014|||| |- | style="text-align:center;"|3||2015|||| |- | style="text-align:center;"|4||2016|||| |- | style="text-align:center;"|5||2017|||| |- | style="text-align:center;"|6||2018|||| |- | style="text-align:center;"|7||2019|||| |- | style="text-align:center;"|8||2020||||– |- | style="text-align:center;"|9||2021||||– |- | style="text-align:center;"|10||2022|||| |- | style="text-align:center;"|11||2023|||| |- | style="text-align:center;"|12||2024|| ||– |- | style="text-align:center;"|13||2025|| ||– |- | style="text-align:center;"|14||2026|| ||–
Women's section {| class="sortable wikitable" ! # !! Year !! Winner (classical) |- | style="text-align:center;"|1||2024|| |- | style="text-align:center;"|2||2025|| |- | style="text-align:center;"|3||2026||
2013 The 2013 tournament started with a blitz round played at the University of Stavanger on 7 May 2013. Rounds 1-3, 5-6, and 8 were played at Hotel Residence, Sandnes. Round 4 was played at Aarbakke factory in Bryne, and round 8 was played on the island Sør-Hidle in Strand Municipality. The final round 9 was played in Stavanger Concert Hall on 18 May 2013. In addition to the super tournament, there was a local school tournament and a celebrity tournament. Partly parallel to the tournament, Stavanger Open NGP 2013 was arranged by Stavanger Chess Club from 8 to 12 May. Games were streamed live with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam and Simen Agdestein as commentators.
The tournament was arranged by the foundation Norway Chess, with economic support from local businesses and municipalities within the Rogaland county. The cost of the arrangement was predicted to be about 5 million Norwegian kroner (approximately 672,000 euro),Norway Chess 2013 with impressive lineup chessdom.com, retrieved 3 April 2013 of which about half was for prizes for the participants.Øyvind Brenne: Carlsen blir trekkplaster i storturnering på norsk jord VG, 7 February 2013 The organizers planned to make the tournament a yearly event.
Vladimir Kramnik was originally among the expected participants, but in April 2013 it was announced that he had withdrawn and was replaced with Peter Svidler.Svidler will replace Kramnik at Norway Chess 2013 Chessdom.com, 13 April 2013
Blitz tournament On 7 May 2013, a blitz tournament was played to decide the play order for the main tournament. According to the regulations, the winner of the blitz tournament had the right to choose the number in the table by his own, and Sergey Karjakin chose to be fifth in the main tournament table.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+1st Supreme Masters Blitz, 7 May 2013, Sandnes, Rogaland county, Norway ! !! Player !! Blitz rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points !! !! !! SB |- | 1 || align=left | || 2873 | || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || ½ || 1 || 6½ || || || |- | 2 || align=left | || 2856 | 0 || || ½ || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1 || ½ || 1 || 1 || 6 || 5 || || |- | 3 || align=left | || | 1 || ½ || || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || ½ || 6 || 4 || 2 || 26.00 |- | 4 || align=left | || 2844 | 0 || 0 || 1 || || ½ || ½ || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 6 || 4 || 1 || 21.25 |- | 5 || align=left | || 2757 | 1 || 0 || 0 || ½ || || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 5½ || || || |- | 6 || align=left | || 2755 | 0 || 1 || 0 || ½ || 0 || || ½ || 1 || 1 || 1 || 5 || || || |- | 7 || align=left | || | 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || ½ || || 1 || ½ || ½ || 3½ || || || |- | 8 || align=left | || 2698 | 0 || ½ || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || || ½ || 1 || 3 || || || |- | 9 || align=left | || 2817 | ½ || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || ½ || ½ || || 1 || 2½ || || || |- | 10 || align=left | || 2666 | 0 || 0 || ½ || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || ½ || 0 || || 1 || || ||
Second, third and fourth place were decided by tiebreakers: Carlsen on most games with black pieces; Anand with two victories with black against Nakamura's one victory.
Classical tournament {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+1st Supreme Masters, 8–18 May 2013, Sandnes – Bryne – Sør-Hidle – Stavanger, Norway, Cat. XXI (2766) ! !! Player !! Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points !! SB !! TPR |- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 || align=left | || 2767 | || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || ½ || 1 || ½ || 1 || 1 || 6 || || 2891 |- | 2 || align=left | || 2868 | 1 || || ½ || ½ || ½ || ½ || 0 || ½ || 1 || 1 || 5½ || 22.75 || 2835 |- | 3 || align=left | || 2775 | 0 || ½ || || ½ || 0 || 1 || 1 || ½ || 1 || 1 || 5½ || 21.25 || 2845 |- | 4 || align=left | || 2769 | 1 || ½ || ½ || || ½ || ½ || 0 || ½ || ½ || 1 || 5 || 21.50 || 2809 |- | 5 || align=left | || 2813 | 0 || ½ || 1 || ½ || || ½ || ½ || ½ || ½ || 1 || 5 || 20.50 || 2804 |- | 6 || align=left | || 2783 | ½ || ½ || 0 || ½ || ½ || || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 5 || 19.25 || 2807 |- | 7 || align=left | || 2743 | 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || ½ || 1 || || ½ || ½ || 0 || 4½ || || 2769 |- | 8 || align=left | || 2793 | ½ || ½ || ½ || ½ || ½ || 0 || ½ || || ½ || ½ || 4 || || 2720 |- | 9 || align=left | || 2745 | 0 || 0 || 0 || ½ || ½ || 0 || ½ || ½ || || 1 || 3 || || 2643 |- | 10 || align=left | || 2608 | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || ½ || 0 || || 1½ || || 2511
The tiebreakers were: Sonneborn–Berger score, most wins, most wins with black. In case of a tie for first place, a two-game blitz match (or blitz tournament) and an armageddon game were scheduled.
2014 The second edition took place from 2 to 13 June 2014. The ten participants were Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov, Fabiano Caruana, Alexander Grischuk, Sergey Karjakin, Peter Svidler, Anish Giri and Simen Agdestein. Agdestein qualified by defeating Jon Ludvig Hammer in a rapid match that took place from 26 to 27 April 2014.
Blitz tournament On 2 June 2014, a blitz tournament was played to decide the play order for the main tournament. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+2nd Norway Chess Blitz, 2 June 2014, Flor og Fjære, Sør-Hidle, Norway ! !! Player !! Blitz rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points !! !! |- | 1 || align=left | || 2837 | || ½ || 1 || ½ || 1 || 1 || ½ || 1 || 1 || 1 || 7½ || || |- | 2 || align=left | || 2863 | ½ || || 0 || ½ || 1 || 1 || 1 || ½ || 1 || 1 || 6½ || || |- | 3 || align=left | || 2866 | 0 || 1 || || 0 || ½ || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 5½ || 5 || |- | 4 || align=left | || 2801 | ½ || ½ || 1 || || ½ || 0 || 1 || 1 || ½ || ½ || 5½ || 4 || |- | 5 || align=left | || 2757 | 0 || 0 || ½ || ½ || || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 5 || || |- | 6 || align=left | || 2755 | 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || || 1 || 0 || ½ || 1 || 4½ || || |- | 7 || align=left | || 2782 | ½ || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || || ½ || ½ || 1 || 3½ || 5 || 1 |- | 8 || align=left | || 2697 | 0 || ½ || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || ½ || || ½ || 1 || 3½ || 5 || 0 |- | 9 || align=left | || 2666 | 0 || 0 || 0 || ½ || 0 || ½ || ½ || ½ || || 0 || 2 || || |- | 10 || align=left | || 2577 | 0 || 0 || 0 || ½ || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || || 1½ || || |} The places 3, 4, 7 and 8 were decided by tiebreakers: Karjakin on most games with black pieces, Kramnik with one victory with black against Caruana's zero victories.
Classical tournament {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+2nd Unibet Norway Chess, 3–14 June 2014, Stavanger, Norway, Category XXI (2774) ! !! Player !! Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points || SB !! Wins !! TPR |- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 || align=left | || 2771 | || ½ || 1 || 1 || ½ || 0 || ½ || 1 || 1 || ½ || 6 || || || 2899 |- | 2 || align=left | || 2881 | ½ || || ½ || ½ || ½ || 1|| ½ || ½ || ½ || 1 || 5½ || || || 2841 |- | 3 || align=left | || 2792 | 0 || ½ || || 0 || 1 || 1 || ½ || ½ || 1 || ½ || 5 || || || 2814 |- | 4 || align=left | || 2791 | 0 || ½ || 1 || || ½ || ½ || 1 || ½ || 0 || ½ || 4½ || 19.75 || || 2771 |- | 5 || align=left | || 2772 | ½ || ½ || 0 || ½ || || ½ || ½ || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4½|| 19.50 || || 2774 |- | 6 || align=left | || 2815 | 1 || 0 || 0 || ½ || ½ || || ½ || ½ || ½ || ½ || 4 || 18.25 || 1 || 2726 |- | 7 || align=left | || 2753 | ½ || ½ || ½ || 0 || ½ || ½ || || ½ || ½ || ½ || 4 || 18.25 || 0 || 2733 |- | 8 || align=left | || 2752 | 0 || ½ || ½ || ½ || 1 || ½ || ½ || || 0 || ½ || 4 || 17.75 || || 2733 |- | 9 || align=left | || 2783 | 0 || ½ || 0 || 1 || 0 || ½ || ½ || 1 || || ½ || 4 || 17.00 || || 2729 |- | 10 || align=left | || 2628 | ½ || 0 || ½ || ½ || 0 || ½ || ½ || ½ || ½ || || 3½ || || || 2710
The tiebreakers were: Sonneborn–Berger score, most wins, most wins with black. In case of a tie for first place, a two-game blitz match (or blitz tournament) and an armageddon game were scheduled.
2015 The third edition of the tournament took place from 15 to 26 June 2015. This was the first tournament of a three tournament series in the inaugural Grand Chess Tour, where participants accumulated as many points as possible over the three tournaments for prizes in the overall tour. The players were Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Levon Aronian, Veselin Topalov, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Alexander Grischuk, Anish Giri, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Jon Ludvig Hammer. Jon Ludvig Hammer was not invited to the overall Grand Chess Tour; however, he qualified for the 10th spot in the tournament by winning the Enter Card Scandinavian Masters Tournament in May 2015.
Wildcard qualifier Jon Ludvig Hammer won the event to qualify as the wildcard for the main tournament.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan=2| !! rowspan=2| Player !! colspan=8| Classical !! colspan=8| Rapid !! rowspan=2| TotalPoints |- ! Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! !Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! |-style="background:#ccffcc;" | 1 || align=left| | 2665 || || 1 || 1 || 2 || 2 || 2 || 8 | 2578|| || 1 || ½ || ½ || 1 || 1 || 4 || 12 |- | 2 || align=left| | 2712 || 1 || || 2 || 1 || 2 || 2 || 8 | 2707 || 0 || || ½ || ½ || 1 || 1 || 3 || 11 |- | 3 || align=left| | 2520 || 1 || 0 || || 1 || 1 || 1 || 4 | 2442 || ½ || ½ || || ½ || 1 || 1 || 3½ || 7½ |- | 4 || align=left| | 2623 || 0 || 1 || 1 || || 2 || 1 || 5 | 2623 || ½ || ½ || ½ || || 0 || 0 || 1½ || 6½ |- | 5 || align=left| | 2621 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || || 2 || 3 | 2621 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || || ½ || 1½ || 4½ |- | 6 || align=left| | 2620 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || || 2 | 2575 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || ½ || || 1½ || 3½