'One may ask Gukesh...': FIDE responds to Magnus Carlsen's claim of threatening players against joining Freestyle Chess

The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour finds itself mired in controversy more than a month before its big debut in Germany. Former Classical and Undisputed World Champion Vladimir Kramnik has questioned FIDE for lending its support to the Freestyle Chess Players Club (FCPC), a private group of elite players with an ELO Rating of 2725 and above who will be in action in the 2025 tour.

What’s more, Russian Grandmaster Kramnik has also accused Magnus Carlsen, the top-ranked player in the world who has partnered with German technology investor Jan Buettner and New York-based Left Lane Capital to launch the brand new league, of “blackmailing” the Lausanne-based world governing body.

Five-time world champion Carlsen allegedly threatened to boycott the ongoing Rapid and Blitz World Championships in New York City in order to force FIDE to support the Freestyle Chess Tour, which will introduce a brand new format of the board game in order to boost its popularity at the global level.

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Responding to the allegation of blackmailing FIDE, Norwegian GM Carlsen came up with a counter-accusation; he claimed it was actually FIDE that was threatening players who were planning to participate in the Tour that will be taking place in five cities in five different countries across four continents, with Delhi hosting the fourth leg in September.

FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky addressed Carlsen’s claim in a post on X the same day the latter was disqualified from the World Rapid and Blitz Championships over a dress code violation. The Israeli GM firstly clarified that Carlsen was not banned from the remainder of the tournament – just that he had been unpaired from Round 9 for refusing to change his attire after turning up at the venue in jeans.

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That was followed by an outright denial of Carlsen’s claim of threatening players while adding that the new Freestyle Chess Tour could not host its own version of a World Championship without FIDE’s approval.

One of the key talking points between FIDE and Freestyle Chess Operations, the parent company responsible for the FCPC and the Grand Slam Tour, was the “mutual recognition of future World Championship titles” – meaning Freestyle Chess was planning to follow the footsteps of the Professional Chess Association that broke away from FIDE in 1993 and launched its own world title.

“The claim that FIDE threatened players who were willing to participate in Freestyle Chess Tour is a lie,” Sutovsky wrote on X on Friday. “We were happy to cooperate (as we cooperate with Grand Chess Tour, for example), to align the calendars, etc.

“We care about players, and about their opportunities - constantly improving prize funds and conditions in all our events, and working with numerous partners who conduct their tournaments outside of FIDE.

“The only thing we insisted on - no Series or Tour can be called World Championship unless FIDE approves it. FIDE is the governing body of chess, and any World Championship should either be conducted or approved by FIDE,” the 47-year-old added.

Important clarification:

The claim that FIDE threatened players who were willing to participate in Freestyle Chess Tour is a lie.

We were happy to cooperate (as we cooperate with Grand Chess Tour, for example), to align the calendars, etc.

We care about players, and about…

— Emilchess (@EmilSutovsky) December 28, 2024

Sutovsky, who had previously served as FIDE Director General from 2018 to 2022, added that one simply had to ask reigning chess world champion D Gukesh among others about the organisation’s attitude towards its players.

“No player was threatened - and to that effect one may ask Gukesh, Fabi, Nodirbek and others,” Sutovsky added.

The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour kicks off in February with the first event taking place in Weissenhaus. That will be followed by events in Paris (April), New York (July), and Cape Town (December) besides New Delhi.