Magnus Carlsen reminded ‘I’m bigger than FIDE’ didn’t work for Fischer, Kasparov

FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky has launched a veiled attack on Magnus Carlsen, reminding the top-ranked chess player that he wasn't bigger than the world body. Sutovsky posted a lengthy statement on the social media platform X, also called Twitter, claiming the 'Freestyle Chess' project co-owned by Carlsen was bound to fail if it did not comply with FIDE.

"'I am bigger than FIDE' concept did not work even for Fischer and Kasparov - who tried it being reigning World Champions, while having a real dominance over their rivals at the time," Sutovsky said in his post. "Of course, initially the public may back a superstar vs the governing body. And you may lure in a couple of naive investors. But that is unsustainable - and we saw many examples of the kind."

Carlsen had recently poked FIDE with a cheeky remark during a chat with Gambling Insider. "I do not aim to be bigger than chess," Carlsen said. "When it comes to specific organisations, maybe they need me more than I need them... chess will always be bigger than I am, specific organisations maybe not," the Norwegian said with a smirk.

The reference to 'specific organisations' is seen as a dig at FIDE, with whom Carlsen fell out during the recent World Rapid & Blitz Championship in New York over dress code violation. FIDE has since tightened its stance on private events such as 'Freestlye Chess'. FIDE recently issued a statement, warning the organisers of Freestyle Chess of legal action if they proceeded with the use of the title 'World Championship'.

Fischer, Kasparov vs FIDE
Legendary player Bobby Fischer was constantly at loggerheads with the authority. He provoked FIDE with his demands for the 1972 World Championship match against Boris Spassky and the 1975 edition against Anatoly Karpov.

Another former world champion, Gary Kasparov, famously launched a parallel world body when he formed the Professional Chess Association in the 1990s, leading to a schism in chess. Kasparov organised a parallel world championship, leading to a long-running dispute with FIDE. Kasparov eventually reconciled with FIDE. Even though the veteran reportedly doesn't see eye-to-eye with FIDE, he still promotes the game.

Freestyle response
While Carlsen has yet to respond to Sutovsky's comments, Jan Henric Buettner, the investor who co-owns Freestyle Chess, issued a retort. He accused FIDE of being motivated by money and labelled Sutovsky as playing 'bad cop'. Buettner claimed that FIDE demanded an 'unjustifiable sum' of $5,00,000 for the 'Freestyle' format even though they were willing to offer $1,00,000 annually.