Magnus Carlsen says he 'wouldn’t particularly mind' losing No 1 rank, claims FIDE ratings have undergone 'deflation'

Norwegian chess icon Magnus Carlsen opened up on the possibility of being displaced from the top of the chess world rankings recently, saying he “wouldn’t particularly mind” if that was to happen while claiming that chess ratings are not the same as it used to be a decade ago, having undergone a “deflation” ever since.

Carlsen, considered one of the greatest in the history of chess, broached the subject of being replaced as world No 1 on the eve of the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz Tournament in Kolkata, where he is participating along with Indian stars such as Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa.

“I don’t play a lot of classical chess, so whenever somebody is going to pass me, I wouldn’t particularly mind.

“I think a lot of people had the chance to surpass me, but we’ll see when it happens. I think it sort of depends on others,” Carlsen said on the eve of the tournament.

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As for the chess ratings, Carlsen spoke on how things were different back when he had newly risen to the top of the ladder.

“There’s definitely been deflation in chess ratings, so a level of ELO 2830 would probably correspond to 2850 about 10 years ago, and not a lot of people have reached that,” Carlsen added.

Also Read | All players who have crossed 2800 Elo rating in chess

Carlsen had first risen to the top of the FIDE ratings in January 2010 at the age of 19, becoming the youngest world No 1 in the process, and has continuously held the top spot since 1 July, 2011.

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The Norwegian Grandmaster had also reigned as the world chess champion for a decade starting with his victory over Indian legend Viswanathan Anand in 2013, before deciding against defending his title against Ian Nepomniachtchi in Astana last year.

His spot thus went to China’s Ding Liren, who had finished runner-up in the preceding Candidates Tournament that Nepomniachtchi had won, and would end up defeating the Russian GM to be crowned world champion.

Liren will be defending his title against India's D Gukesh , who won the Candidates Tournament in Toronto this year, in Singapore from 25 November to 13 December.