Magnus Carlsen, the 5-time World Chess Champion, today ended months of speculation by announcing via his sponsors Unibet that he will not defend his title. The 31-year-old Norwegian is not retiring and vows “to be the best in the world, and not care about the World Championship!” That means Chinese world no. 2 Ding Liren’s last-round Candidates Tournament win against Hikaru Nakamura has earned him a lucrative match against Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Carlsen’s World Championship doubts
Magnus Carlsen, who has spent over a decade unbroken as chess world no. 1, has long had a love/hate relationship with the World Chess Championship. In The Magnus Carlsen Story, released in early 2021, he commented, “I will most probably play in 2021, and if I were to win, I’ve no idea whether I would play the next one”.
He did play in 2021, but almost immediately after winning his 5th title against Ian Nepomniachtchi in Dubai, he gave a podcast interview to his friend Magnus Barstad where he commented, “if someone other than Firouzja wins the Candidates Tournament it’s unlikely I will play the next World Championship match”.
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