India, Feb. 1 -- The highly-anticipated Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour's first leg is set to begin in Weissenhaus, Germany on February 7. The Freestyle Chess Players Club (FCPC) consisting of the likes of D Gukesh, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura received official recognition from the FIDE in December 2024.

But fast forward to February 1 2025, the FIDE is currently at war with FCPC. FCPC co-owner Jan Henric Buettner has attacked FIDE in an interview for demanding 500,000 dollars for the rights to use the world c'ship title. He also claimed that he would take the body to court. Meanwhile, FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky has responded with his own claims, stating that FIDE has a right to the world c'ship title, and has accused Carlsen of trying...