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After months of public tension and behind-the-scenes disagreements, Freestyle Chess and FIDE have formally aligned, marking a significant shift in the global chess landscape.
The truce has paved the way for the inaugural FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship, scheduled to take place in Weissenhaus, Germany, from February 13 to 15, and has effectively ended a period of uncertainty surrounding the future of the format.
A rift rooted in authority and control
The conflict stemmed from FIDE’s long-standing position that only the sport’s governing body has the authority to crown an official world champion in any chess format.
That stance placed it directly at odds with Freestyle Chess, the organization co-founded by Magnus Carlsen, which launched its Grand Slam Tour last year with events across Paris, Las Vegas, and Cape Town, where the finals were held.
FIDE’s resistance was shaped by history. The governing body has been cautious about rival championships ever since parallel world titles emerged in the past, most notably through the Professional Chess Association and the World Chess Council, both linked to Garry Kasparov. Those divisions left lasting scars on the sport, and FIDE was determined not to repeat them.
How the truce came together
German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, who co-founded Freestyle Chess alongside Carlsen in 2024, has now explained how the two sides managed to move past a year of strained relations.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Buettner revealed that an agreement was close much earlier than many realized.
“With Arkady (Dvorkovich, FIDE President), I had a very good understanding. We nearly had an agreement a year ago. We were actually finalising the wording of a press release. And then, at the very last moment, it somehow fell apart. I don’t know how. I don’t want to speculate, but it was kind of very weird,” Buettner said.
The collapse of those talks shifted the dynamic entirely. Cooperation turned into confrontation, and Freestyle Chess chose to focus on developing its own tour instead of continuing negotiations.
“And so the whole thing turned from cooperation into confrontation. Then we focused on our own tour and didn’t really bother with it anymore. I think time did its work… We basically reconnected,” he explained.
Reconciliation and a new championship
The breakthrough came during the World Rapid & Blitz Championship in Qatar, where Buettner and FIDE officials finally sat down to resolve their differences.
“I took the time to fly to Qatar… where we sat down, hammered out our differences, and basically said, ‘Okay, let’s move forward and do what’s beneficial for the players, for FIDE, and also for us and everyone.’ That’s how we agreed, and now we are all friends,” Buettner added.
The upcoming championship will act as the successor to the Fischer Random World Championship, previously organized by FIDE between 2019 and 2022. Eight players will compete, six qualifying via last year’s Grand Slam Tour—including Carlsen—with one additional selection each from FIDE and Freestyle Chess.
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