 "Magnus Carlsen obliges a selfie request from a young fan at the Norway Chess tournament in Stavanger, Norway. Image credit: Michal Walusza/Norway Chess")
Magnus Carlsen made it amply clear that he still is the best player in the world across formats by successfully defending his Norway Chess title on Friday , winning the elite tournament for a record-extending seventh time despite a campaign that was far from perfect.
Carlsen clinched the title on the final day of the elite competition in spite of being held to a draw by Arjun Erigaisi and losing the subsequent Armageddon playoff.
Classical world champion D Gukesh, who was half-a-point behind the Norwegian ahead of the 10th and final round, lost to Fabiano Caurana to finish third, with the American Grandmaster leapfrogging him to the second spot.
Also Read | ‘Gukesh won’t be favourite in World Championship match if…’: Carlsen makes strong prediction
The final result of the two-week tournament in Stavanger, Norway also gave a fair idea that the old guard is here to stay, with 34-year-old Carlsen and 32-year-old Caruana finishing in the top-two spots and 37-year-old Hikaru Nakamura finishing fourth after collecting a solitary point against Chinese GM Wei Yi in the final round.
‘I might be back here next year’
Carlsen, for one, feels Gukesh, Arjun and the rest of the young brigade, talented as they are, aren’t quite ready to take over the chess world just yet, and that he can still “outplay the kids”.
And despite being highly critical of the Classical format in recent months and suggesting earlier in the tournament that his days in the format might be numbered, Carlsen hinted at returning to Norway Chess next year.
“I don’t think I will be playing a lot (of Classical chess), but I am also not guaranteeing that I’m never playing a classical tournament again. I might be back here next year. I cannot be sure,” Carlsen said on the live broadcast after being crowned champion on Friday.
“At the very least it’s nice to see I can still play. And it’s nice to see that at least in parts of the game I can still be quite a lot better than the guys who are trying to take over," he added.
“I generally feel that I can outplay the kids (like Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi) which feels good. It’s good to see that at least in parts of the game I am a lot better than kids who are trying to take over,” Carlsen said in a separate interview with Chess24.
Carlsen has been the world No 1 in chess since 2011, having won the World Championship five times starting with a victory over Indian legend Viswanathan Anand in 2013, before voluntarily deciding against defending his title in 2022 citing lack of interest in the format.
He has been heavily involved with Freestyle Chess, a.k.a. Chess960, in recent months, having co-founded the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour and the Freestyle Chess Players Club with German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner.
Latest latest triumph at Norway Chess, however, indicates that he isn’t done with Classical format just yet.