After a draw, Magnus Carlsen and Jan Nepomniashchi are both world blitz chess champions. Now there are allegations that a draw was agreed off the board.
02.01.2025, 09:09
02.01.2025, 09:35
SDA
"I have never agreed a draw in advance in my career," Carlsen wrote on the X platform, referring to a video. In it, Carlsen can be seen and heard talking to his opponent Nepomniashchi from Russia about the outcome of the game and a proposal to the governing body Fide. He said: "If they refuse, then we can just play short draws until they give up."
He later wrote: "I'm joking with Jan in the video. This was obviously not an attempt to influence Fide." The content of the conversation was a "bad joke", Carlsen continued. "I think the game itself showed two players who play chess at a high level, who are evenly matched and both deserved to win."
According to the federation, Carlsen only got up when the score was 3.5:3.5 and publicly suggested to his opponent that he should not play on. The chief arbiter accepted this after Fide President Arkady Dvorkovich had also previously agreed. In his position, he is authorized by the tournament regulations to make a decision in unforeseen circumstances.
Niemann: "I can't believe that ..."
Carlsen's quarter-final opponent Hans Niemann from the USA also plays a role in the discussion. Two years ago, Carlsen made accusations of cheating, and the ensuing legal dispute was only settled a year later.
Niemann referred to the course of the final via X and called for an investigation. "This is cause for an investigation by the Fide Ethics Committee," he wrote. "I cannot believe that two players who have maliciously accused me and tried to ruin my career are openly breaking the rules. The irony just can't get any worse."
Usually a game of Armageddon Chess is played to decide the outcome. However, this variant was not planned for the World Blitz Chess Championship.
