Defending champion Magnus Carlsen remains world blitz chess champion. But after an unusual ending, he shares the victory.
01.01.2025, 09:31
SDA
After the scandal over defending champion Magnus Carlsen's jeans, the World Blitz Chess Championship in New York ends in an unusual way. At the suggestion of the Norwegian in the final, he now shares the title with Jan Nepomniashchi from Russia. At 3.5 to 3.5, both players each won twice and three games ended in a draw. No further games were played afterwards.
"We're both tired and nervous. Some people will like it, others won't. That's the way it is," commented the 34-year-old Carlsen on the unusual outcome. In the duel against Nepomniashchi, who is the same age as Carlsen, he had initially taken the lead and won the first two games before Nepomniashchi also won twice in a row. There were no more winners in the following games.
Carlsen, who had clearly defeated Nepomniashchi at the conventional 2021 World Chess Championship, also played in jeans again on the final day. There had previously been a dispute with the world federation Fide about the dress code. In the end, the federation decided that the official dress code should still be adhered to, "but elegant minor deviations (which may include, in particular, jeans that match the jacket) are permitted."
