Magnus triple champion

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/31/sport/magnus-carlsen-triple-world-champion-chess-spt-intl/index.html

Classic, Rapid, and Blitz.

@moonbus

A true champion loses his title.

He does not quit.

@Booger

I guess you think Fischer wasn’t a true champion either. I think it’s up to the person himself to decide when to retire. Same as Roger Federer.

The difference with Magnus is he is not retiring but still going to carry on playing
and him tossing the title in the can like it was worthless has peed-off quite a few people.

What ever his reasons (more money to be made playing online chess in his bedroom 🙂 )
whoever wins the title will forever have the '*' added saying it was after Carlsen quit
and I'm sad to say they will not be recognised by some as a valid champion.
Carlsen's name will always crop up when either player are mentioned as the champion.

@moonbus said
@Booger

I guess you think Fischer wasn’t a true champion either. I think it’s up to the person himself to decide when to retire. Same as Roger Federer.

Magnus didn't retire.

He's like Fischer and can't handle the idea of losing the title but he knows it will happen eventually. If he truly didn't care about the title then he could have just played chess with no prep and it's an easy payday regardless if he wins or loses it.

Fischer ran away.
Magnus figured out he can quit the title and play for it again at a later date.
When he wins it back he could then retire and claim to have never been defeated in a WC.

Hopefully FIDE has a spine and doesn't allow him in the candidates again because of his forfeiture.

There was also conditions attached to Carlsen's 'retirement' he said he would only
defend his title if Firouzja was the challenger. Not sure how the rest of challengers
felt about this - it reads like he thought them not being worthy to be in the same room.

He also added all the prep is time consuming. I think he is that good he could
just turn up without prep and win it. He is now rich enough to turn his back on even
the half £million losers cut in a final. The title made him rich. He milked it dry and dropped it.

...and he walks like he crapped in his pants.

@greenpawn34 said
There was also conditions attached to Carlsen's 'retirement' he said he would only
defend his title if Firouzja was the challenger. Not sure how the rest of challengers
felt about this - it reads like he thought them not being worthy to be in the same room.

He also added all the prep is time consuming. I think he is that good he could
just turn up without prep and w ...[text shortened]... the half £million losers cut in a final. The title made him rich. He milked it dry and dropped it.

I agree that the champion should not pick his challenger, as Alekhine famously did (too easily defeating Bogo when there were stronger players). On the other hand, having to defend the title every 4 years must be a real grind for any champion; I can understand Carlsen is tired of it.

Hi moonbus

It was every two years (Covid interrupted the cycle). he defend his title 4 times
2014 (Anand) , 2016 (Karjakin) , 2018 (Caruana) , and 2021. (Nepo) .

FIDE changed the rules to suit him in 2010 when he pulled out of the candidates.
One of the reasons given was the time between world title matches was too long.
(then it was 4-5 years.). FIDE altered the whole system in 2012 and Carlsen won
the title. His 2010 resignation letter is in the link below.

https://en.chessbase.com/post/magnus-carlsen-drops-out-of-world-championship-cycle

It's a pity it has turned out like this. The punters would rather see a champion dethroned
than just walk away. Lasker gave up his title but the public demanded a match and
Lasker was tempted to the table with a big pay day. Botvinnik too thought about quitting
before his match with Petrosian but in the end played. He declined the 'Botvinnik Rule' rematch.

@greenpawn34

Champions are sometimes finicky, are they not?

@moonbus said
@greenpawn34

Champions are sometimes finicky, are they not?

You're confusing eccentric players of the past with a current WC quitter.

That's ugly.

Maybe compare Magnus to the coward Fischer?

Hi Booger,

Bobby Fischer had a few medical problems. He spoke on T.V. how empty he feels
now he has realised his ambition, winning the world title.
He threw in a lot of conditions to give FIDE no option but to take his title away.
For once it was not about the money - it was a guaranteed £5 million purse.
The general feeling by those who knew him,...really knew him, Is he could not handle
possibly losing the title back to the USSR. He just stopped playing. Quit the game.
Magnus is going to carry on playing.

Perhaps the paradox is that you must be a bit mental to even want to be a world chess champion in the first place.

There are so many other career paths for a 'chess mind' - one that excels at vision-spatial reasoning - that offer more reliable financial compensation and other benefits.

@bigdogg said
Perhaps the paradox is that you must be a bit mental to even want to be a world chess champion in the first place.

Tell that to people like Euwe and Anand.

@shallow-blue said
Tell that to people like Euwe and Anand.

Exceptions that prove the rule.

If that's the only two counter-examples out of the 16 'real' champs, the remaining 87.5% were at least a bit mental.