7 months ago
FIDE and Freestyle Chess End Feud
FIDE, the organization that governs chess worldwide, and Freestyle Chess, a private organization, have ended their two-year feud.
They are now working together to host the first official FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship in February 2026.
The event will take place in Germany and has a prize fund of $300,000.
Seven of the eight players have already been decided, with one spot to be filled through an online qualification tournament.
This championship will be the fifth world title in chess, joining classical, rapid, blitz, and a total championship that combines the three.
The feud started when FIDE denied permission to privately crown a freestyle chess world champion, leading to a public battle.
With this collaboration, the feud seems to be over, and both organizations have agreed that no event can be called an official 'World Chess Championship' without FIDE's consent.
FIDE and Freestyle Chess have ended their two-year feud and will collaborate on the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship.
The event is scheduled for February 13-15, 2026, in Weissenhaus, Germany, with a $300,000 prize fund.
Seven of the eight participants have been decided, with one spot to be filled through an online qualification tournament on January 14-15, 2026.
This championship will be the fifth world title in chess, joining classical, rapid, blitz, and a total championship.
FIDE and Freestyle Chess have agreed that no event can be called an official 'World Chess Championship' without FIDE's consent.
- Who
- FIDE and Freestyle Chess
- What
- Announced the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship
- Where
- Weissenhaus, Germany
- When
- February 13-15, 2026
- Why
- To end their feud and collaborate on an official Freestyle Chess World Championship
FIDE
Freestyle Chess
Official World Championship
FIDE
FIDE insists that no event can be called an official 'World Chess Championship' without their consent.
Freestyle Chess
Freestyle Chess wanted to crown a 'Freestyle Chess World Champion' independently.
Key facts
- Event Name
- FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship
- Date
- February 13-15, 2026
- Location
- Weissenhaus, Germany
- Prize Fund
- $300,000
- Winner's Prize
- $100,000
- Qualified Players
- Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi, Javokhir Sindarov, Hans Niemann
- Online Qualification Tournament
- January 14-15, 2026
- FIDE Women’s Freestyle Chess Championship
- Planned for later in 2026
Quotes
Jan Henric Buettner
German billionaire entrepreneur behind the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour
“With Arkady (Dvorkovich), I had a very good understanding. We nearly had an agreement a year ago. We were actually finalising the wording of a press release. And then, at the very last moment, it somehow fell apart. I don’t know how. I don’t want to speculate, but it was kind of very weird.”
indianexpress.com
“And so the whole thing turned from cooperation into confrontation. Then we focused on our own tour and didn’t really bother with it anymore.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
From confrontation to cooperation, how FIDE and Freestyle Chess ended their truce
FIDE ends feud with freestyle chess organisers to announce another world championship
A Historic New Era Of Chess! FIDE Approves Major Overhaul Of Circuit Format For 2026-27
Freestyle Chess organisers and FIDE bury hatchet to announce FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship
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