Chess world champion Magnus Carlsen announced he would not attempt to keep his world title, despite entreaties from many fans. Soon, in 2023, chess would need a new world champion.
Carlsen said he only ever had goals to win one world title. He was not delighted to play in the 2016 world championship match, his third world title, and mostly did so because of others’ expectations. The fourth and fifth titles didn’t mean anything to him, Carlsen said.
“His decision not to defend the title is undoubtedly a disappointment for the fans and bad news for the spectacle,” Arkady Dvorkovich, the president of the International Chess Federation said in a statement released.
It isn’t the first time a chess player at the level of Carlson has quit suddenly. World champion Bobby Fischer received major attention when he won his world title in a 1972 match that was played in the backdrop of the Cold War. Three years later, he declined to defend the title. At the time, Fischer was in long-lasted arguments with the International Chess Federation, but when they could not come to an agreement, he chose to quit rather than play despite complaints from many people, including politicians, and the offer of millions of dollars for doing so.
There is a high probability that Carlsen’s successor will be seen as an illegitimate – or at least severely diminished – champion for replacing him. In chess, the loss of Magnus Carlsen will be heartbreaking for fans.
Link:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658698516996x339393337941322750/Magnus Carlsen Is Giving Up His World Title. Replacing Him Won%E2%80%99t Be Easy. – The New York Times.pdf
Carlsen said he only ever had goals to win one world title. He was not delighted to play in the 2016 world championship match, his third world title, and mostly did so because of others’ expectations. The fourth and fifth titles didn’t mean anything to him, Carlsen said.
“His decision not to defend the title is undoubtedly a disappointment for the fans and bad news for the spectacle,” Arkady Dvorkovich, the president of the International Chess Federation said in a statement released.
It isn’t the first time a chess player at the level of Carlson has quit suddenly. World champion Bobby Fischer received major attention when he won his world title in a 1972 match that was played in the backdrop of the Cold War. Three years later, he declined to defend the title. At the time, Fischer was in long-lasted arguments with the International Chess Federation, but when they could not come to an agreement, he chose to quit rather than play despite complaints from many people, including politicians, and the offer of millions of dollars for doing so.
There is a high probability that Carlsen’s successor will be seen as an illegitimate – or at least severely diminished – champion for replacing him. In chess, the loss of Magnus Carlsen will be heartbreaking for fans.
Link:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658698516996x339393337941322750/Magnus Carlsen Is Giving Up His World Title. Replacing Him Won%E2%80%99t Be Easy. – The New York Times.pdf
