Magnus Carlsen Won’t Defend His World Chess Championship Title This Year

Swedish chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, who is in his fifth year as the World Chess Champion, has just announced that he won’t be defending his title against Russian player Ian Nepomniachtchi because “I don’t have any inclinations to play.” Nepomniachtchi will now play Ding Liren for the title of Champion.

Carlsen spoke on his podcast The Magnus Effect where he frankly shared “I’m not motivated to play another match.” He also noted that he doesn’t much like the championship matches, stating “although I’m sure a match would be interesting for historical reasons, I don’t have any inclinations to play and I simply will not play the match.”

The player added to his co-host, who was also coincidentally named Magnus, that the leadership of FIDE, or the International Chess Federation, met with him in Madrid. “They did have a couple of suggestions, but the gist of it was that I was there to tell them that I would not defend my title in the next world championship match,” he said.

He has reportedly been considering this decision for “a year and a half, almost, since long before the last match.” He said the title of World Champion “has obviously given me a lot. It’s opened a lot of doors, and I’m happy about that. But the matches themselves have been at times interesting, at times a little bit of fun,” adding that his favorite victory came in 2018.

Carlsen seems ready to move on from the World Championship scene. He said there’s always a chance he could return, but “I wouldn’t particularly count on it.” This Magnus Effect episode was actually the pilot of his new podcast, so Carlsen already has other endeavors in motion. He also clarified that he hasn’t retired from chess altogether, just from this specific match circuit.