I'm not sure if this news is shocking, or almost expected, or maybe understandable -- but no matter how you classify it, it's certainly big. Magnus Carlsen has announced that he won't be participating in the upcoming World Championship cycle, meaning that the world's top rated player will not be one of the challengers to Viswanathan Anand's crown.
According to a report at ChessBase, Carlsen cited several reasons for the decision, some of which seem more reasonable than others. For instance, his frustration with the changing rules and regulations is dead on; FIDE needs to pick a schedule and a format and stick with them. Others are a bit more puzzling; allowing the World Champion to advance directly to the final match against a challenger is a gigantic advantage for the sitting champion, but it's also been a part of chess for over a century, and forces a new champion to defeat the previous one in order to earn the crowd. The idea that a tournament might be a better way to determine a championship rather than match play is also one that most chess fans will likely disagree with.
So, what do you think? Is Carlsen right to drop out in protest to FIDE's handling of the World Championship match, or are his "suggestions" for future World Championship suggestions too outlandish? Vote in our poll or leave a comment below!
No comments:
Post a Comment