First the jeans and now an arbitrary draw: defending champion Magnus Carlsen has once again made headlines at the World Blitz Chess Championship.
After the scandal surrounding defending champion Magnus Carlsen’s jeans, the World Blitz Chess Championship in New York ended in an unusual way. At the suggestion of the Norwegian in the final, he now shares the title with Jan Nepomnjaschtschi from Russia. At 3.5 to 3.5, both players won twice each, three games ended in a draw. There was no further play after that.
“The chess world is officially a joke,” wrote Carlsen’s intimate enemy Hans Niemann from the USA at X.
“They’re both tired and nervous”
“We’re both tired and nervous. Some people will like it, others won’t. That’s just how it is,” 34-year-old Carlsen commented on the unusual outcome. In the duel against Nepomnjaschtschi, who was the same age, he initially presented and won the first two games before Nepomnjaschtschi also won twice in a row. The following games did not find a winner.
Niemann, who had lost to Carlsen in the quarterfinals, reacted indignantly. “I can’t believe that the Official Chess Federation is controlled by a single player, for the second time in a week. There can only be one world champion”wrote the 21-year-old.
Carlsen competes in jeans again
Carlsen, who had clearly defeated Nepomnyashchi at the conventional 2021 World Chess Championship, also competed in jeans on the final day. There had previously been a dispute with the world association Fide over the dress code. Ultimately, the association decided that the official dress code should continue to be adhered to, “but elegant, small deviations (which may include jeans that match the jacket) are permitted.”
On the way to the final, Carlsen won the explosive duel against the American Hans Niemann in the quarterfinals. Before the game, Carlsen said about Niemann that the 21-year-old was of course not his favorite opponent.
Won an explosive duel against Niemann
Carlsen had made allegations of fraud two years ago, and the subsequent legal dispute with Niemann was only ended a year later. After Carlsen’s victory on New Year’s Eve, the two opponents briefly shook hands, and the world number one quickly looked away.