Checkmate: Carlsen rejects World Championship match with Nepomniachtchi

The reigning world champion in classical chess, Magnus Carlsen, has decided to withdraw from the chess crown match with Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi. This was reported by the chess portal.

“I have informed my team FIDE and Jan that I will not play a world championship game in classical chess. I have no motivation to play another match for the chess crown,” Carlsen said.

The Norwegian has held the chess crown since 2013. In November of that year Carlsen confidently engaged the then world champion Viswanathan Anand (6.5 : 3.5). A year later, in Sochi, Magnus did not let the Indians take revenge and won a second victory – (6.5: 4.5).

In 2016, Carlsen played a world title match with Sergey Karjakin. For the first (and last) time Magnus lost a game during a chess crown match. In the seventh match of the final, the Russian managed to succeed and gain an advantage over the Norwegian, but Carlsen was able to bounce back quickly and then defend the World Championship title by beating Karjakin in a tie-break.

Two years later, in London, Carlsen met the American Fabiano Caruana. All 12 classic games ended in draws and the Norwegian was stronger in the tie-break.

In December last year, Magnus played his fifth match for the chess crown – his opponent was Ian Nepomniachtchi. The Russian grandmaster could not cope with his nerves and lost ahead of schedule – (3.5: 7.5).

Before the start of the Candidates’ Tournament in Madrid, Carlsen announced that he would not play for the world title again unless Alireza Firouzja, a French Iranian chess player, won. The Norwegian was the 19-year-old grandmaster, whose successor he saw on the chess throne, but completely failed in the tournament and as a result took last place.

As a result, Ian Nepomniachtchi scored an early victory, scoring 9.5 points and becoming the first chess player in history to win this competition twice in a row.

Chinese grandmaster Ding Liren will replace Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Crown Match. The athlete took second place in the 2022 Candidates’ Tournament, defeating American Hikaru Nakamura in the final round.

Sergey Karyakin, who participated in the 2016 world championship match, said in an interview with socialbites.ca that he was disappointed with the Norwegian grandmaster’s decision.

“I thought Carlsen would play. As a fan and as a professional I was hoping for that. It’s always interesting to watch his games. It would be accurate and logical. Traditionally, the world champion always defends his title in one match.

In the entire history of chess, I remember one such instance when Fischer retired from chess. But then the American career ended, and Carlsen did not quit the sport.

It turns out that one person will become the world champion, and another will become the strongest in the world. I say this without belittling the dignity of others. This is bad for the chess world, chaos begins,” Karyakin said in an interview with a socialbites.ca correspondent.

Vladimir Potkin, the coach of Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi, did not expect such a move from the reigning world champion.

“This is shocking news for me. Carlsen is world champion, rating leader. They were going to have a real, big game with Nepomniachtchi. Although there were preconditions for his refusal. He spoke of his desire right after the match in Dubai,” said Potkin.

Sergey Smagin, vice-president of the Moscow Chess Federation, believes that Carlsen will change his mind and sit at the game table with Nepomniachtchi.

“It’s hard to say what Carlsen might not like. He already seems like a mature person, but such expressions seem childish – “I’m sick of it.” This is a world champion, a person many should emulate.

And the most annoying thing for the chess community is that in recent years the selection system for the World Championship has been restored with great difficulty and now they take it and break everything…

And this is done by a person who is least expected. It seems to me that this is clearly not a positive moment for Carlsen and the entire chess community. “My view is that his position is temporary and that the match between Jan and Carlsen will take place under other circumstances.”

The expert said that the financial factor may affect the Norwegian’s decision.

“We can hope that it is his starting position that should not be overstated at the moment. First there will be elections for the head of FIDE, there will be a president and negotiations will begin. Of course, there is a slight resemblance to 1975 when Bobby Fischer stopped playing.

But I think Magnus will change his position if the prize pool is two or three times bigger than the previous match. There is a lot to wait for, and above all the results of the FIDE presidential election,” the grandmaster concluded.