Chess federation feels Magnus Carlsen's 'match-fixing video' was a 'joke': 'Regulations were not perfect'

While world No.1 chess player Magnus Carlsen has recently been facing multiple controversies including match-fixing allegations and being thrown out of FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2024 for wearing jeans, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) has defended its star player, downplaying the accusations against the Norwegian Grandmaster.

Carlsen was first thrown out of the tournament in New York last month after wearing jeans during the rapid matches. However, the rules were quickly modified and the 34-year-old was soon back for the blitz part . He eventually clinched the title but wasn’t the sole winner as the trophy was shared between him and Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi.

This was the first time in chess history that a world title was being shared among two players.

Carlsen accused of match-fixing

However, controversy soon erupted as a video of Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi seemingly pre-arranging a draw went viral. In the blitz final, Carlsen won the first two matches before Nepomniachtchi made a comeback to make it 2-2. In the sudden death, both players registered three draws before sharing the title.

It has been reported that FIDE was initially unwilling to accept a draw for the title but later agreed to the arrangement.

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In the video that went viral earlier this month, Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi were heard talking about playing quick draws before FIDE agreed to share the title. This led to a massive controversy as multiple chess GMs and players accused Carlsen of misusing his influence and indulging in match-fixing.

Carlsen defended himself by stating on X that he has never pre-arranged a draw in his life and his conversation with Nepomniachtchi was a joke .

Now FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich has come out in Carlsen’s defense and said that the only reason the federation allowed the two players to share the world title was that it appeared to be the best solution as the motivation among the GMs to continue with sudden death on the eve of the new year was very low.

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FIDE defends match-fixing allegations against Carlsen

“Actually, I didn’t see this video when taking the decision. I just thought that there was no motivation at that point. Also, it was just a few hours before the New Year. Come on, we are on all in festive mode already! OK, it is sport and we all want them to fight to the very end, but the motivation was already down, and it was really difficult to push and play hard. So at that point I didn’t see any other solution and people who were in communication with me did not suggest any other option. So there was no discussion about that basically, and everyone was more or less okay with it,” Dvorkovich told ChessBase India.

Dvorkovich added that the loophole in the regulations which forced the players to continue sudden death matches unless a winner was found was also not perfect and he felt the conversation from the viral video was just a joke.

“As for sharing the blitz title, I think it is a lesson in terms of regulations. The regulations were not perfect. Basically, we created the risk that it can last forever, which is not good. After two games nobody would expect that it could end up like that, but Ian was back in the game, leveled the score and it happened,” he said.

“So regulations were not perfect, it is clear. My argument basically was that players did not have real motivation. It was evident even without any videos that I saw only next morning about their joking suggestions. I really think it was kind of a joke since they knew they were being recorded, in the camera just in front of them."

Carlsen is not new to controversies. The five-time world champion is known for his frank views. He had also criticised the classical chess format after India’s D Gukesh became the youngest world chess champion by beating China’s Ding Liren in a 14 classical game series.