Magnus Carlsen: Demotivated to Chess?

Magnus Carlsen is a living myth in the world of chess. There have been so many reels of discussions, analysis, paragraphs and articles on his mindset, skill and strategy. But lately there have been some gossips whispering through the air that “Magnus Carlsen is losing interest in chess!” What! Is it happening really? Here’s our effort to make the air thinner.

A Short Intro to the Living Legend:

Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen, the living legend of chess is a five-time World Chess Champion and a Norwegian chess grandmaster. Carlsen has been the world’s top chess player since July 1, 2011, and is second only to Garry Kasparov in terms of time spent as the best player in the world. He is known for his knowledge of numerous masters’ games, his ability to keep attention, maintain focus and concentration for long periods of time, and his fierce drive to win. His ability to hone his skills is aided by the fact that he began at a young age and has competed in elite competition for numerous years.

What’s Happening?!

14 DECEMBER (Reuters) - Magnus Carlsen of Norway declared on Tuesday that he was no longer inspired to defend his global chess championship title, but that he still wanted to play the game. Carlsen was reported in a podcast by The Guardian as saying, “It’s been clear to me for most of the year that this world championship should be the last " “It doesn’t mean nearly as much as it used to.”

The fans on social media were also moved by these quotes made by Carlsen himself:

“Those who expect me to play in the world championship next time are likely to be disappointed.”

“It is critical that I state that I wish to play chess. I’ll keep playing chess since it’s a lot of fun for me. The world championship, on the other hand, has not been as enjoyable.”

The world champion, Magnus Carlsen, has been struggling in the $1.5 million online Meltwater Champions Tour, which is sponsored by his own firm Play Magnus Group. Carlsen, 30, who won the 2020 Tour, has been knocked out four times so far this year. There are ten qualifying events going up to a final in the fall.

Wesley So (twice) of the United States and Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan won the first three Tour events, while Carlsen will only battle for third place on Saturday and Sunday in the fourth tournament. The Magnus Carlsen Invitational is the name of the event, which further adds to the world champion’s humiliation

What’s in the air?

Since Magnus Carlsen’s bad patch of time started, critics and fans both started to be restless gradually. There have been serious expressions of perceptions regarding Carlsen. Many people ask, “If he is really a world champion, why is he in such a state now!”

Well! The summary from most of the Carlsen fans is, “Because those other events aren’t the World Chess Championship, which is the only one that chooses the world champion.

Because being a world champion is entirely possible without being the world’s best player. In 1999, Alexander Khalifman was ranked 44th in the world. Rustam Kasimdzhanov (2004–05) ranked 54.

From 1993 through 2006, FIDE lacked several of the world’s greatest players. In 2006–07, Kramnik was maybe the lowest-ranked undisputed world champion.

Carlsen reached the top of the (live, unofficial) Elo ratings after he won round 4 of the 2008 Bilbao Masters. Having demolished one of the strongest fields ever created in 2009 (only Caruana’s +7 and Karpov’s +9 — you know what I mean), the FIDE official rankings initially ranked him as No. 1 in Jan 2010, at the age of 19 (and 32 days).

Despite this, he didn’t dethrone Vishy Anand until he was 22. That’s how things work. Carlsen had to address social media in a new way after all these years of success.”

Recently, there have been many talks on the internet about Magnus Carlsen losing his interest in the game. Some people conclude hopelessly as Magnus said, “For those who expect me to play the World Championship next time, the chance that they will be disappointed is very great."

Many people think that the world’s going to witness the end of the career of a Chess legend! There are rumors, there are different thoughts. Yes, there are different debates! But, when you are talking about someone like Magnus Carlsen, it would be too early to say that Magnus is set to say his “Goodbye!”

Optimistic Talks:

Chess lovers’ hope to see Magnus Carlsen conquering everything ahead isn’t over yet. There are still many things left to be hopeful about. The interesting part is that Carlsen appears to have a lot more in store for him. Carlsen’s 125-game undefeated streak (during which he scored 42 wins and 83 draws) came to an end in October 2020, breaking yet another world record. Carlsen has the potential to build something absolutely legendary if he continues to perform as he has. He is well ahead of the competition in an era of chess that is fiercer than ever.

However:

The rickety system that decides world chess glory worked: Magnus Carlsen, 31, of Norway, has held the title of world chess champion since 2013. Magnus Carlsen was just elected World Champion for the fifth time, but it’s possible that this was his final chess title. Carlsen is the highest-rated chess player and the most feared by his opponents. He is often regarded as the finest player in the world. Carlsen, on the other hand, has stated that the World Championship has not been enjoyable for him, and there is a risk that the 5-time World Champion would not play in the event again. But, hold on! Still there are some hopes left as the Norwegian legend said, “If someone other than Firouzja wins the Candidates Tournament it’s unlikely I will play the next World Championship match."

Even if Firouzja can’t make it through, it’s likely that Carlsen won’t give up playing as he said, “It is important for me to say that I do intend to play chess. I will continue to play chess; it gives me a lot of joy.” And lastly, to make it very clear and loud- “Losing interest in championship never means losing interest in chess”!