What started as an ambitious idea in 2012 quickly grew into one of the most respected chess tournaments in the world.
Founded in 2013 with the ambition to bring together the world’s best chess players, Norway Chess set out to create a tournament unlike any other — combining sporting excellence with innovation and a modern presentation of the game.
From its very first edition, Norway Chess was praised for its professionalism, strong organization, and for doing things differently from traditional tournaments. From the start, the players experienced top-level hospitality that allowed them to focus fully on their game, while matches were held in unique and exciting venues across the Stavanger region such as the beautiful gardens of Flor & Fjære (located on an island of Sør-Hidle), the University of Stavanger, Utstein Monastery, and Stavanger Concert Hall. With high-quality TV coverage and strong sponsor support, Norway Chess quickly set a new standard for how elite chess could be presented to the world.
Always looking to push boundaries, Norway Chess introduced a major change in 2019 with a new time control — two hours per player without increment; plus a 10-second increment per move after move 40. This adjustment brought a faster and more dynamic rhythm to the classical games, increasing both tension and viewer engagement. That same year, the tournament also added the Armageddon playoff — a new time control ensuring every game would have a decisive result. Together, these innovations reshaped the way elite chess could be played and experienced.
Over the years, Norway Chess has continued to evolve, consistently attracting the world’s best players — including Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, and Alireza Firouzja. Since 2024, the tournament has also welcomed leading female players such as Ju Wenjun, Anna Muzychuk, and Humpy Koneru.
In total, 18 of the highest-rated players in chess history have competed in Norway Chess — with Garry Kasparov as the only exception among the all-time greats, though he has visited the event twice.
Norway Chess Women
In 2024, Norway Chess introduced Norway Chess Women — the world’s first equal super tournament for women. A parallel event held in the same venue, featuring identical formats, the same number of players, and equal prize money as the main event. This marked an important step toward greater equality in professional chess and set a clear precedent for others to follow.
In 2025, Norway Chess Women returned for its second edition, once again running alongside the main tournament under identical conditions. Its continuation reinforced our commitment to supporting women’s chess at the highest level, made possible through close collaboration with our partners.
Norway Chess Women 2025: Anna Muzychuck, Lei Tingjie and Koneru Humpy at the offical price ceremony
Norway Chess Games
Each year, during one of the rest days between rounds, Norway Chess hosts a unique and lighthearted side event known as Norway Chess Games — where the world’s top players step out of their comfort zone and compete in fun, off-board challenges.
Over the years, the Games have taken many creative forms: Chess Chefs, where players cooked gourmet dishes; Farmer for a Day, with cow milking and tractor driving; and the Chess Cowboy Challenge, where they tested their skills in a Wild West setting. The players have also tried their hand as pastry chefs, competed in fencing, archery, and even bubble football.
Altibox Norway Chess Games 2017: Farmer for a Day:
Altibox Norway Chess Games 2019: Chess Chefs:
In 2025, the event returned with a Wild West theme, with the grandmasters swapping pawns for pistols, sieves, and lassos in a cowboy-style showdown.
Norway Chess Games has become a fan-favorite tradition, offering a more personal and playful glimpse of the players — and reminding everyone that even the sharpest minds in chess can have fun away from the board.
Fostering New Talent: Norway Chess Open
Norway Chess Open is an annual open tournament held alongside the main event in Stavanger, welcoming players of all levels – from grandmasters to ambitious rising talents.
Participants can choose between two groups: the GM Group, for players rated above 2000, played over nine rounds with opportunities to achieve title norms; and the ELO Group, open to everyone and also played over nine rounds.
In 2025, the tournament brought together more than 190 participants from over 34 countries, serving as a meeting ground for both established grandmasters and new talents on the rise. Several players achieved title norms, and the event continues to grow – both in scale and international recognition.
Over the years, the event has featured many who are now among the world’s best, including Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa, and Vaishali Rameshbabu.
Norway Chess Open 2025
Connecting Chess and Business: Norway Summit
Norway Summit is the annual business conference that runs in parallel with the Norway Chess tournament. Together, they form the only arena in the world that brings together the grandmasters of global business and chess simultaneously.
Since its launch in 2016, the conference has gathered leading thinkers, investors, innovators, and decision-makers to explore key topics at the intersection of technology, innovation, economics, and sustainability.
Over the years, speakers have included world chess champions Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, and Hikaru Nakamura, alongside economist Kenneth Rogoff, investor Yuri Milner, and business leaders such as Nicolai Tangen and Yngve Slyngstad from Norges Bank Investment Management.
Norway Summit “The Next Move” 2025
Broadcast and Commentary: Reaching More Audiences Than Ever
Norway Chess has always been committed to bringing top-level chess closer to viewers. The first edition was broadcast on TV Aftenbladet, followed by VGTV and TV 2 Sport in the second year.
Today, Norway Chess is broadcast live from three professional TV studios inside the playing venue.
In 2025, our own international broadcast reached audiences in around 20 countries, through major platforms such as SonyLIV, Netease Sports, Sina Weibo, Arena Sport, and Sportspass. The broadcast was also made available on YouTube in select regions, significantly expanding its global reach since the pilot launch in 2024.
The tournament is broadcasted yearly on TV 2 Sport in Norway (an official partner since 2014) and streamed live on Chess.com, the world’s largest online chess platform.
This broad and growing distribution has brought Norway Chess to millions of viewers worldwide, reinforcing its position as one of the most watched and influential chess tournaments.
Photo: Norway Chess’ own international broadcast
Community and Youth Initiatives
Norway Chess is dedicated to spreading chess joy and promoting education through the game.
Over the years, we have taught chess to more than 2,200 school children and host annual school-team tournaments to encourage teamwork, inclusion, and strategic thinking.
The winning teams receive cultural and educational exchange opportunities abroad.
In 2024, a team from Sandnes (Giske Secondary School) represented Norway in León, Spain, where they went on to win the international school tournament. Stangeland School won the elementary division in 2025 and will travel to Spain in the autumn of 2025 to compete internationally.
Through these community efforts, we continue to invest in the next generation — using chess as a tool for learning, connection, and shared experience.
2025 Children’s school chess tournament in Stavanger, Norway
As Norway Chess grows, so does our vision for the future of the game.