Feedback on C10 Zonals

During the six months of inactivity mentioned in my recent post, Now I'm Here (January 2025), I received a number of relevant comments about my pages, some of them requiring non-trivial updates to those pages. The first such comment was the continuation of an older email exchange, titled 'Arandjelovac 1976'. It started,

I have investigated the cycle 1975-1978 and I can comment some facts.

The updates, to two related pages, are marked with the initials of the correspondent 'VA' [Vladica Andrejic] on those pages:-

• Zonals 1975-1978 (C10; m-w.com)
• Zonal Qualifiers 1975-1978 (ditto)

VA concluded his comment saying,

I hope that this helps. I cover Interzonals (and some zonals) with some info written in Serbian here:

• http://www.perpetualcheck.com/show/show.php?lan=en&data=T1976005&job=i
• http://www.perpetualcheck.com/show/show.php?lan=en&data=T1976006&job=i

Your favorite online language translator will reveal the secrets of those two pages, which are similar. Thanks, VA!

FCPC Backs Down

The previous post on this blog, FIDE Asserts Its Authority (February 2025), ended with a statement from FIDE:-

Attempts by FCPC [Freestyle Chess Players Club] to present their project as a World Championship are in contradiction with the well-established status of FIDE and its authority over world championship titles in all relevant variations of chess - including Chess960/Freestyle chess, as outlined in the FIDE Handbook.

Since that statement, we've seen interviews with responsibles from the two organizations. Both of the following videos are from Youtube channel Take Take Take:-

• 2025-02-04: FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky on the Freestyle Chess Conflict
• 2025-02-07: Freestyle Chess CEO on the FIDE Conflict • Weissenhaus [CEO?] Jan Henric Buettner

For a representative player's point of view, here is GM Fabiano Caruana on his own Youtube channel.

Drama between FIDE & Freestyle Chess | C-Squared (30:31) • '[Published on] Feb 7, 20255'

That clip from Youtube channel 'C-Squared Clips' is an extract from the full video on the main 'C-Squared' channel. A few days later, the FCPC backed down:-

2025-02-10: Press Release (Weissenhaus) • 'At a Sunday evening meeting in Weissenhaus with organizer Jan Henric Buettner, 12 Freestyle Chess Players Club members unanimously decided that the 2025 Grand Slam Tour winner in December (South Africa) will be titled "Freestyle Chess Champion." They also plan to form their own independent association with a qualified legal team to represent their interests.'

For the full text, see Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Participants Agree on "Freestyle Chess Champion" Title (freestyle-chess.com). FIDE is a non-profit association of national chess federations. FCPC is backed by for-profit Weissenhaus and represents an association of elite chess players. Federations and players are often at loggerheads over their particular interests. The two organizations have different objectives, so it's likely that we haven't seen the end of this tension.

FIDE Asserts Its Authority

I first covered the story on my chess960 blog in A Freestyle Fight (January 2025). There I wrote,

A few weeks later, the story became ugly. 2025-01-21: FIDE Statement regarding the "Freestyle Chess" project (fide.com); "With regard to the recent communications from the "Freestyle Chess Players Club" ("FCPC"), FIDE states the following..."

A few days later I came back to the story on my main blog in World Championship Yahoos 2025 (January 2025). This time I wrote,

I'm covering the freestyle saga on my chess960 blog, because 'freestyle' is one of numerous aliases for chess960. The most recent post on that blog was A Freestyle Fight (January 2025), where the last link to a story was 2025-01-22: FIDE Slams Freestyle Chess For Creating 'Unavoidable Divisions,' Threatens Legal Action (chess.com; TarjeiJS). The dispute is about FIDE's claim to have the exclusive right to any 'World Chess Championship'.

Let's go back to 2025-01-21: FIDE Statement (fide.com). After the introduction given above, the statement continued,

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the only internationally recognized governing body of chess (in particular, by the International Olympic Committee), regulating all official international chess competitions. While we have always remained open to cooperation with private organizations and initiatives across the chess community, FIDE retains its supreme role with respect to the rules, titles, and ratings. FIDE's status and global responsibilities towards the chess community are distinct and non-negotiable.

FIDE does not oppose commercial platforms, projects, or privately managed clubs, such as the FCPC, engaging with players in their own capacity. However, the attempts by FCPC to present their project as a World Championship are in contradiction with the well-established status of FIDE and its authority over world championship titles in all relevant variations of chess - including Chess960/Freestyle chess, as outlined in the FIDE Handbook.

During the intervening weeks, more statements were issued by both sides, but I'll cover those on the next post for my chess960 blog. In the meantime, here's a reminder of a well known historical incident analogous to the freestyle fight.

Portion of 'Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 December 1804' by Jacques-Louis David

Coronation of Napoleon (wikipedia.org)
'While the Pope recited the formula, Napoleon turned and removed his laurel wreath and crowned himself.'