Qualifiers For The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Play-In Leg 1 This Weekend
Dear Chess 960 Fans,
For the second year in a row, as part of our announced partnership with Freestyle Chess, we are offering a qualification path for each event to any of our members, with the first qualifier starting on January 3!
Qualifiers are open to all players who meet the following criteria:
- Accounts must be at least 90 days old
- Must have a minimum of 50 rapid games played on Chess.com
- Must not be a Titled Player
Since you are a member of this 2026 Freestyle Chess—Open Qualifier club, you do not have to fill out the registration form again and meet all eligibility requirements.
Reminder: all players in the club must have their real name listed in their profile.
Reminder: all players must download and compete on Proctor.
Date and Times of the Qualifiers for the Freestyle Chess Play-In Leg 1:
- January 3, Saturday: 8 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CET/ 9:30 p.m. IST / 00:00+1 China
- January 4, Sunday: 5 a.m. PT / 8 a.m. ET / 14:00 CET/ 6:30 p.m. IST / 21:00 China
Format of the Qualifiers:
- Each qualifier will be a 9-round Swiss tournament with all games having a 10+2 time control.
- There is a scheduled 6-minute break after Round 4 and Round 7.
- Players will earn 1 point for a win, ½ point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss.
- The top 3 players from each Open Qualifier will be eligible to participate in the corresponding Swiss Stage.
- The final result is based on game points and tie-break scores.
You can find the complete details in the Official rules.
Titled Players are ineligible to participate in the Open Qualifiers as they are pre-qualified into the Swiss Stage.
