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For the second time, Jan Henric Buettner is organising a chess tournament at his Weissenhaus luxury resort with some of the world's best players. Two years ago, the successful Hamburg businessman had been thinking about what he really enjoyed, and alongside his love of music, it was chess. Buettner had learned chess at school as a child and now he wanted to pick up the thread again, so he took online chess lessons from Niclas Huschenbeth and eventually invited his chess teacher to the Weissenhaus. They got to talking and the idea of a chess tournament here in the elegant resort on the Baltic Sea was born.
Huschenbeth recommended that he get in touch with Magnus Carlsen, the superstar of the chess scene. Buettner and Carlsen met in Dubai. Carlsen was willing to play in a tournament, but wanted it to be Chess960 or Freestyle Chess. Buettner agreed and the ball was set rolling. In February 2024 the first major freestyle chess tournament took place in the luxurious holiday village. The tournament was perfectly organised and presented with many show elements. Buettner is a Formula One fan and the show around the race inspired him.
"When it comes to sport, the focus must be on the person, the action. When it comes to chess, you can't see what's happening and it seems boring to the non-specialist. Formula One is a spectacle, but actually racing is also boring, with cars that always drive in circles. The stories about the athletes involved make the difference," is Buettner's credo.
In a second step, the Freestyle Chess Weissenhaus Tournament was expanded into a series, a Grand Slam, now modelled on the tennis tournament series. After the Baltic tournament, the series continues in Paris in April. Then it's on to New York in July, Delhi in September and finally South Africa in December. Another tournament may be added.
The players involved enjoy playing chess with unknown starting positions. Everyone makes early mistakes in unfamiliar situations. It introduces an element of chance, because with new starting positions the cards are reshuffled again and again. Even the otherwise superior Magnus Carlsen is vulnerable here.
With the world's best players competing, this series has the status of a world championship. This was also the offer made by the World Chess Federation when its representatives contacted Buettner. But after the initial common ground and desire for cooperation, Carlsen and Buettner on the one hand and FIDE with Arkady Dvorkovich and Emil Sutovsky on the other became increasingly estranged. Eventually the gloves came off and the dispute was played out in public. At issue was whether anyone other than FIDE had the right to call a chess event a world championship - and in FIDE's view this included all variants of chess.
In recent weeks, Freestyle Chess and Buettner have enjoyed a great deal of public attention, probably much more than Buettner would have liked. Journalists were constantly coming to Weissenhaus to interview the organiser and financier. In between appointments he also found time for a video interview with ChessBase and invited the team to his office in the Kavaliershaus. The room offered plenty of material for nostalgics, for example a complete collection of old Asterix comics, a number of larger model cars and some chess sets. There were also a number of photographs on display, including one of Jan Henric Buettner's father, Klaus Buettner, who, as editor-in-chief of the popular German TV magazine "Hörzu", was also very interested in music. One picture shows him with the Beatles when they were performing at the Star-Club in Hamburg.
In an interview with André Schulz, Buettner talks about his commitment to chess - in addition to freestyle, he supports the Hamburger SK, the chess department of St. Pauli and some young German players as part of the Weissenhaus Chess Academy - and his plans for the future. The dispute with FIDE has led to endless discussions and has cost a lot of time. Even though Buettner is happy about the public attention that has resulted from it.
Video and editing: Arne Kähler
The interview is in German. You can watch it with subtitles, but here's also an English translation of the transcript.
Interview with Jan Henric Buettner
André Schulz: We are here with Jan Henric Buettner in his fantastic office. Thank you for having us. We are at Weissenhaus, a large estate, and are witnessing an impressive event: the second Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Tournament. Last year's inaugural tournament was already great, but the second one takes it to another level. You have stepped things up again. Can you tell us what’s new this year?
Jan Henric Buettner: Yes, last year’s tournament was put together quite quickly, but it was still highly professional and came with significant costs to ensure perfection. It was an experiment to showcase what a top-tier tournament could look like. We called it the "GOAT Challenge" to challenge Magnus Carlsen. Our villa, where Magnus is currently staying, has even been renamed "GOAT Villa" for the week.
This year, we have learned from experience and introduced several innovations. One of the biggest changes is the inclusion of the world's top chess streamers. We set up special containers where each streamer has their own studio, including ChessBase India, Anna Cramling, the Botez sisters, Chess.com, and our own broadcasting studio. We now have two channels: the professional channel for chess experts and the consumer channel for a broader audience.
We have also improved the catering. Instead of set meals in different restaurants, we now offer a top-tier two-star buffet where guests can collect their meals and have them served at their tables. Additionally, we have reduced the number of media representatives and guests on-site to maintain a more intimate atmosphere. At the moment, every major name in chess is here.
Question: So the idea behind the streamers is also to increase reach?
Answer: Exactly. We are a business and need a large audience. Since we don’t charge for viewership, we rely on sponsor revenue. To attract sponsors, we need strong viewership numbers. Our internal goal is continuous audience growth.
Question: The Freestyle Chess GmbH is based in Germany, correct?
Answer: Yes, our headquarters are in Hamburg. So far, we have raised just under 20 million euros and expect even more investment due to high interest.
Question: How does the business model work? Investors will want a return on their investment.
Answer: Essentially, it works like any other startup. Investors buy in at a certain valuation, and as success grows, the company’s value increases. Eventually, there are various exit strategies, such as going public or selling to a strategic investor. Our goal is to become profitable within 24 months so that we no longer require external funding and can sustain ourselves financially.
Question: The company is also expanding geographically. This tournament marks the start of a Grand Slam Tour with events at prestigious locations worldwide. Can you give us an overview of the upcoming tournaments and their locations?
Answer: While we are based in Germany, we are an international company. In addition to this event in Germany, we will host tournaments in France, New York, and South Africa. There are two other locations we can’t disclose yet. Our goal is to establish a global presence on all continents in the coming years.
Question: That sounds ambitious. You’ll need local partners to handle the logistics, right?
Answer: Yes, but we are fortunate to have Thorsten Hock, an experienced event manager, on board. He previously organized the Extreme Sailing Series and the BMW Sailing Cup, so he is well-versed in global event management.
Question: There was some tension with FIDE before the tournament. Initially, a partnership seemed possible, but something went wrong. Can you tell us more about that?
Answer: Yes, FIDE approached me and asked how they could profit from our event. They wanted to license the FIDE World Championship title in Fischer Random to us. I declined because our sponsors weren’t interested in a FIDE-affiliated event. Then they suggested licensing a world championship anyway. When I asked why I couldn’t use the term "World," they said it was "internally regulated," which I didn’t accept as a valid reason. So, we simply named our tournament as we saw fit.
FIDE then tried to pressure the players. Magnus Carlsen intervened because he found it unacceptable that young players were being forced into signing agreements. Eventually, it became clear that FIDE lacked a coherent strategy. I invested a lot of time in negotiations, but in the end, the whole situation gave us massive media exposure—priceless PR for our tournament.
Question: FIDE didn’t seem to have a unified voice in these negotiations. Did you get that impression too?
Answer: Absolutely. I negotiated for weeks with one person, only to find out later that they had no decision-making power. That was a complete waste of time.
Question: Despite these challenges, it looks like you’re really enjoying this event.
Answer: Yes, absolutely. I watch every match closely and have built personal relationships with the players. Two of them will be eliminated tomorrow, which is unfortunate, but that’s part of the tournament. Looking at all the players, it’s hard to say who should leave—it’s incredibly exciting.
Question: Thank you for your time!
Answer: Thank you as well!
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