New Delhi: American Grandmaster Hans Niemann launched a verbal attack on world no.1 Magnus Carlsen amid the ongoing feud between the International Chess Federation – FIDE and the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour. Niemann lashed out at Carlsen, calling him entitled and arrogant and accused him of ‘distorting reality’ with his achievements in the game.
Niemann bashed Carlsen on social media while responding to world no.1’s tweet where he accused FIDE chief Arkady Dvorkovich of “coercion of players, misuse of power and broken promises”. Carlsen shared details of his chat with Dvorkovich while demanding his resignation as the FIDE president after the talks between FIDE and Freestyle Chess collapsed.
Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour is a tournament launched by the Freestyle Chess Players Club (FCPC) co-founded by Carlsen and German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, who is also currently serving as the head of the competition. FIDE and Freestyle Chess have been at loggerheads for a while now over recognition for the newly-launched tournament.
FIDE have imposed a deadline of February 04 for the players who want to take part in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour to sign a waiver to take part in the next World Championship cycle. FIDE stated that Freestyle Chess has refused to acknowledge FIDE’s existing authority over the World Championship title and is a ‘privately-organised’ tournament.
After FIDE’s decision to impose a waiver on the players, Carlsen took to X to attack FIDE president Dvorkovich and shared details of his chat with his father. Carlsen alleged that the FIDE president had promised him that there will be no negative action against players who decide to take part in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.
“FIDE President Dvorkovich, 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 wrote in a tweet.
“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?” he added.
Coercion of players, misuse of power and broken promises.
FIDE President Dvorkovich, 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…
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) February 3, 2025
Niemann slams Carlsen
Reacting to Carlsen’s accusations on the FIDE chief, American Grandmaster Niemann lashed out at the world no.1 and called him out on X. Renewing his old feud with Carlsen, Niemann told Carlsen that he has ‘defeated himself’ off the board and will soon face the same fate on the board.
“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,” Niemann wrote.
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. https://t.co/GtF0yuvq3u
— Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) February 3, 2025
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 is scheduled to get underway in Weissenhaus later this week and is expected to feature some of the elite players from around the globe, including the reigning world champion D Gukesh, who also took part in the last edition of the tournament in 2024.
American Grandmaster Hans Niemann slammed world no.1 Magnus Carlsen over his attack on FIDE chief amid the ongoing fued between FIDE and Freestyle Chess. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
