Carlsen Responds to Blackmail Allegations Over Shared Blitz Title: ‘It Was a Bad Joke’

Back from overcoming his disqualification for his dress code at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York City, Magnus Carlsen has found himself in the headlines, though this time, it is not the right one. The five-time world champion again sparked a debate by sharing the Blitz world title with Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi.

A Historic First in Chess

The Blitz Championship ended with 10 players at 9.5 points shared by Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi after 13 rounds. The Rapid champion, Volodar Murzin, and world No. 2 Fabiano Caruana were the other notable players to qualify to the quarter-final round. Nepomniachtchi defeated fellow compatriot Murzin in the quarterfinal and American GM Wesley So in the semifinal to face Carlsen in the final.

After seven arduous games in the Open Blitz Final, Carlsen suggested a draw for the title with Nepomniachtchi, who, for the first time in history, shared a chess world championship title. Thus, Nepomniachtchi was awarded his first blitz title while Carlsen achieved his eighth blitz title.

Match-Fixing Allegations

This title-sharing decision has accused Carlsen of match-fixing. A video showing backstage, how Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi are discussing the strategy to be played during the final further fueled the debate. Here in the video, Carlsen could be heard as saying that “just play short draws until they (FIDE) give up.”

Critics have questioned the integrity of the championship, especially as Carlsen, a co-founder of the Freestyle Chess Tour, is accused of pressuring FIDE to support his private tour and grant it its own world championship.

Reactions from the Chess Community

American GM Hans Niemann, who Carlsen beat in the quarterfinals, expressed his anger on X saying, “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 further criticised FIDE for creating new rules to accommodate Carlsen’s actions, adding, “I’ll be working my heart out to make it to the final next year to ensure that no ‘CHAMPIONSHIPS’ are arbitrarily ‘SHARED’. Onwards.”

Indian GM Srinath Narayanan also condemned the move, terming it “wrong at so many levels.” He said, “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?”

Carlsen’s Reaction to the Scandal

Carlsen downplayed the situation by describing it as a “bad joke.” He said: “I’ve never pre-agreed to draw in my career. In the video, I am joking with Ian in a circumstance where decisive tiebreak rules lacked. It is clearly not trying to affect FIDE. That was said in the spirit wherein I believed that FIDE will accede to our proposal. If anything, it is bad joke in a grave circumstance”.

He defended the result of the game, saying that “I feel the game itself demonstrated two great players who really deserved to win.”

What Next for Carlsen?

Carlsen will play at Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. The tournament includes Indian GM D. Gukesh, the world champion whom he won at Singapore against Ding Liren.