The TRUTH about FREESTYLE Chess | Jan Buettner PODCAST

Try Chessreps and check out my lines here: https://www.chessreps.com/opening/mustreader-s-milner-barry-gambit-vs-the-french-6sbbek7 Today I’m joined by Jan Henric Buettner — co-founder of Freestyle Chess, one of the boldest projects in the chess world. We talk about why chess, in its current form, may never truly become mainstream, what has to change, and what chess can learn from Formula 1. We also discuss the difference between classical chess and Freestyle Chess, and why Jan believes the future belongs to Freestyle. We dive into the FIDE vs Freestyle conflict and why Hikaru Nakamura, one of the biggest names in chess media, is not part of the project. Don’t miss it! Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mustreader My DISCORD server: https://discord.gg/bXZN36xb My X: https://x.com/mustreader My channel with podcast highlights: https://www.youtube.com/@CwMClips My chess.com club: https://go.chess.com/MustreaderClub Collabs: [email protected] Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chess-with-mustreader/id1745521337 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2mU5WbBXgDklyN3jm6GMSN All platforms: https://mustreaderchess.mave.digital My podcast with Levon Aronian: https://youtu.be/3EuVAo74L4U My podcast with Fabiano Caruana: https://youtu.be/1LMPYFf1iLo My podcast with Wei Yi: https://youtu.be/TeQ-yS9EWRY My podcast with Anish Giri: https://youtu.be/eFWwfFySx2Q?si=kJmwzyxph6XJ2Jdp My podcast with Erik Allebest: https://youtu.be/1cCrMcUTDj8 And other LEGENDS: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkAzovIvBvGxzaDCVwmo-ZJDtrilrJLjS Many thanks to my Patreon supporter: Sarterus 00:00 — Intro 01:16 — Freestyle World Championship 03:14 — “It turned out very differently” 04:30 — How Freestyle Chess began 08:58 — What went wrong with Freestyle? 12:53 — What’s next for Freestyle? 17:48 — Why the Freestyle Tour struggled 21:01 — Chess is not interesting? 24:14 — Freestyle more interesting than classical? 26:43 — Freestyle struggles with funding 29:18 — What Freestyle achieved in 2.5 years 31:35 — Can chess be Formula 1? 35:55 — How to make chess watchable 39:52 — Why not rapid instead of Freestyle? 41:04 — Magnus’s choice 41:27 — Freestyle or rapid: same thing? 44:15 — Chess media is just getting started 45:58 — FIDE vs Freestyle 50:50 — World Championship without Hikaru 53:06 — Gukesh took Hikaru’s place 55:41 — World Championship qualification 57:23 — How can chess become profitable? 01:02:54 — ChessCom — the most successful chess company? 01:04:13 — Jan on his own chess level My name is Greg Mustreader, I am a Candidate Master in chess, an entrepreneur and host of several podcasts. On the Chess with Mustreader channel, I interview top chess players, play against chess AIs, analyze the most interesting chess games and combinations of today and of the past, as well as show you my path in chess and the way I work on my chess improvement (including recaps from the tournaments I play). I live in Almaty, Kazakhstan and travel the world extensively (been to 50 countries). I'm 32 years old, I have a girlfriend, three dogs and four cats. I speak English, Russian, German, and a bit of French and Chinese. Don't forget to subscribe! #chess #magnuscarlsen #freestylechess #fischerandom #chesswithmustreader #mustreaderchess #gregmustreader #cwm