World Chess Agrees Name Change After 'Clash Of Claims' Criticism

World Chess faced criticism following the announcement of 'Clash of Claims 2,' a sequel to the controversial match between GMs Vladimir Kramnik and Jose Martinez. The company's CEO Ilya Merenzon, who expressed surprise at the reaction, has agreed to rename the event.

Clash of Claims in June was described as "one of the craziest chess events in history" by IM Levy Rozman, and saw Martinez beat the former world champion 14.5-11.5 in a three-day hybrid match in Madrid, Spain. It didn't occur without drama, with Kramnik calling it “an experiment that failed,” claiming technical issues on Chess.com invalidated the event.

Last week World Chess, a company that under various names held commercial rights to the FIDE World Championship cycle for a decade, announced the sequel Clash of Claims 2. The rematch is set to take place in London and on the FIDE Online Arena, on August 19-21. The prize fund is once again 20,000 Euros.

The match became a reality after Merenzon last month suggested a sequel in a post on X/Twitter. Both players quickly confirmed they were willing to play.

Thanks,with pleasure, I am ready

— Vladimir Kramnik (@VBkramnik) June 25, 2024

However, the tournament name raised eyebrows from the chess community, in particular from the organizer of the original event in Madrid, IM David Martinez. The popular commentator and Chess.com employee reacted strongly, calling it "ethically deplorable," and tagging FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky.

A month ago, we organized Clash of Claims, and now @theworldchess wants to organize Clash of Claims 2, using our brand and popularity without consulting us. Besides a possible rights violation, it is ethically deplorable. What do you think, @EmilSutovsky? https://t.co/d9bc8IlCTI

— David Martínez (@El_Divis) July 9, 2024

Chess YouTuber and co-organizer GothamChess also accused World Chess of plagiarizing their "brand name and intellectual property," dubbing it "shameful stuff."

These guys really plagiarized our entire brand name and intellectual property

Shameful stuff https://t.co/aIY0EJgbBw

— GothamChess (@GothamChess) July 9, 2024

The dispute was resolved amicably when Martinez said he'd had an exchange of emails with Merenzon and that he now considers the matter closed. 

Brief update: I had a short email exchange with @merenzon , CEO of @theworldchess , and the match name will be changed. As far as I'm concerned, the matter is closed. https://t.co/uCf87LlfiH

— David Martínez (@El_Divis) July 9, 2024

In an email to Chess.com, Merenzon said the change was made due to Martinez' request. "There is no reason not to do it. We might call it ‘Clash of Blames,’ to continue the tradition of ‘Clash of Clans.’ But we’ll wait to see if the players have better ideas."

Asked about the reactions from the chess community, Merenzon commented: "I personally was very surprised. The tournament was in my view a one-off event that, according to Kramnik, failed. Both he and his opponent were interested in a rematch. I forgot how chess works for a moment, but the reactions reminded me."

He added: "There is, in my view, absolutely no value in the name, at least for us, but we’ll happily support the ideas that David and other organizers might have for any future events."

Asked what they intend to do differently compared to the first match, Merenzon said: "Hopefully, the players will be happy with the way it’s organized and the main focus will be on chess." He added that they also want to showcase their online chess platform.

The format and venue of the match are yet to be announced.