The New Indian Express ·
Sport
Since becoming a father, I have been even more convinced that I will not return to the World Championship cycle: Carlsen
AROUND 4.20 PM on Thursday afternoon, there was a buzz inside the players' lounge next to the playing hall of the Global Chess League (GCL). World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen had just walked in for a round table with select media. The five-time world Classical champion -- "15-times World Rapid and Blitz champ" is something he is always quick to remind the media of -- doesn't grant too many interviews these days.
So when he was about to take questions, it was natural for scribes to make a beeline. Carlsen, always insightful, was intimate on a number of issues including why he sees Javokhir Sindarov as the favourite as it stands against D Gukesh, how fatherhood has changed him and, perhaps, the only thing which might bring him back into the World Championship cycle -- if somebody asked him to be on the ticket to 'run chess'. Excerpts:
On whether Gukesh can defend his World Championship title
I think the word defend is really not a good place to begin; because, in terms of how Gukesh has played for the last couple of years, he should not be in a position where he has to defend anything. He should be in a position where he has everything to gain. He has shown previously in 2024 that when things click, he has the potential to play at an extremely high level. I don't think a lot of people believe that he will do it now, but I think it is even more of an interesting challenge for him to try and get back to that. Chess is a highly psychological game, so it probably won't take a lot to potentially place some doubts in Sindarov's mind and some confidence for Gokesh. But as it stands, there is no question that Sindarov is the favourite.
On how far away from the circus he's now (he had called the World Championship cycle as a circus and he wanted to have nothing with it) as opposed to when he made the comment a few years ago
I think if anything has changed, it's kind of the other way. I think after I became a father as well, it made it even more certain for me that I was never coming back to the classical world championship. There are so many things that I like about chess. There are a lot of tournaments that I like. There are a lot of formats that I like. Even classical, especially faster times of classical, I like. Maybe not as a steady diet, but at least once in a while. So to kind of justify spending a ton of time on something that I genuinely dislike... Also, when there's no kind of competitive reason why I should, it makes zero sense.
On if running to govern the game would interest him
I think running chess is... If somebody suggested that to me, then, you know, I would probably continue. I would probably rather return to the classical World Championship than be an administrator in chess. So, yeah, it's not for me.
On what he has noticed in Praggnanandhaa's recent outings
I don't think his approach has changed too much. I think he has a very good foundation in chess, but he plays in a very aggressive way. It's been working out really well for him recently. I'm a fan. I love watching his chess. He pushes very, very hard. He manages to put pressure on basically everybody, including myself. I think he's still not at a point where you can say that he's distanced himself from his peers. He's not quite consistent enough for that, but he's a top class player for sure.