– I thought about it a bit. I hope there won’t be as much nonsense now, replies Carlsen when news’s reporter asks about “what he thinks about his Messi moment?”, while he was on his way away from a stage in the arena “Baluan Sholak sports palace” in Almaty. It was during the WC blitz and rapid chess opening ceremony that Carlsen was dressed in the garment “chapan”, which is widely used in Kazakhstan. On the stage in the host city of Almaty, several of the world’s biggest chess profiles – including Hikaru Nakamura – lined up to be part of the draw before the championship. One by one they were assigned their own garment – which apparently had a connection to the host country. DRESS UP: Here, Carlsen receives the “chapan” on stage in Almaty. Photo: Tom Arne Søyland / news Drawing Messi parallels To great cheers from the audience, Carlsen was dressed as the system’s “chapan”, which consists of a kind of coat and a hat. The boy from Bærum grinned widely as the headband was pulled over his head. – I thought it was just fun, he says to news about an hour after the ceremony. Several people present in the arena, including Carlsen himself later, drew hints of parallels to when Lionel Messi was awarded a similar garment, which may resemble a coat or cape, during the football World Cup. It was just before Messi and Argentina were to lift the World Cup trophy that the Qatari emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani dressed Argentina’s captain in a traditional “bisht” during the ceremony at the stadium in Lusail. Several were strongly critical of Messi having to wear a cape over his uniform when he lifted the World Cup trophy, and believed that Qatar’s head of state stole what was supposed to be Messi’s show. – I think it ruins the moment, quite clearly, said news expert Carl-Erik Torp at the time. IN PLACE: Carlsen is in place in Almaty together with a large part of the world elite in chess. The WC in blitz and rapid chess starts on Monday. – Thought about it Despite the storm that came after the Messi incident, Carlsen doesn’t seem to mind the comparison so much. Shortly after the opening ceremony, he posted a picture on Twitter with the text “Magnus and Messi”. – I thought about it when I got the coat, the Norwegian explains to news. According to a local worker news spoke to at the arena, “chapan” is often awarded to a person they consider high-ranking and distinguished. The outfit should be common in central Asia, in countries such as Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kazakhstan. – Did you know about the garment allocation from before? – No no. I just knew we were going to pull. I didn’t know anything more than that, replies the chess set. However, it seems unlikely that Carlsen will play with the outfit during the championship which starts on Wednesday. The Norwegian has his ambitions clear before the whole thing gets started. – Who is the biggest favourite? – The day I stop answering myself, I might as well just hang up. It is an open tournament and many can win. But I don’t think anyone has a better chance than me to win if I’m at a good level, the 32-year-old replies. news is showing this year’s world championship in rapid and blitz chess, which takes place in the Kazakh city of Almaty. It is played between 25 and 30 December.
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– Hope there won’t be as much nonsense now – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
