The chess world is abuzz with controversy as the International Chess Federation (FIDE) criticized the Freestyle Chess Players Club (FCPC), co-owned by Magnus Carlsen, for allegedly causing “divisions in the chess world” and misrepresenting its upcoming tournament as the “World Championship.”
The FCPC, which counts World No.1 and five-time chess champion Carlsen among its members, also includes top players such as Viswanathan Anand, reigning world champion D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Hikaru Nakamura, and Fabiano Caruana.
FIDE and the FCPC have been at odds over the use of the World Championship title for private tournaments. However, FCPC issued a statement last month claiming they had reached an agreement with FIDE that permits both the Freestyle Chess Grand Slams and official FIDE events to exist peacefully.
Statement by FIDE on FCPC
FIDE issued a strongly-worded statement on Tuesday, objecting to the use of the term “World Championship” for the Freestyle Chess Players Club’s (FCPC) event.
“The attempts by FCPC to present their project as a World Championship are in contradiction with the well-established status of FIDE and its authority over world championship titles in all relevant variations of chess – including Chess960/Freestyle chess, as outlined in the FIDE Handbook,” FIDE stated.
“Moreover, the line of conduct adopted by FCPC threatens the execution of players’ existing contractual obligations towards FIDE.
“The steps taken by the FCPC project unavoidably lead to divisions in the chess world – and we remember all too well the unfortunate consequences of a similar split that happened in not so distant past.”
The Freestyle Chess World Championship 2025 is set to commence next month in Weissenhaus, Germany, featuring 10 of the top players. The tournament will also include multiple legs in Paris, New York, Delhi, and Cape Town.
FIDE threatens legal action
FIDE has expressed a willingness to engage in “dialogue” with the Freestyle Chess Players Club (FCPC) but has warned of potential legal action if the term “World Championship” is used for Freestyle series events.
“We are open to dialogue, and looking forward to reaching a mutually acceptable agreement, provided that the governing role and its well established authority of FIDE over the World Championships is respected by potential partners,” the chess federation stated.
“Should such an agreement not be reached, FIDE demands that the Freestyle series does not carry the status of a ‘World Championship’. FIDE will not hesitate to use all legal means against those who violate its rights – be it initiators, organizers and/or investors of the project.”
The global chess body also announced that all players qualified for the 2025-2026 World Championship cycle would need to sign an additional contract prohibiting participation in any “world chess championship” not sanctioned by FIDE.
“As the 2025-2026 World Championship cycle is underway, all qualified players are expected to sign an additional contract, which will include a clause indicating that participation in any alternative world chess championships in any variation of chess not approved by FIDE (except for the Freestyle tour in 2025) would lead to their withdrawal from the two consecutive FIDE World Championship cycles.
“As a part of the contracts FIDE commits to running the cycle events at the highest level with substantially increased prize funds – the dates and locations of those are published in FIDE Calendar.”
