Freestyle Chess Retreats from the “World Champion” Title War

In a press release issued by Freestyle Chess on their website, the organization has announced that the winner of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour will be crowned with the “Freestyle Chess Champion” title instead of “World Champion”! The decision was made in a meeting conducted at the Weissenhaus in the evening, following the first day of the quarterfinal matches. The meeting saw the presence of organizer Jan Henric Buettner and 12 members of the Freestyle Chess Players Club. The decision was unanimous, putting a temporary end to the “World Champion” title controversy between FIDE and Freestyle Chess.

“This was never our intention, as we have always called our events ‘G.O.A.T. Challenge’ or ‘Grand Slam,’” said Jan Henric Buettner. Freestyle Chess put emphasis on the fact that the decision to rename the title was made by the players, not by Freestyle and certainly not by FIDE. The release read, “At year’s end, organizers and players will review and discuss the 2026 Tour, including the title at stake.”

A major key outcome of Sunday’s roundtable in Weissenhaus was the idea of players establishing an independent association with qualified legal advisors who would exclusively represent the players. It is known that FIDE tried to enforce an additional contract on the top players. As alleged by Jan Beuttner, FIDE set an inconvenient deadline – right at the end of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, providing them with no window to consult a legal counsel to review the demand. Buettner also revealed in an interview with TakeTakeTake that FIDE’s actions particularly frustrated Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, who came together as one and tried to salvage the young players from the dilemma of the so-called “questionable contract.”

Since Freestyle Chess announced the decision to temporarily drop the expression “World Champion” from the title to be awarded to the winner from the regulations of the 2025 Tour, players eventually did not act on FIDE’s demands. “We were ready to take all necessary action to defend the freedom of the players,” Buettner added.

Amidst all the exciting quarterfinal action in Germany, this important press release made its way, giving a reprieve to the chess world from this big brewing controversy of the championship title.

Photo credit: Maria Emelianova / Freestyle Chess

Official website: www.freestyle-chess.com