The Freestyle Chess World Championship will kick off next month in Germany with 10 of the top players in the world before legs in Paris, New York, Delhi and Cape Town
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Magnus Carlsen-feud has escalated further when the world chess governing body hit out at the Freestyle Chess Players Club, which is co-owned by the Norwegian Chess GM, threatening legal action on Tuesday, January 21. (More Sports News)
Apart from Carlsen, some of the other Chess stars are also part of it with the likes of Viswanathan Anand, new world champion D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana.
FIDE and the Freestyle Chess Players Club have been at loggerheads over using World Championship for private tournaments. However, last month, FCPC released a statement wherein they stated that agreement has been reached that allows the players and Freestyle Chess Grand Slams to co-exist peacefully.
However, FIDE released a strong statement on Tuesday, raising objections against using the term 'World Championship' for FCPC's event.
“The attempts by FCPC to present their project as a World Championship are in contradiction with the well-established status of FIDE and its authority over world championship titles in all relevant variations of chess - including Chess960/Freestyle chess, as outlined in the FIDE Handbook,” FIDE said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Moreover, the line of conduct adopted by FCPC threatens the execution of players’ existing contractual obligations towards FIDE.
“The steps taken by the FCPC project unavoidably lead to divisions in the chess world – and we remember all too well the unfortunate consequences of a similar split that happened in not so distant past.”
What Is Freestyle Chess World Championship 2025?
The tournament is set to get underway in Weissenhaus, Germany next month and will have top 10 players participate in it. It will also be played across multiple legs including the likes of Paris, New York, Delhi and Cape Town.
FIDE though, is willing to engage in a 'dialogue' with FCPC but has called for legal action if they continue to use 'World Championship' for Freestyle events.
“We are open to dialogue, and looking forward to reaching a mutually acceptable agreement, provided that the governing role and its well established authority of FIDE over the World Championships is respected by potential partners,” the chess federation said.
“Should such an agreement not be reached, FIDE demands that the Freestyle series does not carry the status of a “World Championship”. FIDE will not hesitate to use all legal means against those who violate its rights – be it initiators, organizers and/or investors of the project.”
FIDE also said that the qualified players in the 2025-26 World Championship cycle could be urged to sign an additional contract with the world chess body which doesn't allow them from participating in any 'world championship' event not approved by the body.
“As the 2025-2026 World Championship cycle is underway, all qualified players are expected to sign an additional contract, which will include a clause indicating that participation in any alternative world chess championships in any variation of chess not approved by FIDE (except for the Freestyle tour in 2025) would lead to their withdrawal from the two consecutive FIDE World Championship cycles.
“As a part of the contracts FIDE commits to running the cycle events at the highest level with substantially increased prize funds – the dates and locations of those are published in FIDE Calendar.”