Chess: Carlsen meets world champion Gukesh after Freestyle truce called
The world No 1 faces Gukesh as the new Freestyle Grand Slam gets under way following a row over the circuit’s statusAn imminent showdown between Magnus Carlsen, the world No1, and Gukesh Dommaraju, the youngest ever world champion, has been overshadowed this week by a bitter war of words between the global body Fide and Jan-Henric Buettner, the Freestyle Chess founder and chief. This dispute has since been kicked into the future by an uneasy truce.The issue was whether Freestyle’s new global $3.75m four-continent circuit, which starts at 1pm GMT on Friday 7 February and for which Carlsen is a strong favourite, can legitimately be called a world championship. After a post by Carlsen on X, an open letter by Buettner, and a Fide statement, the 2025 Freestyle circuit will now go ahead just as a Grand Slam event. Continue reading...
![Chess: Carlsen meets world champion Gukesh after Freestyle truce called](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c5f1de0dfa6e5ce3d0cc797fcf7a4c601668d908/641_648_6180_3710/master/6180.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=96f7f15aa799df59467968a7606363b7#)
The world No 1 faces Gukesh as the new Freestyle Grand Slam gets under way following a row over the circuit’s status
An imminent showdown between Magnus Carlsen, the world No1, and Gukesh Dommaraju, the youngest ever world champion, has been overshadowed this week by a bitter war of words between the global body Fide and Jan-Henric Buettner, the Freestyle Chess founder and chief. This dispute has since been kicked into the future by an uneasy truce.
The issue was whether Freestyle’s new global $3.75m four-continent circuit, which starts at 1pm GMT on Friday 7 February and for which Carlsen is a strong favourite, can legitimately be called a world championship. After a post by Carlsen on X, an open letter by Buettner, and a Fide statement, the 2025 Freestyle circuit will now go ahead just as a Grand Slam event. Continue reading...