 "How long will Magnus Carlsen continue to reign as world No 1? Ex-Candidates winner says it will depend on this factor")
Magnus Carlsen has ruled the world of chess for more than a decade now. Not only is he a five-time world champion, and had willing decided against chasing a sixth crown, he has also been No 1 on the FIDE ratings since 2011 – a year after he moved to the top for the very first time in his career.
The years that have gone by have witnessed multiple challenges to Carlsen’s throne, from Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Sergey Karjakin, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alireza Firouzja to reigning world champion D Gukesh. None, however, have been able to dislodge him from the top spot.
With the Norwegian Grandmaster having ruled the FIDE ratings for as long as he has, one can’t help but wonder just how long Carlsen will remain No 1. Especially considering the fact that his participation in Classical events has nosedived ever since he decided against defending his title in 2023.
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According to Israeli GM Boris Gelfand, it will depend entirely on the 34-year-old and his motivation.
“I don’t know. Depends on his motivation. And because all his rivals are very good, but no one is strong as another. Clearly stronger,” Gelfand said on the Chess with Mustreader podcast, commenting on the gulf between Carlsen and the rest of the current pack.
“It seems he lost motivation to play Classical, but if he’ll get back or play some tournaments, we don’t know,” he added.
‘If you take Magnus out, Gukesh is the first among equals’
Gelfand, who had represented the erstwhile USSR and Belarus early in his career and switched his allegiance to Israel in 1999, further described Carlsen as someone who belonged to an elite list of players alongside other legends such as Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov and Alexander Alekhine.
Also Read | ‘Gukesh is clearly not world No 1, but can’t be compared to Ding Liren’: Caruana
At the same time, the 57-year-old described Gukesh in the current generation, or Viswanathan Anand during his time, as the “first among equals” – players who stood out from the rest, but were ultimately second to exceptional talent such as Carlsen or Kasparov.
“Gukesh is world champion. But let’s say if you take Magnus out, he is first among equals. It happened in history. Tal was first among equals. Petrosian, Spassky – the first among equals. Then we had Anand, Kramnik – the first among equals. Topalov, same strength,” he continued.
“But we had exceptional periods. Alekhine, or Karpov, Kasparov, Magnus – champion who is above others. Maybe one day it will be champion above others, and maybe Magnus would decline. We don’t know,” added Gelfand, who had unsuccessfully challenged Anand for the world title in 2012, losing in tie-breaks.
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