KShortly after successfully defending his title in Dubai, world chess champion Magnus Carlsen indicated that he might have played his last World Cup duel in classic chess. “For those who expect me to play the World Cup next time, the chances of disappointment are pretty good,” said the Norwegian in an interview his friend Magnus Barstad conducted for a bookmaker.
There could well be another title fight, but only if 18-year-old Alireza Firouzja becomes his opponent, said Carlsen. However, the 31-year-old emphasized that he did not want to quit chess. He continues to enjoy the game a lot. The Norwegian newspaper “Verdens Gang” has already spoken of the fact that Carlsen will probably give up his title in classical chess.
Carlsen had successfully defended his world title on Friday. In what ended up being a rather one-sided World Cup duel, he defended his title against his Russian challenger Jan Nepomnjaschtschi. The next title fight is actually planned for spring 2023. Carlsen’s upcoming challenger is set to be determined in late summer or autumn 2022, and Firouzja is one of the candidates. If someone else wins the candidates tournament, it is unlikely that he will play the next game in a world championship, Carlsen said in the interview.
Carlsen set the standard in chess. Anyone who thinks he’s a cool, disciplined rationalist is wrong. The world champion is so good at chess because he manages to enjoy the royal game as well as training and preparation. The world champion keeps memorizing moves much shorter than his rivals. In positions that others are bored of, he often finds details that put him on the winning road.
Carlsen will look closely
In Dubai at the World Cup, the Norwegian achieved his fourth win over Nepomnyashchi in the eleventh game, so Carlsen, who turned 31 during the World Cup duel, made everything clear early on in the 14-game World Cup. With 7.5: 3.5 he successfully defended his title for the fourth time.
He succeeded more often than his opponent in bringing prepared moves onto the board. With a clear advantage from the opening, he only came in the second game and missed his chance by overlooking it. At least as important as his preparation for the opening was his mental strength. Before the match, Carlsen had said of his opponent: “It will be his biggest challenge, how he copes with setbacks.”
At first, Nepomnyashchi played on an equal footing. After the draw in the fifth game, he expressed displeasure for the first time because he had not made more of an advantageous position. In the sixth game he made the defense difficult by making some incomprehensible decisions. Although there was a draw shortly before the end, the Russian had to admit defeat after almost eight hours of play and 136 moves. It was the longest game in terms of moves in the history of the World Chess Championship, which dates back to 1886.
After this grueling game, the challenger failed to put pressure on White the following day. In the eighth and ninth game, he made serious mistakes that are otherwise not to be seen at the highest level. Nepomnyashchi admitted and apologized that his game was not worthy of a grandmaster. Carlsen, on the other hand, stayed focused, thanks in part to his physical fitness. He prefers to play football and basketball, which was also on the program for him on the days when there were no games in Dubai. To clear his head after games, he likes to watch Premier League, La Liga or NBA games.
His upcoming title defense is also good news for the Play Magnus group of companies, which has expanded rapidly since the beginning of the pandemic and went public on the Oslo Stock Exchange. His share package is currently worth the equivalent of eight million euros. For Carlsen it was already the fifth victory in a world championship fight – and his best-paid: he received 1.2 million euros in prize money as a champion, for Nepomnyashchi it was 800,000 euros.
Six participants in the next World Cup candidates tournament, including Nepomnjaschtschi and Fioruzja, who at the age of 18 is already second in the world rankings, have already been determined. Two World Cup candidates will still be determined at the Grand Grix from February 3 to April 4, 2022. Two of the three Grand Prix tournaments will take place in Berlin on February 3rd to 17th and March 21st to April 4th. One thing is certain beforehand: Carlsen will look closely to see who prevails. According to his own statement, his future also depends on it.
.