Carlsen breaks silence on allegation, trying to blackmail FIDE by sharing blitz title: 'It was a bad joke'

After putting the dress controversy behind and making a return to the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York City, Magnus Carlsen making headlines once again. And as was the case when the world’s top-ranked player in all three official formats was disqualified for showing up at the venue in jeans, Carlsen continues being in the news for the wrong reasons.

The five-time world champion courted yet another controversy after sharing the Blitz world title with Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi at the ‘Big Apple’. Both Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi were part of 10 players who finished on 9.5 points each at the end of 13 rounds in the Blitz Championship, with Rapid champion Volodar Murzin and world No 2 Fabiano Caruana also among the players featuring in the quarter-final stage.

Carlsen had suggested he share the title with Nepomniachtchi, who defeated comptriot Murzin and American GM Wesley So in quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, after seven games in the Open Blitz Final. It was the first time in chess history that a world championship title had been shared, earning Nepomniachtchi his first blitz title while Carlsen won his eighth.

The Norwegian GM, however, finds himself facing allegations of match-fixing after sharing the blitz title . Carlsen has also been in the news lately for being a co-founder of the Freestyle Chess Tour and for reportedly “blackmailing” FIDE into extending their support for the private tour and even allowing it to have its own world championship. And the timing of the title-sharing act has only raised further questions on the integrity of the championship.

A video showing Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi having a private discussion backstage during the final, in which the former can be heard advising his opponent to “just play short draws until they (FIDE) give up” has served to add fuel to the fire.

American GM Hans Niemann, whom Carlsen had defeated in the quarter-final stage of the blitz knockouts, said that the chess world had officially “become a joke”.

“The chess world is officially a joke. THIS HAS NEVER BEEN DONE IN HISTORY. I can’t believe that the official body of chess is being controlled by a singular player FOR THE 2ND TIME THIS WEEK. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE WORLD CHAMPION!” Niemann posted on X on Wednesday.

Also Read | Niemann accuses Carlsen of ‘power play’ amid jeans controversy

“FIDE goes from forfeiting Carlsen to creating an entirely new rule. Seems like the regulatory body of chess, has no intention of being unbiased. They seem to only care about what one player thinks.

“I’ll be working my heart out to make it to the final next year to ensure that no ‘CHAMPIONSHIPS’ are arbitrarily ‘SHARED’. Onwards,” the 21-year-old added.

Indian GM Srinath Narayanan, who was the non-playing captain of the Indian ‘Open’ team in the Chess Olympiad in September, said it was “wrong at so many levels”.

“It’s wrong, of course, at many levels. It also shows Magnus’s instinct to resort to blackmail if Fide insists on following the regulations. Where does power reside in the chess world, in 2024 or 2025?” said the 30-year-old.

‘It was a bad joke’: Carlsen

Responding to the controversy, Carlsen sought to play down the issue by calling it a “bad joke” and firmly insisting he was not attempting to “influence FIDE”.

“I’ve never prearranged a draw in my career. In the video I’m joking with Ian in a situation with lacking decisive tiebreak rules. This was obviously not an attempt to influence FIDE. It was said in the spirit that I thought FIDE would agree to our proposal. If anything it was a bad joke given the gravity of the situation.

“I think the match itself showed two players playing high level chess, equally matched and both deserving of a win,” Carlsen wrote on X on Thursday.

The Norwegian chess star will next be seen in action at the Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee in Netherlands, where D Gukesh will be in action for the first time since being crowned world champion in Singapore following his victory over Ding Liren in Singapore.