 "Magnus Carlsen declares fight with FIDE is over but won’t play in world championship: 'We’ll sort of coexist'")
Magnus Carlsen wants to maintain a distance from the International Chess Federation, FIDE, after getting into an ugly battle with the chess governing body over the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour using the ‘world champion’ tag.
Carlsen founded the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour with a German businessman and they planned to call the eventual winner, ‘Freestyle Chess world champion’ but FIDE was vehemently against it and even tried to block the participation of some of the top players in the event.
Eventually an agreement was reached after the Freestyle tour decided not to use world champion in its event. The winner after five legs of the tour will be called 'Freestyle Chess Champion' .
Carlsen confirms fight with FIDE is over
Speaking to Reuters on Monday, Carlsen once again expressed his dislike for FIDE and how it handled the matter. The 34-year-old former world champion said that they have learned to “coexist” but he will not play in the World Chess Championship.
“I’m not really very interested in what FIDE are doing. I’m sort of trying to do my things, being with the Esports World Cup, Chess.com, Freestyle,” The world No.1 said.
“FIDE’s crown jewel is the classical world championship, right? That’s what gives FIDE legacy and legitimacy, and none of us are going after that,” Carlsen added.
“So I think we’ll sort of coexist, I’m happy not playing the classical world championship. I’m kind of done with that and now I’m following it as a fan.”
Carlsen will next be seen in action at the Paris leg of the Freestyle Grand Slam next month before joining Team Liquid at the Esports World Cup. Eager to prove that the old guard still reigns in the rapid format, he named Alireza Firouzja, along with himself and Hikaru Nakamura, as the top three favourites.
“It takes a little bit more time (for the youngsters) to build strength in faster formats than it does in classical chess,” he said.
“So I think the old guys, like Maxime (Vachier-Lagrave of France) and I, will stick around for a bit still.
“When it comes to motivation, it’s very hard to say, but I find it hard to believe that my level is just going to drop off a cliff. I think there’s certainly going to be some steady decline, but I think I can keep going for at least a few years.”
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