Chess has a history of two of the sport’s greatest icons — Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov — getting into long-standing conflicts with FIDE, the sport's world governing body. Magnus Carlsen, the reigning deity of modern chess, is the latest to join the club, but the jury is still out on the brewing crisis.
The bone of contention is a five-round Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, featuring classical games, which gets underway on Thursday, 6 February in Germany. Masterminded by Carlsen himself and German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, the tour, which boasts some of the leading names of the game including reigning world champion D. Gukesh, is still work in progress, but threatens to shake up the edifice of the sport.
A temporary truce has been called, with Carlsen & Co. deciding to postpone the decision to award the title of ‘world champion’ to the winner of the Freestyle Tour until next year, a move which protects the participants’ rights to participate in the next cycle of the FIDE World Championship without a waiver. It could be more of a strategic move to buy time and get the Freestyle Tour up and running, but Carlsen seems to be in no mood to relent against the establishment for its "coercive" tactics.
After the series opener in Germany, four more legs are being planned in Paris (April), New York (July), New Delhi (September) and Cape Town (December).
Once the eleventh-hour round of talks between FIDE and the Carlsen-Buettner team failed to sort out an agreement for the official status of the Freestyle Tour, Carlsen launched a personal attack on FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich for "coercion of players, misuse of power and broken promises".
Sharing a few personal messages from Dvorkovich, Carlsen said the Russian had promised to leave players out of this tug of war in a text to his father before the World Rapid & Blitz Championship in New York in January 2025. ‘’...to convince me to play the Rapid & Blitz in New York, you wrote Dec 19th to my father: Just want to pass a message to you and Magnus that whatever happens between FIDE and Freestyle in terms of recognition, players will NOT be affected in any way. They can decide on their own and FIDE will not take any negative action',’’ Carlsen revealed.
‘’You added later that day: I will step down if my word will be undermined by the Council. By forcing players to sign an unacceptable waiver you have reneged on your promise. Will you resign?’’ Carlsen asked.
The sharing of personal messages on social media has sparked a strong reaction from American GM Hans Niemann, who called Carlsen a coward, arrogant, entitled and unaware. Reacting to Carlsen’s demand for the FIDE chief’s resignation, Niemann wrote on X: “Arrogant, Entitled, Unaware, and most importantly: Cowardly. Your childish ego continues to distort reality at the expense of chess. You’ve defeated yourself off the board, only a matter of time until you face the same fate on the board.”
The situation reminds one of the rebel LIV Golf Tour, bankrolled by Saudi funds, which rocked the sport until a formula for co-existence was worked out with a framework agreement between the PGA and the rebel tour in 2023. The difference in chess is that Carlsen has emerged as the solitary face challenging the established order — much like Fischer or Kasparov did in their prime, though both had failed.
American Fischer, regarded as the eccentric genius of the game, frequently raised demands for favourable conditions for his World Championship matches, notably during his 1972 match against Boris Spassky. The mistrust which enveloped the relationship between FIDE and him slowly led to his alienation from the world chess community.
Kasparov’s moves, on the other hand, resembled more of Carlsen’s efforts in the modern context as he created a Professional Chess Association (PCA), aiming to provide better player benefits and control over tournaments compared to FIDE.
Interestingly enough, neither efforts to challenge the establishment stood the test of time. The viral photo of Carlsen walking out in a huff from the venue of World Rapid and Blitz chess in New York after being refused to participate for not adhering to the dress code (he was in a pair of jeans) reinforced his brand value as an anti-establishment figure.
However, his frequent showdowns with the establishment — including FIDE vice-president Vishy Anand who was at the helm at the World Blitz & Rapid — has polarised opinions about the Norwegian. Carlsen’s take on Anand, a five-time world champion himself and a much respected figure, as someone "not qualified for the FIDE job" after the jeans controversy went over-the-top and was perceived more as spoiling for a fight with the world body.
Anand out of FreestyleWith tension flaring up between FIDE and the Carlsen camp, it was hardly a surprise that despite accepting a wild card for the Freestyle event in Germany, Anand has now pulled out of it. The organisers reached out to Anand and wanted to resolve matters as promoter Buettner went on record: ‘’We communicated with him (Anand) and asked: What if Magnus apologises for his comments? But in the end, he felt more comfortable not participating.’’
Was it a rush of blood on Carlsen's part or a calculated affront with FIDE? The jury is now out on arguably the greatest chess player in the world... and his ambitions!
