Jan Henric Buettner

Co-founder of the Freestyle Chess

“It started exactly one year ago when there were negotiations with FIDE which ultimately resulted in the big fallout at the end of it, which was very public. You have to understand that before the fallout we were very-very near to a deal.

And then the next tour coming up, Total World Championship with Norway Ches, and they all compete for sponsoring. And then we have to be positioning ourselves against FIDE the whole time. But that’s not my nature.

Then we finally met in Doha. Five of us sat down: Arkady, Henrik, Mohammed from Qatar, myself, and a few others. And there the key idea was born: instead of launching the second season with the Weissenhaus stage, let’s finish the first season there — and hold the FIDE World Championship there. It was Arkady’s suggestion: to formalize it as an official FIDE World Championship. I said, that’s perfect! For me, this immediately resolved a ton of problems and opened up a new, much more logical path to the future.

The main thing is that we no longer need another tour as cumbersome as the one in 2025. We now have a new supporting structure: the annual FIDE Freestyle World Championship in February. This is our main tournament.

Yes, for now, we formally have a short-term agreement with FIDE, but we’re already negotiating a long-term one. This is important for the players: they don’t need a one-off project, but a stable cycle. For me, this is the perfect moment to step back a bit: I can say to myself that I’ve done my part — the torch has been passed, and others will carry it on.”