Magnus Carlsen’s four defeats in a row during the World Team Rapid in Hong Kong last week, coupled with his disappointing fourth place among six grandmasters in Oslo last month, have sparked discussion about whether the Norwegian, now a wealthy 35-year-old with a baby son, might be tempted towards a further reduction in his chess activities and a more relaxed lifestyle.
Carlsen had not previously lost four games in succession since Gausdal 2002, when he was 11 years old. The four defeats came after Carlsen had begun well, with a draw and then two victories, one against a historic rival, the Ukrainian veteran Vasyl Ivanchuk. That win was achieved in a classic example of a style and technique which Carlsen has made his own, a prolonged squeeze and grind maintained despite acute time pressure, as was his next victory against China’s Xu Xiangyu.
The debacle started with Carlsen’s game against Arjun Erigaisi, India’s world No 8, whom the Norwegian had defeated in a playoff at Malmö a few weeks earlier, but who this time triumphed with a ferocious attack on Carlsen’s king culminating in a queen sacrifice.
Next round, Carlsen chased a win in a drawn endgame against Armenia’s Shant Sargsyan and blundered his rook in a single move. He sat out the final two rounds that day, but next afternoon he lost to the Candidates winner, Javokhir Sindarov. In none of the four defeats was Carlsen able to establish positions favourable for a squeeze technique.
Even if he wanted to, Carlsen could not realistically withdraw from top-level chess before the end of the year. In early August he goes to Paris to defend his title in the Esports World Cup, an event whose scheduling can be construed as disrespect for the Sinquefield Cup, the premier event of the St Louis-organised Grand Chess Tour and one of the greatest global tournaments.
Faced with this scheduling dilemma, the leading US grandmasters have delivered a divided response. Hikaru Nakamura and Hans Niemann will compete in Paris, while Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Levon Aronian will be available for St Louis.
At the end of 2026, Carlsen seems sure to defend his double crown in the Fide World Rapid and Blitz Championships. Only after that is a pause available to consider his future, and his results in the second half of the year will surely influence his decision.
Meanwhile, China has come roaring back to the top echelons of global chess as Dragon Chilling, Beijing’s national team under a different name, doubled up to win both the Rapid and Blitz gold medals in Hong Kong. They attributed their success to team spirit and strong preparation.
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Ding Liren, the world champion from 2023-24, returned on top board although his role seemed to be a holding operation while his teammates Wei Yi and Yu Yangyi scored heavily on the next boards.
China thus served notice of intent for the 2026 Olympiad, the chess version of the Olympic Games, which starts in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in September. Eight years ago in 2018, China doubled up with Olympiad gold in the Open and Women’s sections, outpacing their rivals from the US, Russia and India.
Then came the Covid pandemic. For several years there were virtually no international events organised within China, while Ding may have had long Covid. Now the prevailing mood in Beijing is again expansionist and China has its sights on double gold in Samarkand.
Among the individual achievements in Hong Kong was a strong performance by the world’s youngest grandmaster, Argentina’s Faustino Oro, 12, who made a high score for the Chess United team led by the former world champion Vishy Anand.
Oro is potentially the greatest South American player since Miguel Najdorf half a century ago and, interestingly, like Najdorf he unleashes his moves with physical intensity, as shown by this clip of the end of his game against Poland’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda, the world No 14 and the highest ranked opponent that Oro has defeated in major competition so far.
4030: 1 c7! Bxc7 2 Rxc7! Qxc7 3 Qa8+ Kh7 4 Qe4+ and 5 Qxb1 wins a piece and the game.
