There has been a storm around Carlsen in the last couple of weeks. The drama that has unfolded with him and Hans Niemann in the lead roles has been a big topic of conversation both inside and outside the chess community. – There have been a number of scandals in the chess world that have turned a lot of things upside down. Funnily enough, it hasn’t been so much about chess moves, says chess expert Atle Grønn to news. Perhaps it is not so surprising that almost everything the Norwegian does attracts attention in the chess community. The world champion is extremely powerful according to the experts. UNLUCKY: Chess expert Atle Grønn believes the concentration of power to Carlsen is unfortunate. Photo: Fredrik Hagen / NTB – One thing is that he is by far the best player, he is the big draw, but he is also on the owner’s side in the most important tournaments. He really rules the chess world from A to Z. Magnus Carlsen alone is probably as important as the World Chess Federation, says Grønn. – He has an extremely large amount of power. He is the biggest star in chess in the last 15 years, and he is perhaps the best of all time. You can make a large list of examples, it is almost endless, says Chess24 journalist Tarjei Joten Svensen to news. And with great power it has followed both controversy and big headlines. news has tried to list several of the most important since the WC in Dubai in 2021: 10 December: WC victory despite frustration Carlsen won his fourth straight WC title in long chess against Jan Nepomnjashchij, but along the way he expressed his frustration with the setup in long jacket. Because before he won his first game against “Nepo”, there was a long series of games that ended in a draw. Carlsen had played to a draw in 18 straight WC matches. Then he came up with a cryptic jab at the WC format. – There is a saying: If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. I therefore choose to use that saying now, said Carlsen. After the victory was a fact, he was silent about the future. – We’ll see what happens, said the Norwegian chess star at the time. WC MEETING: Magnus Carlsen and Jan Nepomnjashchij met in the Long Chess WC in November. Photo: – / AFP 28 December: Called World Cup rule “idiotic” The Lightning and Rapid World Cup did not turn out as Carlsen hoped. He lost the throne in both exercises in five days, despite finishing in joint first place after the last game of the World Rapid Chess Championship. As one of four players who finished with 9.5 points, he ran afoul of the replay rules. – It’s an idiotic rule. Either everyone on the same score must play a replay, or nobody will, says Carlsen to news. He also had a longer tirade afterwards, where he said it was extremely sad to lose the opportunity for a replay the way it happened. He also believed that it should not be up to the players to speak up about a system that did not work. Carlsen was supported by, among others, Hikaru Nakamura and Sergej Karjakin for the criticism. 20 July: No to new World Cup match In the wake of the World Cup victory, Carlsen had discussions with FIDE about new solutions for the World Cup format. But none of them materialized. This summer, the Norwegian decided to drop another WC match. He was initially supposed to meet Jan Nepomnjashchij, whom he beat in the World Cup in November 2021. But exactly that message was not very surprising. Carlsen had made several hints that he was not going to run as reigning champion in the World Chess Championship. He was the first to voluntarily give up the WC title since the first match in 1886. EXPERT: Tarjei Joten Svensen. Photo: Mads Nyborg Støstad / news – I think we have to distinguish between playing chess in the WC and preparing for the tournament. He has enjoyed playing, but he is less enthusiastic about spending weeks or months preparing for a match against the same opponent, says Svensen. – There were many reactions to this, and many were not as prepared for the message as we were in Norway. No one thought he would actually say no, he says further. September 5: Withdraws from Sinquefield Cup The 31-year-old had never withdrawn from a chess tournament until he withdrew from the traditional Sinquefield tournament in the USA. Thus, it was assumed that there was something special behind his choice. He never said directly what was the reason for his withdrawal from the tournament, but on Twitter he came up with a cryptic message – which many interpreted as a jab at Hans Niemann. He confirmed that he did not want to continue the tournament. After the message, he attached a YouTube clip of football manager José Mourinho saying: “if I speak, I’ll be in huge trouble”. WITHDRAW: The entire chess world was in shock when Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup. Photo: ARUN SANKAR / AFP One of chess’ biggest profiles, Fabiano Caruana, confirmed that there were rumors in the community that the background was cheating allegations. – There are a lot of rumors already, and I guess he hasn’t given the reason yet for why he chose not to play. Some people probably have an idea of what he’s referring to, or what he has a problem with, the American said. Svensen also points out that Niemann has been a much talked about chess player in the past. – I don’t think he would have resigned if he didn’t feel 100 percent sure (of cheating). I think he has received indications of something, and that this was the final straw, he says. September 19: Lost on purpose In the Champion Chess Tour, two weeks after the Sinquefield Cup incident, the rivals were to meet once more. “All” eyes were on the party between the two. But then Carlsen gave up the rapid chess game after only one move against Niemann. Carlsen just suddenly disappeared from the screen, the experts gaped, and thus the competitor was awarded the victory. – This one move from Magnus, which was followed by an abandonment, ruined my evening so to speak, says Grønn. – It is very dramatic. It broke loose in St. Louis when our man retired. Everyone thinks it is because he suspects, or is perhaps certain, that Hans Niemann cheated. And now he follows up by really throwing wood on the fire when he chooses to line up against Niemann in this Champions Chess Tour, plays one move and then gives up, and the chess world is boiling, says news’s chess expert Torstein Bae. WIN: When Carlsen disappeared, it meant victory for American Hans Niemann. Photo: news Svensen in Chess24 also understands that Carlsen’s latest move creates reactions. – It’s basically not acceptable – you shouldn’t do that, and it’s unsporting. At the same time, from his point of view, he is confident in his case that he has cheated and has lied about the number of times he has cheated. He therefore does not want to play against people who cheat, explains Svensen. Grønn believes that an important result of this case is that Carlsen has put an important topic on the agenda. – He is now putting cheating on the agenda. I think that is actually very important and commendable. So there are many sides to this case which make it complex. I cannot have a clear view on that matter, I see that it has many sides, he says.
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The Magnus Carlsen controversies that stunned the chess world – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
