Magnus Carlsen

Carlsen, a 31-year-old Norwegian native, was expected to have a rematch next year with Ian Nepomniachtchi, the Russian who he defeated in the 2021 world ...

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Norwegian 'not motivated to play another match' after more than a decade at the top.

Lack of competition and the monotony of focusing on challenger are the reasons the world champion wasn't keen on defending title.

Or maybe he wants to learn a new sport, or perhaps he wants to go through the Candidates rigour again, or start a parallel chess universe. Moreover, the efforts in the build-up to the final seemed to outweigh the joy of playing the final and defending the crown. Two years before he became the World Champion, he dropped out of the Candidates because he felt the system was flawed. An indirect recurrence awaits—while one of Nepomniachtchi or Ding Liren would become the new world champion, Carlsen would continue to be the world’s best player by all yardsticks. Three years before that, he had almost pulled out of the final against Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, because the prize purse, he felt, was meagre but for the last-minute intervention of an American millionaire. Carlsen is not the archetypal chess nerd, who is wedded to the board, either. This was a sense of inevitability about it, the moment it emerged that he would have to defend his crown against the same man who he had defeated to win the fifth title last year in Dubai, Ian Nepomniachtchi. Soon after the final—the winning score of 7.5-3.5 with three games to spare was the most one-sided result in a world championship final in a century—Carlsen admitted to being tedious. The Norwegian, according to rumours, wanted a best-of-three-sets-of-four classical games each, where rapid and blitz would follow at 2-2. “It’s been clear to me for most of the year that this world championship should be the last. The prospect of duelling a young challenger excited him, but his ouster not just reduced but minimised his prospects of title defence. There was little shock in the chess world when Magnus Carlsen announced that he no longer intends to defend his world championship crown, firmly perched on his head since he snatched it from Viswanathan Anand in 2013. As is his nature, he plainly admitted as much in the decision-announcing podcast with friend Magnus Barstad. “I am not motivated to play another match.

Earlier today, the World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen confirmed in a public statement his intentions to not defend his title in 2023.

But chess is now stronger than ever —in part, thanks to Magnus— and the World Championship Match, one of the longest and most respected traditions in the world of sports, will go on. He is still young and could possibly have added more classical titles to his already outstanding career, as he will surely try in the Rapid and Blitz modalities, which he favours. Alas, it did not change his mind.

The 32-year-old from Norway, who has spent over a decade as the undisputed world no. 1, however, clarified that he is not retiring from the game.

More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. 1, however, clarified that he is not retiring from the game. "Just so there's no ambiguity here, I'm not retiring from chess, I'm still going to be an active player. 1, however, clarified that he is not retiring from the game. "I am not motivated to play another match.

Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen is the highest-ranked chess player in the world, but says he's no longer motivated to compete.

It leaves a big void. "His decision not to defend his title is undoubtedly a disappointment for the fans, and bad news for the spectacle. The Norwegian grandmaster stressed he wasn't retiring from the sport and would remain an active player, but said he doesn't "have a lot to gain" and wasn't motivated to play another match.

The decision by the world's best player to surrender his title means the game will have a new champion. But taking the crown is not the same as beating the ...

Carlsen is also far and away the top-ranked player in the world, a ranking he will not lose by not defending his title. The problem arose when Garry Kasparov, who had beaten Karpov in 1985 to become champion and then successfully defended his title against Karpov three times, was slated to play a match against Nigel Short of England, who had won the candidates matches. But, over the next decade, he showed that he was a worthy successor by dominating the competition. At the time, Fischer was in protracted negotiations with the federation, but when they could not come to an agreement, he chose to quit rather than play — despite entreaties from many people, including politicians, and the offer of millions of dollars for the prize fund. The decision by the world’s best player to surrender his title means the game will have a new champion. And for chess, that could be the hard part.

Magnus Carlsen says he will not defend his world championship title next year against Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi because he has no motivation to play the ...

Alas, it did not change his mind," FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich said in the statement It leaves a big void. "I feel I don't have a lot to gain, I don't particularly like [the championship matches], and although I'm sure a match would be interesting for historical reasons and all of that, I don't have any inclination to play and I will simply not play the match," he said on his sponsor's podcast.