Explained: Why Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi have been accused of match-fixing after sharing World Blitz title

World No 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi agreed to share the 2024 FIDE Blitz Championship title in New York, marking the first-ever time that this competition has had joint winners. Carlsen and Ian fought tooth and nail in the open section’s final of the World Blitz Championship. Carlsen began the final with two wins over the Russian.

However, the Norwegian was in a cautious position after his queen and pawn evaded Ian’s rook pair in the first game. Once Carlsen won the second game with white pieces, he had a 2-0 lead over Ian and needed just a draw to clinch the World Blitz Championship title.

Ian fought back with a victory in the third game to make the scores 2-1, still in favour of Carlsen. Ian was tactically brilliant in the rook pair vs rook and bishop endgame, which allowed him to stay alive in the competition. In the fourth game, Ian once again employed his tactical brilliance by sacrificing his knight to clinch a victory that equalled the scores 2-2.

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The sudden death followed next and both Carlsen and Ian had an accuracy of 98 per cent, with all three games ending in evenly-fought draws. The two players then had discussions with the International Chess Federation (FIDE), after which Carlsen proposed to share the title to which Ian agreed without any hesitancy.

After the final, Carlsen said that he was pleased to share the World Blitz Championship title with Ian. “It feels very good to share gold with Nepo. We reached a point where it had been a long day. We played many games, we had three draws and I felt that I could keep playing. But it was a nice solution to share the win, it was a good way to end it,” Carlsen told Norwegian media outlet NRK.

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Match-fixing allegations emerge

While the duo shared the World Blitz Championship title, a video went viral on social media where Carlsen and Ian could be heard talking backstage during the final. “Just play short draws until they give up,” Carlsen could be heard telling Ian in the video. Several fans on social media accused Carlsen and Ian of match-fixing. Magnus : “If they like refuse, we can just play short draws until they give up.”

“Isn’t this match-fixing, @FIDE_chess? Dubov & Nepo were double forfeited last year for pre-arranging a draw, why wasn’t similar action taken this time around?,” asked a fan.

Magnus : "If they like refuse, we can just play short draws until they give up."

Isn't this match-fixing, @FIDE_chess? Dubov & Nepo were double forfeited last year for pre-arranging a draw, why wasn't similar action taken this time around? pic.twitter.com/WjyteaztLi

— Abhiraj (@mytywarriorking) January 1, 2025

“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?,” asked Indian chess grandmaster Srinath Narayanan.

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.https://t.co/YXaxfAwHKU

Where does power reside in the chess world, in 2024 or 2025? https://t.co/IVCb76yX7a

— Srinath Narayanan (@srinathchess) January 1, 2025

“Disgraceful,” another fan wrote on “X”.

They clearly talked about fixing the match..!!
Its caught on camera.!!
Disgraceful.!@HansMokeNiemann @chess_insights @GMHikaru @anishgiri https://t.co/nmPmENK2AP

— Izanami (@_Mithya_Lost) January 1, 2025

Carlsen’s jeans controversy

Last week, Carlsen had been involved in a controversy after he violated the tournament’s dress code by wearing jeans at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships. Carlsen refused to change his jeans to the formal outfit, and this prompted the FIDE to disqualify him from the tournament. However, a couple of days later, Carlsen announced that he would participate in the Blitz Championships after the FIDE relaxed rules pertaining to players wearing jeans.