FIDE and Freestyle Chess Founder at Odds Over Labeling Event as World Championship

An uneasy truce has been reached between Fide, the global chess body, and Jan-Henric Buettner, the founder of freestyle chess, over a dispute that had threatened to overshadow the upcoming four-continent circuit event.

The issue centered on whether the $3.75 million grand slam event, featuring world number one Magnus Carlsen as a strong favorite, could be considered a legitimate world championship due to its format being different from traditional chess tournaments.

However, following a heated exchange of words and statements between Buettner and Fide officials, it has been decided that the 2025 Freestyle circuit will go ahead as originally planned – just without being called a World Championship. The event will instead be dubbed a Grand Slam tournament.

The four-continent circuit is considered stronger than Fide's candidates and title match, with six of the top eight players in live ratings set to participate in the first leg, which begins on February 7th in Weissenhaus, Germany.

Carlsen, Gukesh Dommaraju, and Fabiano Caruana dominated the opening day's games, while newcomers Javokhir Sindarov and Alireza Firouzja have emerged as contenders. The knockout stages will take place over six days, with Vincent Keymer and Levon Aronian having already fallen out of contention.

In a surprising turn of events, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu's strong performance in the Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee tournament – where Gukesh ultimately finished second – has propelled him into the world top eight rankings. The 21-year-old's emergence as one of the rising stars of chess is seen as a positive sign for the future of the sport.

In other news, Stewart Reuben, often referred to as "England's Golfing Grandmaster," has passed away at the age of 85. A renowned chess organizer and player, Reuben played a significant role in the growth of chess during the 1970s and was awarded the titles of International Arbiter and International Organiser by Fide.

However, Buettner's ambitious plan to build large online audiences for freestyle chess may face an uphill battle. The event hopes to capitalize on the model of Carlsen's games being used as a basis for The Recap free weekly newsletter but acknowledges that this may not be enough to overcome the existing dominance of traditional chess events.

Caruana, who dropped from second place in the world rankings to fourth after his loss to Praggnanandhaa, is quoted saying: "I could have increased my advantage by 26 Rd6! followed by Nc5 and Qc3...", a statement that highlights the complexities and nuances of competitive chess.