‘A true World Championship must be inclusive…’ – Firstpost

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) released a detailed statement on Monday, just hours after the global body said that
no agreement with Freestyle Chess had been reached over the use of the “World Championship” term for Freestyle Chess events.

This development comes after
it was reported that Freestyle Chess co-founder Jan Henric Buettner and FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich were edging closer to an “amicable agreement”. In March 2024, World No 1 Magnus Carlsen, along with Buettner, co-founded the Freestyle Chess Players’ Club (FCPC) and also announced the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour that will begin from 6 February.

While Freestyle Chess organisers intend to use “World Championship” to their tournament, FIDE has strongly opposed this move, even urging players to sign a contract stating they won’t participate in a non-FIDE World Championship. Amid the controversy, legendary Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand
recently withdrew from the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. 

FIDE’s full statement on Freestyle Chess 

“In recent days FIDE has been engaged in extensive discussions with the “Freestyle Chess Tour” regarding the potential recognition of their event as a World Championship. Despite our willingness to collaborate—including offering a waiver to the participants of the planned 2025 competition, waiving the fee for the 2025 edition, and requesting an end to unfounded accusations against FIDE and undermining classical chess — no agreement was reached.

“The “Freestyle Chess Tour” has chosen not to acknowledge FIDE’s existing authority over the World Championship title and has opted to remain a privately organized tournament, primarily featuring hand-picked elite players, rather than an open and transparent qualification process,” the FIDE said in a statement.

FIDE further requested players to sign the waiver note by 4 February. “A true World Championship must be inclusive, with transparent qualification pathways that follow FIDE’s rules and regulations—established with the consensus of the global chess community— as seen in the FIDE World Championship cycle. Without these principles, the integrity of the title is at risk.

“Taking this into consideration, players wishing to participate in the 2025 Freestyle Chess Tour event are required to sign the waiver note by 18:00 CET, February 4, 2025, to remain eligible for the official FIDE World Championship cycle. We note that this document does not impose new requirements on the players but provides them with a one-off exception from their existing contractual obligations towards FIDE,” added the statement.

However, FIDE said that these restrictions won’t apply if Freestyle Chess removes “World Championship” title from their event. “However, if the “Freestyle Chess Tour” removes the “World Championship” title from their event, these restrictions will not apply.

“FIDE remains open to collaboration but we are firm in our commitment to protecting the integrity and history of the World Championship and the entire chess community,” the statement concluded.