Stunning defeat against Gukesh makes Carlsen question future in Classical chess: 'Will have to make some decisions'

Magnus Carlsen made headlines on Sunday, albeit for the wrong reasons, with the world’s top-ranked player reacting angrily after losing to reigning world champion D Gukesh in Round 6 of Norway Chess. Carlsen, who is the defending champion in the tournament, resigned in 62 moves with half-a-minute left on the clock. And he slammed his fist on the table the moment he got to know that it was over for him, much to the surprise of his opponent and those who present at the hall where the game was happening.

The 34-year-old Norwegian Grandmaster has been critical of world governing body FIDE as well as the Classical format for months now, while promoting Freestyle Chess – a fancier term for the unpredictable Chess960 format – as well as the ongoing Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour that has successfully hosted two events so far.

Carlsen reignites discussions on his future in Classical chess

And a day after suffering the first defeat of his career against Gukesh, Carlsen reignited discussions on bidding the Standard format goodbye after the conclusion of the ongoing tournament.

“I think I’ll play the last three games (in Norway Chess), and then I will have to make some decisions about next year here or potential other tournaments later, because, yeah… I just don’t enjoy (Classical chess) that much,” Carlsen told Norwegian television channel TV2 after playing out a draw against Hikaru Nakamura in Round 7 and defeating the American GM in the subsequent Armageddon playoff.

“It’s possible, yeah. I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m not going to play Classical events ever again, but right now it doesn’t.

“The thing is that, you know, losses are painful no matter what, but at least if I can lose doing something that I really enjoy (Blitz, Rapid or Freestyle), then that’s much easier,” Carlsen, a five-time Classical world champion, added.

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In a separate conversation with Take Take Take, Carlsen heaped praise on Gukesh for his fighting ability, which he exhibited in his dramatic victory on Sunday as well as in his victory over China’s Ding Liren in their World Championship showdown in December.

“What he (Gukesh) does well, as I alluded to, is he really fights very, very well, and he was there to take his chance, so he deserves credit for that.

“But that’s the kind of chance that I really, really have to put away. Otherwise, I have no chance,” Carlsen said.

Carlsen had defeated Gukesh multiple times this year, from their meetings in the Weissenhaus and Paris legs of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour to the opening round of the ongoing tournament – which was the first time the Indian GM had come face to face with the Norwegian since he was crowned the youngest chess world champion in December.

Also Read | Gukesh left ‘shaken’ by first-ever classical win over world No.1 Carlsen: ‘Just a lucky day

Carlsen looked like he would complete a double against Gukesh in their second meeting on Sunday – in which the latter was playing as white. However, Gukesh, who celebrated his 19th birthday last week, managed to turn the tables and put Carlsen under pressure with his never-say-die attitude.

Gukesh would go on to collect back-to-back victories by defeating compatriot Arjun Erigaisi on Monday, once again while playing with white pieces. Arjun, however, put up a more inspired fight, dragging the game past the 90-move mark despite committing a couple of blunders along the way, making his opponent fight tooth and nail for the full three points.

Gukesh prevailed in the end and ended up avening his defeats against Carlsen and Arjun in the first two rounds of the tournament. The wins have helped him surge past Carlsen to the second spot in the standings with 11.5 – trailing current leader Fabiano Caruana by a full point with three rounds to go.