Magnus Carlsen – Answers: – I don't want to

Magnus Carlsen has been named tournament favorite to challenge Ding Liren for the World Long Chess Championship title. The matter became clear after a letter from the International Chess Federation (FIDE) on Wednesday. At X, Carlsen answers.

– Thank you for the invitation. I just don't want to belong to any club that wants me as a member right now,” Carlsen wrote on X in response to the FIDE post.

Dagbladet tried to contact father and manager Henrik Carlsen to ask if the answer meant an emphatic no to the Candidates' Championship and World Cup. He did not respond to our inquiries.

Carlsen once again became world champion in blitz and rapid chess at Space Christmas. For the seventh and fifth time in a row in his career.

Carlsen gave up the World Championship title in 2022. He justified this by saying that he did not have the motivation to play a sixth match in the World Cup. The 33-year-old has won gold in all five of his matches at the World Cup.

Before the news that Carlsen had refused to defend his world championship title again, he met with FIDE leaders in Madrid, which he himself revealed on the “Sjakksnakk” podcast.

– They wanted to discuss new formulas, but nothing came of this discussion, partly also because they leaked things from the meeting, which I wasn't happy about. Additionally, Carlsen said in the podcast published in April 2023 that what was leaked was false.

Dagbladet was informed that Carlsen himself, FIFA President Arkadij Dvorkovic and Federation Director Emil Sotovski were the ones who attended the meeting.

– We don't know what Carlsen thinks was leaked, but the fact that he was there and held a closed meeting sparked interest among a number of journalists who covered the Candidates Championship. They speculated about what was discussed. But I can confirm that the FIDE did not share any information from the meeting, FIDE press officer David Lada wrote in an email to Dagbladet.