World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has made headlines again! He will compete in the World Blitz Championship after FIDE (the organization that runs chess) changed their dress code to allow “appropriate jeans.” Carlsen had been fined and removed from the Rapid Championship because he refused to change his jeans, which led to some controversy.
American chess player Hans Niemann took a jab at Carlsen in a YouTube video. The two have had a tense history since a tournament in September 2022. During the Sinquefield Cup, Carlsen lost to Niemann and then surprisingly left the tournament, making people think he accused Niemann of cheating. When they played again online, Carlsen quit after just one move, increasing the whispers about cheating. Niemann admitted to cheating in online games in the past but insisted he never cheated against Carlsen or in face-to-face matches. Carlsen later claimed that Niemann had cheated more than he said.
Niemann commented that Carlsen might actually be pleased with being kicked out of the tournament. He said this was a way for Carlsen to challenge FIDE, given that he has a big chess project on the side that raised 12 million dollars. He thinks Carlsen wants to show that FIDE isn’t as powerful as he is, even suggesting that Carlsen might own shares in some chess companies.
According to Niemann, the current drama helps Carlsen discredit FIDE to make his own chess tour look like a real championship. They are all trying to claim the title of “World Champion,” and there’s tension with different groups trying to control that name.
Niemann has faced his own trouble with Chess.com and even tried to sue Carlsen and others, but the suit was dropped, and everyone involved settled. Although he had been banned from Chess.com, he has now been allowed back on the platform, and Carlsen said he would face him if they played each other.
Leave a Reply