Carlsen Signs Up For Another Classical Event—Maybe He Isn't Bored Of Chess After All

The greatest chess player the world has ever seen, GM Magnus Carlsen, has had his issues with classical chess. He just wasn't finding it fun anymore, he said. The variant "freestyle" was more his thing.

But 2026 is shaping up to be the year the Norwegian who dominated classical for over a decade makes his comeback in the longer game.

After confirming last week he will play Norway Chess—which was surely no surprise—Carlsen has added another tournament to his classical calendar: the 2026 TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament in Malmo, Sweden, which runs from May 1 to 7.

The seven-round TePe Sigeman event is Sweden's most prestigious chess event. It is traditionally strong, but it's no Norway Chess or Wijk aan Zee, the event taking place in the Netherlands right now.

And, for Carlsen, the currently unannounced prize pot is unlikely to be huge.

Last year GM Javokhir Sindarov, then aged 19, won it with a final round draw against the legendary GM Vasyl Ivanchuk. The event had only two players rated over 2700.

So what is the attraction?

Carlsen may see this as a useful warm-up for Norway Chess which follows later in the month and where Carlsen is going for an eighth win. Or, he could just have decided to enter TePe Sigeman as it's one of the few big events he's never won.

The week-long TePe Sigeman is also much shorter than the big blue riband nine-rounders.

After that, Carlsen is onto Norway Chess which is taking place in the 35-year-old's home city of Oslo this year, having moved from its traditional home in the coastal city of Stavanger.

Both tournaments may in fact serve to get him into shape for the new Carlsen-approved Total Chess 2026 Pilot, which is hoped to pave the way for a new Total Chess Championship.

The "Total" isn't strictly a classical event, but it will include FIDE's new "fast classical" format.

The pilot tournament is scheduled to take place from October 3 to 15, 2026. The host destinations will be announced at a later date.

Are there any other classical tournaments Carlsen might enter this year?

The FIDE Chess Olympiad is a good bet. The 46th Olympiad will take place in September in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.

Carlsen represented Norway at the 45th in Budapest, Hungary, and he may well find time to do so again.

Beyond that, the iconic Tata Steel Chess Tournament is going on right now and Carlsen may eye the 2027 tournament when it comes round again.