On Sunday evening, at a meeting in Weissenhaus with organizer Jan Henric Buettner, the 12 members of the Freestyle Chess Players Club unanimously decided that the winner of the Grand Slam Tour 2025 in December (South Africa) would be crowned “Freestyle Chess Champion”. They also plan to form their own independent association, with a qualified legal team to represent their interests.
Sunday evening’s meeting, after the first day of the quarter-finals, included all participants in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam at Weissenhaus as well as remote members of the Freestyle Chess Players Club. They agreed, temporarily, to stop using the word “world” to counter the unfounded claims of the FIDE on this term.
“It was never our intention, as we have always called our events ‘G.O.A.T. Challenge’ or ‘Grand Slam’,” said Jan Henric Buettner. “It’s important to note that this decision was made by the players, not by Freestyle – and certainly not by FIDE.” The title “Freestyle Chess Champion” will apply for the 2025 season. At the end of the year, organizers and players will review and discuss the 2026 Tour, including the title at stake.
Another key outcome of Sunday’s round table at Weissenhaus was the players’ plan to create an independent association representing top chess players, staffed by a qualified legal team. This initiative is a direct response to recent conflicts with FIDE.
Last month, FIDE demanded that players sign a legally questionable document, setting an inconvenient deadline just after the Tata Steel chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, where many were competing. The document required them to
- recognize an alleged obligation not to participate in non-FIDE events crowning a world champion or similar title and
- accept exclusion from future cycles of the FIDE World Championship if they infringe this rule.
The players, some of whom are still teenagers, were informed by FIDE’s Legal Director and given no chance to have this request reviewed by legal counsel. “This repeated harassment is outrageous,” said Buettner. “We strongly object to FIDE’s coercive tactics, which put players under pressure to give up their right to choose the events in which they participate.”
“We were prepared to take all necessary measures to defend players’ freedom,” Buettner added. But at Sunday’s meeting, the players unanimously decided to ignore FIDE’s demandsrefusing to be forced to choose between exciting new events and future participation in FIDE events.
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