Freestyle Chess Calls Off India Event, Buettner Steps Down As CEO

The fifth event in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour was scheduled to take place in Delhi from September 17-25, but has now officially been cancelled due to a lack of sponsors. 

The announcement, first reported by the Times of India on Thursday, and also confirmed to Chess.com by co-founder Jan Henric Buettner, marks a setback for the tour and its ambitions in India. "India will not happen this year," the German entrepreneur told Chess.com.

India will not happen this year.
—Jan Henric Buettner, CEO of Freestyle Chess

The announcement came after weeks of uncertainty. The Delhi event had disappeared from the official Freestyle Chess website, but this is the first public confirmation that the event has been scrapped altogether.

The news of the cancellation is a blow for Indian chess fans, who had hoped to see the country's growing pool of young stars compete on home soil in the popular chess variant. The India event was planned as the fifth leg of the inaugural Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, after successful events in Weissenhaus, Paris, and Karlsruhe. 

GM Magnus Carlsen currently leads the tour with 65 points, having won two of the events. Carlsen also headlines the next event, which is set for Las Vegas from July 16-20. The tour is expected to conclude in Cape Town, December 5-12.

Despite Delhi's cancellation, Buettner hinted that there may be a replacement or alternative event this year. "Yes and no," he said cryptically when asked if a replacement is planned. "We will do something special for the September leg of the tour instead. This will be announced after Las Vegas."

We will do something special for the September leg of the tour.
—Jan Henric Buettner, CEO of Freestyle Chess

Meanwhile, Buettner also confirmed that he will step down as CEO of Freestyle Chess on July 1, and hand over day-to-day operations to Thomas Harsch. The 60-year-old Buettner played a central role in launching the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam tour, together with Carlsen, investing millions of his own money into the new venture. 

In an earlier interview with Chess.com before the tour began, Buettner made it clear that his long-term intention was always to step back from the day-to-day once the tour had momentum. "I hope I get out of it! I want it to be implemented in a perfect way. I am giving everything, so when all my visions in my head are implemented, then I can have a more executive role," he said.

For Indian fans eager to see their national stars compete on home soil, the wait won’t be long, even without the Freestyle Grand Slam event in Delhi. The Chennai Grand Masters kicks off August 6, featuring a strong classical 10-player round-robin with GMs Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, Anish Giri, Vincent Keymer, and others.