Exclusive: As peace talks fail, Freestyle Chess threatens to take FIDE to court

Talks seem to have broken down due to a lack of mutual trust, with both parties claiming the other was to blame for the continuing impasse. Freestyle Chess has also threatened to take FIDE to court in this matter.

Buettner claimed that while negotiations were still on, FIDE had chosen to post a press statement on their social media handles that there had been no agreement between the two parties due to the “other party’s refusal to acknowledge FIDE’s status as the sole regulator of World Chess Championships and its authority to award a World Championship title”.

“It is FIDE that seeks to exert control over all chess competitions and impose its absolute authority on the players, thereby creating the very division of the chess world that they claim to oppose. Freestyle will challenge this overreach in the appropriate courts. It has become clear that further negotiations are futile.”

The world body had insisted that if the event was to be called a World Championship, it would have to be “regulated by FIDE”. The organisers of Freestyle Chess, FIDE claimed, were unwilling to concede this.

In the open letter, German entrepreneur Buettner shared some WhatsApp messages he had received from Dvorkovich. He also shared with The Indian news a copy of a draft joint press release that was ready to be published after an agreement with FIDE, which implied that peace had almost been achieved.

FIDE and Freestyle Chess organisers had been trying to find a solution for the past week with Dvorkovich and Buettner negotiating one-on-one.

Freestyle’s allegations

Jan Henric Buettner, the man behind the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. (PHOTO: Freestyle Chess/Maria Emilianova)

Buettner alleged in his letter that while the talks were on, FIDE had continued pressuring players to fall in line. “It is unfortunate that FIDE has resorted to coercion, applying pressure on players to force their compliance.”

He claimed that they had agreed to many demands of FIDE, including “an annual financial contribution of $300,000 to a FIDE-controlled tournament.”

“Freestyle agreed to all these terms — despite being independently financed and organised events, with no connection to FIDE — purely in the interest of protecting the players from further harassment and coercion.”

FIDE’s rebuttal

FIDE, meanwhile, told The Indian news that the issue was not about money and claimed that it had even offered to waive fees for hosting the 2025 edition of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.

FIDE claimed that it had not asked players to sign any ‘additional contract’ as had been claimed. It was in fact a ‘waiver note’ for players to appear in the unsanctioned Freestyle Grand Slam Chess Tour events, without breaching their previously-signed and still active contracts with FIDE. All elite players who had competed in FIDE events – like the Grand Swiss, the Candidates and the World Championship – had already signed a contract stating that they would not play in any unsanctioned events. The waiver note allowed them to participate in Freestyle Chess events in 2025.

“The waiver for the 2025 Freestyle Chess Tour was made as a gesture of good faith, openness to collaboration and support of new initiatives. While FIDE engaged in open and frank discussions with the Freestyle Chess Players Club on finding a fair and balanced solution, a long-term agreement was not reached. To support the players who have committed themselves to the 2025 Freestyle Tour as well as the efforts already put in by the organisers of this year’s event, FIDE decided to accept the proposal of President Arkady Dvorkovich and offer a one-time waiver without imposing additional conditions set on the players,” it said.