FIDE vs Freestyle: open letter from Büttner – reaction from Sutovsky

Open letter from Jan Henrik Buettner

Dear Emil,

Over the past year, you, Arkady and FIDE have come a long way – from you singing opera arias to me on the phone, to your request to host the FIDE Chess960 World Championship in Weissenhaus last year, to Arkady’s meeting with Henrik (Carlsen, father of who you know – NDA) and I in London for several hours to coordinate tournament schedules, so that players wouldn’t be faced with conflicting commitments.

However, collaboration became increasingly strained. One notable example was Arkady’s invitation to Magnus and Fabiano to participate in a Freestyle Chess Summit in Singapore, only to ignore and block us when we arrived. It seems that FIDE’s approach, based on a “good guy (Arkady) / bad guy (Emil)” tactic, was doomed to failure. Today, FIDE seems to have abandoned all pretense, adopting a confrontational stance towards the players. In my opinion, this change is counter-productive. Instead of engaging constructively with us – the organizers of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour – FIDE has alienated the players who are its greatest assets. Nevertheless, Freestyle remains open to dialogue and is determined to work with FIDE to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Let me clarify once again: our tour is not a “World Championship” in the traditional sense, as I explained to both Arkady and Vishy. (who, as vice-president of FIDE, has withdrawn his invitation to take part in the series – NDA). It is entitled “Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour”. At the end of each year, we crown a champion in Freestyle Chess – a format that could evolve in the future, potentially beyond Chess960 to other new formats, but not to classical chess.

The title of “World Champion” in this context reflects the unique format of our events, and is not an attempt to compete with the traditional FIDE World Championship cycle. If FIDE’s problem really lies with the use of the term “World Championship”, then it should address similar cases, such as the Bughouse World Championshipin which even players like Ding Liren took part. Yet FIDE did not sanction Ding or others for taking part. This inconsistency reveals the real motive behind FIDE’s actions: money.

Despite Freestyle’s willingness to donate $100,000 a year to FIDE – only as a gesture of goodwill and to avoid harassment – this proposal was rejected. FIDE’s demand for $500,000, an unjustifiable sum for a format in which it is not involved, suggests that monetary gain is the main driver. Our sponsors, many of whom prefer to avoid any association with FIDE, support our decision to remain independent.

FIDE’s recent actions, such as threatening players with sanctions and demanding that they sign agreements under pressure and without legal advice, are deeply worrying. This is neither ethical nor professional. FIDE is trying to exploit its dominant market position to force players into submission. Such tactics are unacceptable, and Freestyle will continue to defend players’ interests against this abuse of power.

Contrary to the FIDE approach, Freestyle puts players first. That’s why we have hired legal counsel to protect them from FIDE’s excesses. No player has violated his or her obligations; rather, it is FIDE that is acting inappropriately. Freestyle remains focused on creating a positive environment for players, allowing them to concentrate on their games without the burden of unnecessary political interference.

To sum up:

Rather than escalate the situation, I call on FIDE to return to the negotiating table and engage in constructive discussions. Harassing, threatening or sanctioning players is not only counterproductive, but also undermines the principles of fair competition and respect for the chess community.

I remain available for a conversation with you or Arkady at any time.

Best regards,

Jan

Emil Sutovsky’s answer

I’ve spoken to Mr. Büttner on several occasions and have always expressed my positive feelings about the project. The first time was a two-hour call just after their first event. It was more than friendly, and we started looking for ways to cooperate, although he candidly mentioned that “we don’t need FIDE for this project and we don’t need to call it a ‘world championship'”. Nevertheless, I was very optimistic about the arrival of an ambitious new person in the world of chess. I publicly praised Jan and mentioned in my interviews that a rising tide lifts all boats. I was looking forward to greater promotion of chess, more opportunities for players…

And then we had another conversation, and another, and another. For several months we discussed possible cooperation: implementation of FIDE ratings for Chess960, possible qualifying tournaments, challenges of organizing more free-style events in 2024 (“no one wants to invest money in it, and the only thing the Indians offered was a reduced price in hotels” (see this article – NDA)), calendar alignment in 2025. I frankly shared the information and gladly gave advice when asked.

There was never any question of calling it a “world championship”.

“We don’t need one. We’re not the FIDE that has to take care of everybody. We’ll have our Tour with the very best”. Fair enough – and there’s still plenty of room for cooperation.

But something has changed. We can only guess what caused it or who caused it.

That’s when Freestyle Chess decided to take advantage of the publicity and budget of the FIDE World Championship in Singapore.

Publications in the major media were organized on the eve of the championship, directly attacking the match and classical/regular chess.

They held the press conference in Singapore on the same day as the opening ceremony of the match, and suddenly, instead of having a simple freestyle/grand slam circuit, a “World Championship” appeared.

Since then, the situation has become increasingly bitter.

I’m still puzzled by this change of attitude.

Why, instead of peacefully managing his series, does he embark on a battle of this kind, aimed at dividing the chess community? Is it some kind of personal ambition? Or is it the realization that “world championships” sell better? Or an attempt to prove that this is THE world championship? If so, it won’t work.

FIDE has always been open to dialogue, but we have our obligations to the entire chess community, and we will fulfill them.

Links