World Chess faced criticism after announcing “Clash of Claims 2,” a sequel to the controversial match between GMs Vladimir Kramnik and Jose Martinez. The company’s CEO, Ilya Melenzon, expressed surprise at the reaction and agreed to change the event’s name.
The Clash of Claims, held in June, was described by IM Levi Rozman as “one of the craziest chess events in history”, with Martinez beating the former world champion 14.5-11.5 in a three-day hybrid match in Madrid, Spain. The event was so dramatic that Kramnik called it a “failed experiment” and claimed that technical issues with Chess.com caused the event to be void.
Last week, World Chess, the company that held the commercial rights to the FIDE World Championship cycle under various names for a decade, announced the sequel. Conflict of opinions 2The rematch is scheduled to take place at the FIDE Online Arena in London from August 19-21. The prize money will again be €20,000.
The match came about after Melenzon proposed a sequel in an X/Twitter post last month, and both fighters quickly confirmed they were willing to take part in the match.
Thank you, I’m happy, I’m ready
— Vladimir Kramnik (translator) June 25, 2024
However, the tournament name has raised eyebrows in the chess world, particularly from IM David Martinez, the organizer of the first event in Madrid. The popular commentator and Chess.com employee hit back hard, calling it “ethically deplorable” and criticizing FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky.
A month ago, we organized a Clash of Claims. And now Follow Without consulting us, they want to use our brand and name recognition to organize Clash of Claims 2. Not only is this a potential copyright infringement, but it’s also ethically deplorable. What do you think? Emil Stovski? https://t.co/d9bc8IlCTI
— David Martinez (El Davis) July 9, 2024
Chess YouTuber and co-host GothamChess also accused World Chess of misappropriating their “brand name and intellectual property,” calling it a “shameful act.”
They really did steal our brand name and intellectual property.
That’s embarrassing https://t.co/aIY0EJgbBw
— GothamChess (Gotham Chess) July 9, 2024
Martinez said he has exchanged emails with Melenson and believes the matter has been resolved, and the dispute has been resolved amicably.
A quick update: I had a short email exchange @Melenzon CEO Follow the name of the match will also be changed. For me, this is the end of the matter. https://t.co/uCf87LlfiH
— David Martinez (El Davis) July 9, 2024
In an email to Chess.com, Melenzon said the change was at Martinez’s request: “There’s no reason not to change it. We might call it ‘Clash of Blames’ to continue the tradition of ‘Clash of Clans,’ but we’ll wait and see if players have better ideas.”
When asked about the reaction from the chess world, Melenzon commented: “Personally, I was very surprised. The tournament was a one-off event in my view and a failure according to Kramnik. Both he and his opponent wanted a rematch. For a moment I forgot how chess works, but the reaction reminded me.”
He added: “In my view, at least for us, the name holds absolutely no value, but we’re happy to support any ideas David and the other organisers have for future events.”
When asked what he plans to change compared to the first tournament, Melenzon said, “Hopefully, the players will be happy with the way the tournament is run and the focus will be on chess,” adding that he also wants to showcase his online chess platform.
The format and venue of the match have yet to be announced.