Latest news with #Freestyle
News18
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Is Magnus Carlsen Hinting At A Potential Retirement? Says 'I Don't Enjoy' Classical Chess
Last Updated: Carlsen stated that he enjoys Blitz, Rapid, or Freestyle more and will decide his future after the tournament. Chess may soon witness one of its greatest minds stepping back, as former World Champion Magnus Carlsen hinted at a possible retirement from Classical Chess during the Norway Chess tournament. Currently, Carlsen is third in the standings with 11 points from 7 games at Norway Chess. USA's Fabiano Caruana leads with 12.5 points, and World Champion D Gukesh holds second place with 11.5 points. A significant blow to Carlsen was his defeat on Monday to Gukesh, who took advantage of a late-game blunder from the 34-year-old Norwegian. This loss deeply frustrated Carlsen, leading to an outburst where he smacked the table in frustration. 'Losses are painful, no matter what. But at least if I lose doing something I really enjoy, then it's much easier," Carlsen told TakeTakeTake. 'Situations like yesterday, I'm just wondering, why am I doing this? What's the point?"– @MagnusCarlsen — Take Take Take (@TakeTakeTakeApp) June 2, 2025 Carlsen also revealed that he doesn't enjoy the classical format of the game as much as Blitz, Rapid, or Freestyle. He mentioned that he would consider his future in the classical game after the ongoing event in Norway concludes. 'I think I'll play the last three games in Norway Chess, and then I will have to make some decisions about next year or potential other tournaments later, because, yeah… I just don't enjoy Classical chess that much," the five-time World champion said. 'It's not that I cannot play. It's just that situations like yesterday make me wonder, 'Why am I doing this? What's the point?' 'But I will do my best in the last three games here, and then we'll see," the Norwegian concluded. Despite his apparent frustration from the loss to Gukesh, the former World Champion credited Gukesh for his fighting spirit and determination, which ultimately led to his victory on Monday. 'I remember being that age myself. Sometimes your energy, fighting qualities, and optimism can be more significant than the quality of your moves," Carlsen said. 'For a long time, Gukesh was just pushing blindly. On a normal day, of course, I win that game, and things look quite different," the 34-year-old added. 'What Gukesh does well is he fights very well and was there to take his chance, so he deserves credit for that," Carlsen acknowledged.
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First Post
25-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
'Special game to start the tournament': Gukesh on his opening clash with Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess 2025
World champion D Gukesh is all set to face Magnus Carlsen in the opening round of Norway Chess 2025. Gukesh will start with black pieces. read more D Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen in action during the Weissenhaus leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in February. Image credit: Freestyle Chess Stavanger: World champion D. Gukesh acknowledged that starting with black pieces is a tricky proposition against Magnus Carlsen after he was drawn against the World No.1 in the Norway Chess tournament beginning here on Monday. Gukesh and Carlsen will be playing the classical format for the first time after the Indian became the world champion late last year and the opening match will be crucial for both going deeper into the tournament. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'For sure, it's (match against Carlsen) a special game to start the tournament with. But also, I mean, you play all the players with both colours, so it really doesn't make a difference,' said Gukesh when asked how he felt starting with black pieces against the five-time world champion in his backyard. 'Since it's the start of the tournament, I guess we'll both try to be as sharp as possible and get into the tournament as quickly as possible as it's the first round. 'It's always kind of tricky to get your best shape in the first round, so, it'll be a fun challenge,' added Gukesh, whose form has slumped following the world title triumph last year. Carlsen too kept his cards close to his chest, saying he wasn't 'quite sure what to expect' in the opening round, as he had played very little classical chess of late. 'Honestly, I haven't really played a proper classical tournament since last year. Classical chess that I have played, it's mostly been against somewhat lower-rated players. So, whether it's against Gukesh or somebody else, I'm not really quite sure what to expect,' he said. 'I think, I certainly want to do well in those games and he (Gukesh) does as well. I mean, I cannot speak for him, but I wouldn't imagine otherwise,' added Carlsen, the six-time Norway Chess champion who is defending his title here. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The 18-year-old Gukesh said he has been trying to work his back to top form ahead of the event. 'I guess after the world championship, I mean, all of the tournaments that I played, Wijik Aan Zee was really good, after that none of the tournaments have been actually good. 'I am back to working, I am back to playing, training apps, so it's just that if I continue to do it, continue doing the right things and stay consistent, then the results will improve. So, this (Norway Chess) will be one opportunity to bring back (my form),' he added. The Indian prodigy said he has started training more seriously now, following the world championship triumph against Ding Liren of China. 'Certainly, compared to the first couple of months after the world championship, I am training more seriously. 'But yeah, I mean, these kind of things happen, bad tournaments, they keep happening, whether you work hard or not, but yeah, for sure I am trying to focus on this tournament and doing my best,' he noted. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chess: Carlsen scores record nine out of nine at Grenke Freestyle Open
Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, soared to a new landmark in chess history last weekend, when the 34-year-old won all his nine games in the Grenke Freestyle Open at Karlsruhe, Germany. It was a result comparable to the great historical performances. Bobby Fischer won the 1963-64 US Championship with an 11/11 'picket fence', then defeated Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen by 6-0 in the 1971 Candidates. Anatoly Karpov triumphed at Linares 1994 with an 11-2 total, while further back the yardstick performance was Alexander Alekhine's 14-1 at San Remo 1930. Related: Chess: Carlsen scores in Paris, leads Freestyle Grand Slam after two events However, Fide does not officially rate Freestyle chess, in which the back rank pieces have randomised starting positions. It is also known as Fischer Random, Chess 960, and Chess 9LX. It was a remarkable victory in physical terms. Carlsen came direct to Grenke from his victory in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Grand Slam, and was fatigued by the two-rounds-a-day schedule. His laconic post-victory comment was: 'I'm not going to do that again, that's for sure!' He relied on grinding technique for many of his wins, but scored in a complex battle against the eight-time French champion Étienne Bacrot, who asked Carlsen for a selfie before the start. Carlsen's final-round win against Vincent Keymer, the 20-year-old who has emerged as his main Freestyle rival, was also a tense struggle until the young German blundered in time pressure with an unsound knight sacrifice. Superior clock handling has been a key to Carlsen's success. He understands the sometimes chaotic Freestyle openings faster and deeper than his opponents. The Grenke event produced a world record entry of 3,000 players, 500 up on 2024 and double the highest US total of 1500 at the 1986 World Open in Philadelphia. A drone's eye view of the multiple playing halls shows the scale of the vast operation. Just a day after Grenke, Carlsen was in action again, winning the late version of online Titled Tuesday. However, the Norwegian was upstaged in the early version, where the 13-year-old Turkish prodigy, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, became the youngest ever winner of this highly competitive event. neglected to mention Erdogmus in its headline, but the teenager's impressive result was underlined by his strong performance in the Grenke Freestyle Open, where Erdogmus drew with three 2700+ opponents and totalled 7/11. Next Monday is the eighth and final episode of BBC Two's Chess Masters: The Endgame, when the four finalists, Richie, Kel, Thalia and Lula, will decide the winner. Episode seven proved a disappointment in audience numbers, supplied by Broadcast, which dropped to 535,000 and 4% of the total viewers. Perhaps it was an effect of the Easter holiday. The highlight was a three board simultaneous performance by the prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan (seen here in action at an earlier simul in Harrow), in which the opponent she checkmated the fastest was eliminated. If the semi-finals and final were a normal tournament with head-to-head pairings, Kel, who has an excellent record in Manchester weekend events, would be the favourite, but according to the BBC's advance clip the challenge will also involve solving tactical puzzles. It was different in BBC Two's The Master Game of the 1970s and 80s, when Karpov, the then world champion, was twice the top seed and the other grandmasters knew that to succeed they had to defeat the Russian … 3969: 1…Qh3+ 2 Ke1 (2 Kg1 Qg2 or Nf3 mate) Ng2+ 3 Kf1 Ne3++ 4 Ke1 Qf1+! 5 Rxf1 Ng2 mate.
Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Is Magnus Carlsen afraid of facing Gukesh in classical chess? World No 1 responds
Asked about the online community's speculations if Magnus Carlsen was afraid of facing India's Gukesh Dommaraju in classical chess, the Norwegian came up with a measured response. Classical chess just doesn't cut it for him anymore. The world no 1 said in an interview Take Take Take: 'Everybody has a lot of respect for Gukesh in classical chess. But I can tell you for sure that the reason why I am not playing a lot of classical chess is that I am not really motivated to play it. But for him, it's different. It's really his main thing.' In the recent interview, Carlsen also said: 'If people think I was criticizing Gukesh too much it's because I expect so much from him in classical chess. Similarly, in other formats, I might not be as critical because I don't expect that much!' When asked if Gukesh is a worthy world chess champion in his opinion, Carlsen added: 'He won the Candidates ahead of a field of world-beaters and he's done incredibly well in classical chess over the last couple of years, including giving one of the all-time best performances at the Olympiad. Is he the best player in the world? Remains to be seen! But is he a worthy world champion? By what they measure that by I think he certainly is!' After Gukesh had lost Game 1 of the World Chess Championship, Carlsen had famously quipped: 'It's hard to understate how bad this was from Gukesh. Not a single good decision basically the whole game. Everything was wrong.' After Game 5, Carlsen had said: 'Gukesh has generally not impressed me.' In another interview in September 2024, Carlsen, when asked about Gukesh, had said: 'Gukesh is still a bit of a mystery to me. To have somebody who is so unbelievably much better at classical chess… but when he plays rapid and blitz, you can tell that at times this guy does not have that intuition to play good moves quickly. But he calculates unbelievably well.' When Gukesh was asked about this by the Take Take Take app in an interview during the Paris Freestyle event, Gukesh had said: 'People have different opinions. But as long as I beat my opponent, I don't care. What he says is not completely bullshit, yeah? It made sense: the games were not great.' Then, with a chuckle, Gukesh added: 'But I won the match yeah, so what else can I do?' When Carlsen was told about this response in the recent interview, the former world champion said: 'If he has that attitude, it's excellent for him. If he has the attitude that people may say whatever they want I don't care, that's good!'
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First Post
06-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Hans Niemann breaks silence on sudden exit from Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam: ‘Usual suspects within chess mafia...'
Controversial American Grandmaster Niemann added that he intended to fulfill his obligation of undergoing a polygraph test after losing to Russian Grandmaster Daniil Dubov recently, adding that it was cancelled for 'logistical reasons'. read more American Grandmaster Hans Niemann was set to make his Freestyle Chess debut in the Paris Grand Slam last month, only to pull out without explanation on the eve of the event. AFP American Grandmaster Hans Niemann had staged a last-minute withdrawal from the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, where his face-off against world No 1 Magnus Carlsen was among the biggest talking points in the build-up to the event. Niemann, however, did not provide any explanation for his sudden withdrawal on the even of the tournament and his silence only served to fuel rumours. Norwegian broadcaster TV 2 claiming he was spooked by the heightened anti-cheating measures that were introduced for the second leg of the inaugural Grand Slam Tour. Freestyle Chess co-founder Jan Henric Buettner chose not to speculate over Niemann's withdrawal but confirmed the introduction of new anti-cheating measures. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Deeply frustrated by the organizers' and TV2's absurd speculation' Niemann, who had been accused of cheating by Carlsen in one of the biggest controversies in chess history, finally broke his silence on his Paris withdrawal on Monday. 'Now that some of the dust has settled, I want to address my withdrawal from Paris. I didn't immediately issue a public statement because, frankly, I was deeply frustrated by the organizers' and TV2's absurd speculation suggesting my decision was linked to what they dramatically called 'new, advanced anti-cheating measures,' world No 20 Niemann wrote on X. 'The article falsely claimed that the last message I received referenced 'enhanced measures.' To be absolutely clear—this is completely false. Unsurprisingly, the usual suspects within the chess mafia eagerly amplified this ridiculous narrative. At the time, I believed publicly responding would only legitimize accusations that have no basis in reality. 'I withdrew from the tournament strictly for personal reasons that I prefer not to disclose publicly right now. What's been particularly disappointing is witnessing how quickly some people jumped on this moment to perpetuate three years of baseless accusations against me. I genuinely wonder when they'll finally accept reality,' the 21-year-old, who has a FIDE Classical rating of 2736, added. Now that some of the dust has settled, I want to address my withdrawal from Paris. I didn't immediately issue a public statement because, frankly, I was deeply frustrated by the organizers' and TV2's absurd speculation suggesting my decision was linked to what they dramatically… — Hans Niemann (@HansMokeNiemann) May 5, 2025 Freestyle Chess organisers announced Uzbekistani GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov as Niemann's replacement after the latter's withdrawal. Carlsen would go on to win the Paris leg of the Grand Slam Tour after defeating world No 2 Hikaru Nakamura in a dream final, while India's Arjun Erigaisi impressed on Freestyle debut by finishing fifth. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Read | Niemann questions Nakamura using headphones during prize money tournaments Niemann, however, would make his Freestyle Chess debut at the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open last month, where he finished 33rd while Carlsen won the event with a perfect score of 9/9. Niemann was also in the news for his 18-game blitz face-off against Russian Grandmaster Daniil Dubov recently, in which the loser had to answer one question while undergoing a polygraph test, also known as a lie-detector test. Dubov defeated Niemann by a 9.5-8.5 scoreline in the match that took place right after the Aeroflot Open in the first week of March, only for the latter to perform a U-turn and back out from undergoing the test. In his post, Niemann added that the polygraph test was cancelled due to 'logistical reasons', adding that he will be undergoing the test 'very soon'. 'A quick note regarding the polygraph: the initial test was canceled for logistical reasons, but after traveling, I have now arranged to complete it very soon. I am taking this polygraph solely because it was a condition of the match—not because I have anything to prove. 'Every single official chess organization has repeatedly affirmed that attempts to question my legitimacy as a player are malicious, baseless, and entirely absurd. The only thing left for me to prove is that I can become the World Chess Champion,' Niemann further wrote in the post. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
