FIDE's Call For World Championship Bids Sparks Reactions
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has made a call for bids for the 2024 World Championship match with budget figures that have stirred a debate in the chess community.
A few weeks after the conclusion of the Candidates Tournament, FIDE has already turned its attention to the next world championship match. The reigning champion, GM Ding Liren, will face the challenger, GM Gukesh Dommaraju. The match is scheduled to take place between November 20 and December 15, and now the hunt for an organizer has begun.
Last week, the governing chess body issued the first call for bids for the match. Compared to FIDE's call for bids for the 2023 match, this one had some new requirements:
- Minimum total budget: $8,500,000
- Minimum total prize fund: $2,500,000
- FIDE fee: $1,100,000
Why $8.5 Million?
The announcement prompted reactions from prominent figures in the chess world, such as IM Levy 'GothamChess' Rozman, who said:
"1. Why 8.5 million? 2. What does FIDE do with 1.1 million? 3. Where does the other 4.9 million go? Chess should have a media deal. Chess should utilize influencers better. Chess should have more well known sponsors - NOT private ones. I dream of an ecosystem (format, sponsorships, media) which better supports the best players in the world," he wrote to his 380,000 X/Twitter followers.
Today FIDE, the international governing body of chess, called for bids for the World Championship match.
— GothamChess (@GothamChess) April 27, 2024
a. Overall budget ask - $8.5 million
b. Players get - $2.5 million
c. FIDE - $1.1 million
I have so many questions. Not even meant as criticism, I am really just super… pic.twitter.com/oDmAX8fTq8
GM Peter Heine Nielsen, one of FIDE's biggest critics, also questioned the numbers, claiming in a response to FIDE's CEO GM Emil Sutovsky that the event has become FIDE's "cash-cow."
The Chess World Championship is the crown jewel of chess, but has become a cash-cow of FIDE https://t.co/gnXilhzdcc
— Peter Heine Nielsen (@PHChess) April 30, 2024
Nielsen also shared a graphic from a Reddit post that shows a downward trend in prize funds over history.
Someone did some serious research here:https://t.co/s9otlprQ22 pic.twitter.com/nuYJeLvn52
— Peter Heine Nielsen (@PHChess) April 30, 2024
Sutovsky Responds: "We Have To Generate Income"
Sutovsky responded to the criticism, arguing that the event is not costly compared to other sports events. He went into details in an 80-minute interview with ChessBase India's IM Sagar Shah, explaining that the event, along with the Olympiad, are the most important for FIDE revenue-wise.
"We are trying to maximize our top events, to generate income. That is reasonable, and that is not different from what any sport is doing. I believe the amount of 10-12 percent from the total budget is justified."
Sutovsky said that revenues from such events are reinvested into other projects and promotion of the game.
"We have to generate income in order to work. Our staff have increased almost two-fold compared to 2018. It's not because we just want to throw away some money. We just do much more work. It's required," he said.
Sutovsky also addressed questions about the remaining budget after expenses for prizes and FIDE fees, which totals $4.9 million.
"A top venue for a month is very expensive. Unless you organize it inside a hotel room, which would not be acceptable," he said, also outlining technological upgrades, anti-cheating measures, and, in particular, improving the broadcast, which, according to FIDE, doesn't meet modern standards.
"At present, I am not very happy with the broadcast we have. We have a very seriously improved broadcast of 2011-standard. I remember the Candidates in 2011 was the first time it was organized. By that time it was great. By now, we have been improving a lot of little things, but it's not TV-standard yet," he said.
India, Singapore, Or Argentina?
The All India Chess Federation (AICF) has already publicly expressed its interest in hosting the match, with its Secretary Dev Patel commenting: "We are open to discussion with FIDE, the apex chess body, and we are certain that the best world championship will be held in India," he said.
Speaking to Chess.com, Sutovsky said that FIDE had not yet received any formal bids but confirmed that several parties had expressed interest.
"We have detailed discussions with Argentina, India (more than one interested party there) and Singapore. These are at an advanced stage."
Sutovsky says that FIDE feels the match is expected to generate so much interest that there could be more than one bid. Asked about the rumors of Saudi Arabia being interested in hosting the match, FIDE's CEO says:
"There are no ongoing discussions with Saudi Arabia about hosting the match."
The deadline for bids is May 31, and FIDE is expected to make a decision in June.
Tarjei J. Svensen is a Norwegian chess journalist who worked for some of the country's biggest media outlets and appeared on several national TV broadcasts. Between 2015 and 2019, he ran his chess website mattogpatt.no, covering chess news in Norwegian and partly in English.
In 2020, he was hired by Chess24 to cover chess news, eventually moving to Chess.com as a full-time chess journalist in 2023. He is also known for his extensive coverage of chess news on his X/Twitter account.
