GM Magnus Carlsen has made a sensational U-turn and confirmed that he will compete in the 2024 FIDE World Blitz Championship in New York. The seven-time World Blitz Champion has been given permission to play in jeans.
The announcement was made in an interview with IM Levy Rozman of the Take Take Take app on Sunday, just 24 hours before the event was scheduled to begin in New York.
Suit up. https://t.co/o7NWqgfVj2
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) December 29, 2024
“Simply put, I can talk about how we got there, but we’re going to play at least one more day in New York and then hopefully one more day after that,” Carlsen said.
I can talk about how we got there, but I plan on playing at least one more day in New York and hopefully one more day after that.
—Magnus Carlsen
Asked when the decision became official, Carlsen said: “About a few hours ago.” FIDE also released a statement confirming Carlsen’s participation.
FIDE is pleased to announce that Magnus Carlsen will be participating in the FIDE World Blitz Championship.
Carlsen told Take Take Take’s Levi Rozman at a Wall Street concert. “I’m scheduled to perform at least one more day here in New York and hopefully… pic.twitter.com/ fvFJi2w970
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 29, 2024
The World Blitz Chess Championship is played as a 13-round Swiss tournament, with a knockout format for the top eight players from day one. It was the first time since 2013 that the event was held without the seven-time World Dengeki Champion.
The news came hours after both El Pais and NRK reported that there were ongoing talks between FIDE and Carlsen regarding his participation. FIDE officials later confirmed that vice president of GM Viswanathan Anand met with the Norwegian on Friday.
Carlsen shockingly withdrew from the 2024 FIDE World Rapid Championship on Friday for wearing jeans and was fined $200 for violating the dress code. He was given an ultimatum to change by round 9 or he would not be paired, but he refused.
He later said he was ready to change his jeans for the next day, but had no intention of changing during the round. On the way home, he said this in a strong tone.
My patience with them wasn’t all that great to begin with. And that’s OK, I’m OK with that so they can enforce their rules, and my reaction is that’s OK, then I’m out, and you’re fucked.
Carlsen also expressed dissatisfaction with FIDE’s handling of the situation for the upcoming 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, stating that players who have signed contracts to participate in the next tour will not be able to participate in the next Classical World Championship cycle. He claimed to have been threatened.
The Norwegian later said that the FIDE tournament was over, adding: “I’m in an all-out war with FIDE.” In today’s interview with Rozman, he shared some new insights.
“In my interview with you, I said some choice words about FIDE, which I think were a little inaccurate. As for certain people in FIDE, I definitely said that, there’s no doubt about that. “I think the situation was horribly mishandled on their side,” he told Rozman.
“I was just trying to book a plane ticket to get out of here. My father said it might be best to wait until the morning to make a decision so that he could discuss it with FIDE President Dvorković. We have a good relationship. We’ve built a relationship and we know each other.” I can reason with him.” ”
I was just trying to book a flight to get out of here.
—Magnus Carlsen
Oh, I’ll definitely play in jeans tomorrow.
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) December 29, 2024
Carlsen confirmed that he had a conversation with Anand the following night.
“There was no room for debate. Anand said very clearly that he had no chance to do anything but abide by the adjudicator’s honestly strict decision not to pair with me. It meant that all of his It means that despite his good qualities, he wasn’t ready.” That’s how I feel. ”
Carlsen admitted that he would like FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich to be present at the meeting. The Russian, who is currently at home in Moscow with the flu, said he woke up the next morning to a missed call from Henrik Carlsen.
“The fact that he was actually asleep when this happened means that there were no adults left in FIDE…You can argue whether I was or not, but we had no conversations, etc. I felt that no one was willing to try. We talked for a long time. Conversations with Anand and others generally didn’t lead to anything.”
During his interview with Rozman, Carlsen used the opportunity to strongly criticize FIDE CEO Emil Stovsky. “FIDE was very, very difficult about the whole thing,” he said, referring to the discussion about the freestyle chess tour, adding: If you’re talking about Stofsky, I don’t think you can say the same thing about that person. ”
In general, we could reason about Dvorkovich. If you’re talking about Stofsky, I don’t think you can reason with the guy in any way.
—Magnus Carlsen
He also said, “Dvorkovich was largely true to his word when we talked to him. Stofsky was not. That’s the difference. Why is he being hired by FIDE?” “I don’t know,” he added.
In an interview with Norwegian media shared by ChessBase India, Stofsky had previously denied allegations of “intimidation” against members of the Freestyle Chess Club.
Carlsen, along with main sponsor Freedom Holding’s Timur Trulov, highlighted “fruitful discussions” with Dvorković and said he was now excited to play in the Blitz.
Meanwhile, Dvorkovic issued a statement regarding the dress code, saying it would “give FIDE officials more flexibility.”
It is unfortunate that the introduction of dress code rules, while legally sound and consistent, has left a disproportionate impression on some people and created a situation that everyone would want to avoid.
As far as the application of the rules during the World Blitz Championship is concerned, based on consultation with our partners and their wishes, we have taken the decision to trial an approach that gives FIDE officials more flexibility in determining the suitability of clothing. .
Dear participants of the World Blitz Championship in New York,
First, I would like to thank everyone for their commitment to fair competition and bringing joy to millions of spectators around the world.
With the winner Humpy Connell… pic.twitter.com/8jHN3OD4aX
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 29, 2024
Carlsen said he didn’t know if this would be his last participation in the World Blitz Championship, but said:
“I want to give my fans a chance to see this. Who knows if this will be the last time, but for now I’m here,” he added.
“I’ll definitely play with jeans!”
Dvorkovic confirmed that Carlsen will be allowed to play in jeans again, but said in a press release:
In case of doubt, the Special Assistant will be asked to assist in these determinations and make a final conclusion. The principle is simple. Although it is necessary to follow the official dress code, some elegant deviations (including, in particular, a suitable pair of jeans with a jacket) are acceptable. After all, it’s New Year’s time and we sincerely hope that no one tries to spoil the festive spirit by taking advantage of this additional flexibility.
The 2024 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship will crown the Rapid Chess and Blitz Chess World Champions in the Open and Women’s divisions. Despite the rapid pace of the championship, the Open was Swiss-style with 13 rounds. On the women’s side, it was the Swiss with 11 rounds. Timekeeping for both tournaments was 15 minutes plus 10 seconds. The Blitz Championship will be played over the same number of rounds, followed by a knockout for the top eight fighters, and all matches will be 3+2 time controlled. The total prize money is $1.5 million.
Previous coverage:
Day 3: Murzin wins Rapid World Championship, Humpy wins second women’s title Day 2: Carlsen withdraws from Rapid & Blitz Championship. Murzin, Duda, Arjun, Grishuk lead Open Day 1: Razavik wins against Carlsen. Murzin, Sargsyan, Dominguez, Naroditsky New Format, New Year Open: FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship Comes to Wall Street Wall Street Gambit: $5,000 Tickets, Chess Legends, Financial Elites FIDE Brings World Rapid & Blitz Tradition FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship to be held in New York
