Freedom Holding Corp. to Become General Partner of the 2026 FIDE World Championship Match

The 2026 World Chess Championship will have another major partner. Freedom Holding Corp. will become the general partner of the Salesforce FIDE World Championship Match 2026, which will take place in Switzerland in November and December.

For the company, the partnership marks a continuation of its long-standing cooperation with FIDE. For the World Championship itself, it represents another step toward bringing together sport, education, technology, and international business.

Freedom Holding Corp. and FIDE Expand Their Partnership

FIDE and Freedom Holding Corp. announced the partnership on September 17, 2026. The company has already been working closely with the International Chess Federation for several years and has been its strategic partner since 2023.

During that time, Freedom has supported various areas of the global chess movement. The company has partnered with the World Rapid and Blitz Championships and, in 2024, became the title sponsor of the FIDE World Corporate Chess Championship in New York.

In April 2026, the cooperation was expanded through a separate agreement covering support for international tournaments, players and coaches, training centers, educational programs, and talent-identification projects across different continents.

Now, the partnership is moving to the highest level — the World Championship Match.

The Main Match of the Year: Gukesh vs. Sindarov

The 2026 World Championship promises to be a historic event for chess. Reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju of India will defend his title against Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov.

The match is scheduled to take place from November 22 to December 12, 2026, and will consist of a maximum of 14 classical games.

The age of the participants is another notable feature of the match. Both players will be 20 years old when the contest begins, making the Gukesh–Sindarov encounter the youngest World Championship Match in history.

For Gukesh, this will be the first defense of the title he won in 2024 after defeating Ding Liren. Sindarov earned his place in the title match by winning the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament.

The Match Will Take Place in Switzerland

The World Championship opening ceremony will be held on November 22 in Geneva, at the Palais des Nations. The main games will take place in Cologny at the Fondation Martin Bodmer, a cultural institution renowned for its collection of rare books, manuscripts, and historical documents.

The organizers are therefore focusing on more than just the sporting aspect of the event. The match is being presented as an international cultural occasion capable of attracting attention far beyond the