Magnus Carlsen has announced that he will not be defending his title as the reigning world chess champion next year. This means that there will have to be a new world champion crowned.
“His decision not to defend the title is undoubtedly a disappointment for the fans and bad news for the spectacle,” said Arkady Dvorkovich, president of the International Chess Federation “It leaves a big void.”
Magnus Carlsen was born on November 30, 1990, in Norway. His father taught him how to play chess when he was only five years old. He won second in the boys’ under-12 division at the 2002 Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) World Youth Chess Championship, and in January 2004, he won his first tournament with a 29-move checkmate. It showed that he was a great player with lots of potential, and he was even nicknamed “the Mozart of Chess” afterward.
In 2013, when Carlsen was 22, he competed in the candidates’ tournament. While he lost the final match to Russian player Peter Svidler, since he had won so many times earlier in the tournament, he had enough points to be able to insure his spot against Viswanathan Anand, the world champion at the time, in the world championship match.
In November 2013, he beat Anand and replaced him as the world chess champion. Since then, he has defended his title, up until his recent resignation.
“The conclusion is very simple that I am not motivated to play another match,” Carlsen stated “I simply feel that I don’t have a lot to gain, I don’t particularly like it, and although I’m sure a match would be interesting for historical reasons and all of that, I don’t have any inclinations to play and I will simply not play the match.”
The deciding championship match next year will be played with Ian Nepomniachtchi from Russia and Ding Liren from China, the winner and runner-up respectively from the candidates’ tournament earlier this month.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Magnus-Carlsen
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/sports/magnus-carlsen-chess-world-title.html
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/20/1112479750/magnus-carlsen-world-chess-championship-fide
“His decision not to defend the title is undoubtedly a disappointment for the fans and bad news for the spectacle,” said Arkady Dvorkovich, president of the International Chess Federation “It leaves a big void.”
Magnus Carlsen was born on November 30, 1990, in Norway. His father taught him how to play chess when he was only five years old. He won second in the boys’ under-12 division at the 2002 Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) World Youth Chess Championship, and in January 2004, he won his first tournament with a 29-move checkmate. It showed that he was a great player with lots of potential, and he was even nicknamed “the Mozart of Chess” afterward.
In 2013, when Carlsen was 22, he competed in the candidates’ tournament. While he lost the final match to Russian player Peter Svidler, since he had won so many times earlier in the tournament, he had enough points to be able to insure his spot against Viswanathan Anand, the world champion at the time, in the world championship match.
In November 2013, he beat Anand and replaced him as the world chess champion. Since then, he has defended his title, up until his recent resignation.
“The conclusion is very simple that I am not motivated to play another match,” Carlsen stated “I simply feel that I don’t have a lot to gain, I don’t particularly like it, and although I’m sure a match would be interesting for historical reasons and all of that, I don’t have any inclinations to play and I will simply not play the match.”
The deciding championship match next year will be played with Ian Nepomniachtchi from Russia and Ding Liren from China, the winner and runner-up respectively from the candidates’ tournament earlier this month.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Magnus-Carlsen
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/sports/magnus-carlsen-chess-world-title.html
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/20/1112479750/magnus-carlsen-world-chess-championship-fide
