India, Oct. 18 -- The Total Chess World Championship Tour has been officially launched by Norway Chess and has also received official endorsement from FIDE. The tour will name an entirely new FIDE World Combined Champion across three time controls: 'fast classical', rapid, and blitz. Despite receiving criticism from top chess players, it has been backed by world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, who is also from Norway.

The 'fast classical' format will feature a 45-minute time control with a 30-second increment and will now count for classically rated games under FIDE rules.

Meanwhile, the first three events will have a prize fund of 750,000 Dollars, and the four-player final, where the FIDE World Combined Champion will be named, will offer 450,000...