FIDE, Freestyle Chess End Rivalry, Announce New World Championship

• FIDE and Freestyle Chess, co-founded by Magnus Carlsen, resolved their long-standing conflict over organizing world championships.
• The truce was reached during a meeting in Qatar between Freestyle Chess co-founder Jan Henric Buettner and FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich.
• They announced the inaugural FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship, set for February 13-15 in Weissenhaus, Germany.
• This new championship is a successor to the Fischer Random World Championship and will feature eight players.
• Six players have qualified from the Grand Slam Tour, with Hans Niemann nominated by Freestyle Chess and FIDE holding an online qualifier.

Why It Matters: Chess world unites as FIDE and Freestyle Chess bury hatchet for new World Championship.