Why does world champion Carlsen refuse to play the Russian Nepomniachtchi for the chess crown?

Carlsen rejected the Russian champion

Bryansk native, 31, Ian Nepomniachtchi brilliantly won the Candidates’ Tournament in Madrid and earned the right to play Magnus Carlsen again in the world title match. The Russian grandmaster became the first chess player in history to win the Candidates’ Tournament twice in a row in the current format.

In addition, Nepomniachtchi set an absolute record for the number of points scored in the Tournament – 9.5 in 14 matches. He did not suffer a single defeat and won five victories.

But the joy of the Russian actor is marred by the fact that Carlsen does not want to play a rematch with him, even after such an impressive performance.

In the final match for the world championship – in Dubai in 2021 – Nepomniachtchi was psychologically deranged, suffering four defeats and playing only 11 of the 14 scheduled matches, losing to Norway ahead of schedule. With a score of 3.5:7.5, this was the biggest defeat in a match for the chess crown since 1993. And Carlsen is in no hurry to give Nepomniachtchi a chance to take revenge.

In December last year, the world champion said that Alireza Firouzja, a young chess star who became only the third chess player in history to enter the Candidates’ Tournament just before the age of 20, could motivate him.

In addition, an Iranian playing for France became the youngest player in chess history to exceed the 2800 point threshold in the International Chess Federation (FIDE) rating. He was then 18 years old.

“If anyone other than Alireza wins the Candidates’ Tournament, then it’s highly unlikely that I will be in the world championship game,” Carlsen said.

– I realized that for most of the year, my game against Nepomniachtchi should be my last. Title defense is no longer as important to me as it used to be. I no longer feel that the positives outweigh the negatives. But the Firouja match could really motivate me. His play helped me stay motivated even for the game against Nepomniachtchi.”

Carlsen’s ease of belittling all other titled grandmasters infuriated some chess fans, and Nepomniachtchi seemed like a huge motivator.

Candidates’ Tournament – In 2022, the Russian confidently defeated Firuja with both white and black pieces, putting an end to the question of who is more worthy to meet the world champion. Firuja generally failed in the tournament, finishing eighth out of ten.

At the end of the competition, Carlsen admitted that he was surprised by Nepomniachtchi’s victory and just laughed in response to a question about the rematch: “We’ll see.”

The last time he refused to defend a world champion title was 47 years ago. Bobby Fischer did this in 1975. The chess crown then went to the no-game Anatoly Karpov.

What does Carlsen want?

The Norwegian arrived in Madrid shortly before the end of the Candidates’ Tournament and began negotiations with the head of FIDE, Arkady Dvorkovich. According to SE, the world champion is demanding that by changing the format of the match for the chess crown, it becomes more dynamic and interesting for spectators and sponsors (and of course Carlsen himself). In this case, it is likely that he will still agree to play with Nepomniachtchi.

Norway offers:

1. Divide the match into three sets (similar to tennis) – each consists of four games in the “classics”.

2. In the event of a tie in the points set, a tie-break consisting of four quick games is made. If there is a tie after that, two more blitz games are played.

3. If the score is even (1-1) after two sets, the third, decisive set is played.

Considering that the sets will most likely end in a draw, the spectators will make at least two tense tie-breaks with speed chess, which will add color to the match.

So far, Dvorkovich has not officially revealed what FIDE thinks about it, but they will most likely have to agree to the champion’s terms.

Without Carlsen’s participation, the world championship game would have lost half or even more of the audience’s interest. In addition, it would be nice for Dvorkovich to enlist the support of the current world champion on the eve of the election of the head of FIDE on August 7.

Why might Nepomniachtchi not be allowed to play on the chess crown?

One of Dvorkovich’s main opponents in the election is Ukrainian grandmaster Andriy Baryshpolets. He is paired with Dane Peter Heine Nielsen, who has been part of Carlsen’s team for many years, which gives him significant weight and offers support from Norway.

Hard times may come for Nepomniachtchi if Dvorkovich loses the election to the Baryshpolts.

The Ukrainian grandmaster is not yet specifically known to the public, but in February of this year he made a loud statement: “I call on FIDE to immediately resign Arkady Dvorkovich; ban all Russian chess players from participating in tournaments and ban all tournaments in Russia.”

If Baryshpolts is appointed as the new FIDE President, Russian chess players could forfeit the right to play in international tournaments even under a neutral flag. This means that Nepomniachtchi will be deprived of his well-deserved participation in the world championship match.