Kramnik questions Gukesh's absence from agreement between FIDE and Carlsen-backed elite private tour

Former chess world champion Vladimir Kramnik and current world No 1 Magnus Carlsen appeared to be on the same page when it came to the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship in Singapore – that the quality of the matches put up by India’s D Gukesh and China’s Ding Liren was not up to the park. Kramnik had even suggested Gukesh’s 7.5-6.5 triumph in the ‘Best of 14 Games’ contest in Singapore was the “end of chess as we know it”.

Kramnik, however, doesn’t appear too pleased with some recent developments in the sport involving Carlsen. In a series of posts on social networking platform X on Christmas Eve, he accused the Norwegian Grandmaster of “blackmailing” FIDE – the Lausanne-based governing body for the sport at a global level – into supporting a private chess tour.

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The incident Kramnik referred to in his posts on the microblogging website was FIDE arriving at an agreement with the Freestyle Chess Players Club (FCPC), with Carlsen, world No 3 Hikaru Nakamura and Danny Rensch, chief chess officer at Chess.com, facilitating the agreement. A press release also stated that the two parties are also discussing the prospect of ‘mutual recognition of future World Championship titles’.

The FCPC, formed by Carlsen and German businessman Jan Henric Buettner, is a private group featuring elite players with an ELO rating above 2725, of which Gukesh is also a part. Carlsen and Buettner also formed the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, which will feature innovative formats and carry a massive cash prize.

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Kramnik, who was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006 and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007, also questioned tZhe absence of current world champion Gukesh from such an agreement.

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“Most important,why chesscom, Carlsen, Nakamura are part of this agreement? Why them,not others,not Gukesh? Why players at all? I have heard they demanded recognition from FIDE of this organisation in return ro their participation in NY. Is it true? Important to know.”

“It means FIDE recognises a private event (with all respect) as official WC, getting in return the recognition of something already recognised long ago by everyone,so in return to just nothing. It is new 1993 in fact,” Kramnik wrote on X, refereeing to the creation of the Professional Chess Association (PCA) in 1993 by Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short, with the organisation that was a rival to FIDE having its own version of the World Championship.

It means FIDE recognises a private event (with all respect) as official WC, getting in return the recognition of something already recognised long ago by everyone,so in return to just nothing. It is new 1993 in fact

— Vladimir Kramnik (@VBkramnik) December 24, 2024

Kramnik also found it suspicious that the mention of Carlsen and Nakamura’s names in the release, leading to him wondering aloud if they had been threatening FIDE with a boycott of the ongoing World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York City if they did not recognise the private tour.

“Bit most important, was there a sort of “blackmail” from players using the forthcoming event? If not,why those two are mentioned? And what does this strange agreement means in real?”

“That is something unacceptable from them, posing those condition, if its true,period. And even worse,FIDE showing weakness and negociating with them. Tomorrow others will follow, if FIDE accepts this behavior. FIDE supposed to be governing chess world, not individuals, full stop," Kramnik added.

Most important,why chesscom, Carlsen, Nakamura are part of this agreement? Why them,not others,not Gukesh?
Why players at all? I have heard they demanded recognition from FIDE of this organisation in return ro their participation in NY. Is it true? Important to know

— Vladimir Kramnik (@VBkramnik) December 24, 2024

The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour kicks off in Germany in February and will be hosting five events in five different countries across four continents. Delhi is scheduled to host the fourth event from 17 to 24 September. The first event, which will be taking place in Germany’s Weissenhaus, will feature both Carlsen, Nakamura as well as Gukesh and his mentor, Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand.