There is a bit of Fischer in this Carlsen.
At the height of his glory, as the American had done before him in 1975 when he gave up his title to Karpov, the Norwegian super-grandmaster, who has dominated the planet for almost ten years, has just announced that he will give up defending his world champion crown against Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi at the end of 2022. “
I'm not motivated to play another match.
I just think I don't have much to gain.
I don't particularly like it
,” Magnus Carlsen said on the first episode of his
The Magnus Effect
podcast .
In recent months, the Scandinavian champion had hinted several times that, tired of a title he has held for almost 10 years, he could give up his throne without a fight.
He had raised the possibility last December, shortly after being crowned world chess champion by beating Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi 7.5-3.5 in his fifth consecutive title match.
"
While I'm sure a game would be interesting for historical and other reasons, I have no desire to play and just won't play the game
," Carlsen said in the podcast posted on Wednesday (July 20).
Read alsoChess: Will Carlsen agree to play again against "Nepo", the brilliant Russian challenger?
A victorious sixth match for the title would have allowed Carlsen to equal the German Emanuel Lasker, champion from 1894 to 1921, and the Soviet Mikhaïl Moïseïevich Botvinnik.
Indeed, The Soviet Chess Patriarch will have held the title between 1948 and 1963, although during that time he twice lost the title at the expense of Tal and Smyslov.
“
Overall, I feel like it's time for me to quit the world championship matches.
I don't rule out a return in the future, but I won't particularly count on it
,” added Carlsen, adding that he does not plan to end his career.
“
So that there is no ambiguity here, I am not retiring from chess, I will always be an active player
insisted the Thor of chess who is only 31 years old.
A bad move for chess?
The withdrawal of Carslen should benefit the dolphin of the Candidates tournament, the Chinese Ding Liren, probable future opponent of Ian Nepomniachtchi for the world crown.
The president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Arkady Dvorkovich did not hide his regrets over Carlsen's decision, which he described in a statement on Wednesday as "
bad news for the media coverage of chess
" while displaying his "
respect
for the Norwegian.
"
Since Magnus publicly expressed his doubts, FIDE has been open to dialogue and consideration of specific proposals to change the format of the World Championship
," Dvorkovich explained.
“
Some of these ideas were discussed in May with Carlsen and other top players, and in Madrid we had a meeting where all the concerns were discussed openly and in detail.
Alas, that did not change his mind
,” regretted the head of the international body.
“
But chess is now stronger than ever – thanks in part to Magnus – and the world championship (title) match, one of the oldest and most respected traditions in the world of sport, will continue
,” concluded the FIDE President.
