Pranav V becomes first Indian to qualify for 2027 FIDE Freestyle World Championship

Before Pranav, Harika Dronavalli had already qualified for the women’s championship, making it two Indian representatives in the event.

Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk has also confirmed her place in the women’s championship through the same Freestyle Friday route. She topped the field in the women’s standings with 88 points from 19 weeks.

In the Women’s category, Muzychuk joins Bibisara Assaubayeva, Harika Dronavalli, Alua Nurman, and Dinara Wagner.

The Women’s World Championship will take place from February 5 to 7, 2027, while the Open World Championship will follow from February 12 to 14, 2027.

The Freestyle Friday Championship will continue after the summer break, as its second part will decide another qualification spot in both the Open and Women’s categories.

Earlier in January 2026, after more than a year of confrontation and stand-off, Freestyle Chess and FIDE finally decided to bury the hatchet and join forces, where they had announced the inaugural FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship in Weissenhaus.

The differences between the two parties were public, and despite multiple attempts, ending the dispute and finding a middle ground proved difficult for both. In February 2025, The Indian Express reported that FIDE and Freestyle Chess had been very close to an amicable agreement before talks broke down.

The new season of the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour commenced in April at the Grenke Open in Karlsruhe, Germany.