 "FIDE, Freestyle Chess close to amicable agreement, could end two-month dispute soon: Report")
The ongoing feud between the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and the organisers of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam is reportedly coming to an end. According to a report on The Indian Express, the two parties are coming close to an amicable agreement.
FIDE and Freestyle Chess, co-founded by World No 1 Magnus Carlsen, have made several allegations against each other but the report states that in the last three days, there have been three one-on-one calls between German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, the other co-founder, and FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich to help ease out the conflict.
“I already had two phone calls with Arkady yesterday and the day before, and we’re going to have another one today. I can tell you that we are pretty close to reaching an amicable agreement that will lead to a good situation where we kind of bury the hatchet and say, ‘okay, let’s move on with an agreement that works for both sides,’” Beuttner was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
Divisions in chess world amid Freestyle Chess
In March 2024, Carlsen and Buettner co-founded the Freestyle Chess Players Club (FCPC) and also announced the start pf the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tournament, a five-leg tournament that will be held this year.
The last time Beuttner and Arkady spoke were in the early days of December, when the conflict was at its peak.
There were reportedly fears of division in chess, similar to that of the rival World Chess Championship that was started by the Garry Kasparov-backed Professional Chess Association in 1993. The FIDE had also recently accused Carlsen of creating divisions in the chess world after there reportedly were attempts to make the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam something of a World Championship of their own.
In fact, the main conflict between the two parties were regarding the use of the term World Championship. The FIDE claimed that only they have the right to use the term World Championship and even threatened legal action if the freestyle organisers crowned a “world champion” without the approval of FIDE.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe Freestyle Chess organisers offered to pay offered to pay FIDE $100,000 “as a gesture of goodwill and to avoid harassment”, but the FIDE even demanded $500,000. The controversy erupted even further after FIDE deputy president and legendary grandmaster Viswanathan Anand quit the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour . The first leg of the Freestyle Chess tournament will be held in Weissenhaus, Germany from 7 to 14 February.
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