Solomon Islands Chess Federation Demands Retraction From Buettner Over Debate Comments
By Douglas C. · Fri, 11 Sep 2026
The Solomon Islands Chess Federation has issued a public statement demanding a correction, retraction, and apology from FIDE presidential candidate Jan Henric Buettner, over comments he made about the federation during last week's Chess.com-hosted presidential debate.
The Solomon Islands Chess Federation has issued a public statement demanding a correction, retraction, and apology from FIDE presidential candidate Jan Henric Buettner, over comments he made about the federation during last week's Chess.com-hosted presidential debate.A sausage anecdote that, per SICF, never actually happenedAccording to SICF's statement, Buettner referenced the Solomon Islands during the debate in connection with an anecdote about people "selling sausages on weekends" to finance chess sets. The federation says this did not happen, and that the example actually originated in a private conversation where fundraising ideas and strategies were being discussed hypothetically, not describing any real activity the federation had undertaken.Not the first time this has come up, according to SICFSICF says its president, Simon Chottu, had previously asked Buettner directly not to take private discussions out of context or use them in ways that could misrepresent the federation. The statement argues that presenting the sausage-selling example publicly, during an international presidential debate, risked leaving the wider chess community with a false impression of the federation's actual circumstances.The federation frames this as a matter of principle rather than politics, arguing that small federations "are not campaign props," and that candidates seeking FIDE's highest office carry a responsibility to ensure anything they say publicly about a member federation is accurate. The statement notes that FIDE represents more than 200 national federations, and that each deserves equal voice and equal respect regardless of size or wealth.Three specific demandsA public retraction of the statement concerning SICF. A correction clarifying that the sausage-selling reference was only a hypothetical fundraising idea rather than something that actually happened. And a public apology for the impression it created.Another rough data point for Buettner's campaignThis adds a new thread to what was already a rocky outing at the September 9 debate. That same event drew attention for Wadim Rosenstein's departure shortly after his opening statement, and for a broader read of Buettner's performance as more organizational-chart than compelling, part of a wider set of questions about his readiness for the role. A national federation publicly demanding a retraction over how it was characterized on stage adds a concrete, on-the-record grievance to that narrative, three weeks before delegates vote in Samarkand. Buettner has not yet publicly responded to SICF's statement.