New Delhi: Emil Sutovsky, the CEO of the International Chess Federation – FIDE lashed out at world no.1 Magnus Carlsen and the organisers of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, reiterating the global chess body’s stance on the ongoing battle between the two organisations. Carlsen and FIDE have been at loggerheads over the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tournament for quite some time now.
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam has been launched by the Freestyle Chess Players Club (FCPC) which was co-founded by Carlsen alongside German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner. While FIDE did accommodate the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in its official calendar, it objected to the winner of the tournament being called a ‘world champion’, accusing the organisers of trying to create a separate ‘World Championship’.
The feud intensified after Beuttner, who heads the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, recently labelled FIDE ‘stupid’ in an interview and said he was prepared to go to ‘war’ with the world governing body of chess. Carlsen too took a dig at FIDE by stating that he might not be bigger than chess but that there are “specific organisations… are not bigger than I am”.
Meanwhile current world no.3 Hikaru Nakamura, the American grandmaster also criticised FIDE over the low prize money offered to chess players in global competitions currently labelling it as ‘horses**t’.
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky responds
FIDE CEO Sutovsky took to X to respond to the comments made by Beuttner, Carlsena and Nakamura regarding FIDE’s credibility and the global chess body’s reputation. Sutovsky made it clear that he will never allow any other tournament to claim the ‘World Championship’ tag and warned Carlsen that such projects have failed in the past.
“I am bigger than FIDE’ concept didn’t work even for (Bobby) Fischer and (Garry) Kasparov. When one sees public rhetoric coming from Freestyle Chess leaders, it becomes clear, that the project is bound to fail. ‘F U’, ‘They are so stupid’, ‘Horse sh.t’ etc,” Sutovsky posted on X.
“FIDE is known for its readiness to be mindful, flexible, and to go extra miles towards partners, and especially players – and that was mistaken for weakness. ‘I am bigger than FIDE’ concept did not work even for Fischer and Kasparov – who tried it being reigning World Champions, while having a real dominance over their rivals at the time. Of course, initially the public may back a superstar vs the governing body. And you may lure in a couple of naive investors. But that is unsustainable — and we saw many examples of the kind,” he added.
When one sees public rhetoric coming from Freestyle Chess leaders, it becomes clear, that the project is bound to fail.
” F U “, “They are so stupid”, “Horse sh.t” etc.
And why all that? Because you want your private project to be called World Championship? Instead of finding a…
— Emilchess (@EmilSutovsky) January 28, 2025
Sutovsky also highlighted how FIDE has been consistently working towards chess’ expansion around the globe and has partnered with many projects while also increasing the prize pool in the tournaments. However, he reiterated FIDE will be ready to go to war with Freestyle Chess Grand Slam if the organisers try to belittle the global body.
“Today FIDE is probably in the best position ever — and chess community sees it — we deliver unprecedented number of projects around the world, we keep increasing prize funds for top players and support for educational and social programs, and we can plan far ahead thanks to our partnerships East and West. We’d love to work with any private project – in particular with ambitious ones. But if you want a war – try us,” Sutovsky added.
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky slammed world no.1 Magnus Carlsen and the organisers of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in an explosive post on Twitter. Sutovsky reiterated FIDE’s position by making it clear that Freestyle Chess winners can never claim the world champion tag. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
