Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Organizers Call for Fide President’s Resignation

The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour head Jan Henric Buettner and world No 1 Magnus Carlsen have taken a stand against the International Chess Federation (Fide) president Arkady Dvorkovich, calling for his resignation after failed negotiations over a new series agreement.

Last month, Fide cautioned the Freestyle Chess Players Club, co-owned by Buettner and Carlsen, against branding the series as a “world championship.” Despite negotiations with Dvorkovich, a deal could not be reached, leading to Buettner’s scathing criticism of the organization as “completely incompetent and amateur.”

In a surprising turn of events, Dvorkovich offered to resign if players were impacted by their participation in the upcoming Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour, set to kick off in Weissenhaus, Germany. However, the Fide council issued a statement requiring players to sign a waiver note by a certain deadline to remain eligible for the official Fide World Championship cycle.

Buettner and Carlsen, while removing references to the world championship from their website, have called on Dvorkovich to honor his promise despite the waiver no longer being necessary. The tension between the players and Fide has escalated, with Carlsen directly questioning Dvorkovich’s commitment to resign if the council did not approve.

The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour, featuring Chess960/Freestyle chess, has been gaining popularity for its unique gameplay, reshuffling the pieces on the back rank to eliminate computer-backed openings. Despite previous World Fischer Random Championships organized by Fide, the future of the series remains uncertain following the recent dispute.

As the chess world watches the drama unfold, the call for Dvorkovich’s resignation adds a new layer of intrigue to the upcoming tournament and the ongoing power struggle within the international chess community.