Magnus Archives - usatoday24

Magnus Carlsen is the master of FreeStyle chess. It’s increasingly clear that that’s not enough for him.

February 16, 2026 by usatoday24

It was a miracle, but he did it. Magnus Carlsen was crowned this weekend as world champion of the World Freestyle Chess Championship that has been organized by FIDE. He achieved it after surviving and winning a game that he had practically lost, and although the competition was full of emotion, it is not clear that freestyle chess is the revolution that the chess world was asking for. Not even being blessed by Carlsen. what has happened. These days the world championship of this discipline was being held in Weissenhaus (Germany), and eight of the best players in the world met there, including Magnus Carlsen, considered by many to be the best player in historyor Fabiano Caruana, current world champion in classical chess. Champion by the skin of his teeth. That was the first officially freestyle chess tournament blessed by FIDEalthough there were similar competitions in 2019 and 2022. Carlsen played the final against Fabiano Caruana and beat him by 2.5 to 1.5, and after two draws in the first two games, in the third Caruana had an advantage that seemed secure. However, Carlsen managed to recover and, thanks to Caruana’s subsequent time crunch, take advantage of your mistakes to turn the game around. A boring champion. Carlsen, as many will know, gave up his title as world champion of classical chess in July 2022, bored with this modality. Although he continues to play some tournaments of this version, he prefers to focus on rapid and blitz chess, in addition to now being the main promoter of freestyle chess (also known as 960 or Fischer random chess). This new title as world champion is the 21st of his career (five in classic, six in rapid, nine in lightning, one in freestyle). This is more like boxing. As happens in the world of boxing, in the world of chess there is beginning to be a problem with world titles, and although Caruana is the world champion of classical chess, there is always the question of whether he (or any other current player) could really surpass Carlsen in a world championship that pitted the two of them against each other. In this situation another curious solution now appears. Welcome to the chess ‘triathlon’. For a few months now, the world number one has been supporting a kind of chess ‘triathlon’ that mixes the following modalities: “Fast Classic”: 45 minutes for the first movement, 30 second increment per movement Quick chess: 15 minutes on the first move, 10 seconds increment after each move Lightning chess: three minutes on the first move, 2 seconds increment after each move We will see how it works. As Leontxo García explained in El PaísAlthough the proposal formally comes from the organizers of the Norway Chess tournament, the support of Carlsen and now FIDE has led to the birth of the Total Chess World Championship, which will be held for the first time in pilot format in mid-October 2026. What will become of freestyle chess? The idea of freestyle chess is fantastic, especially to give more excitement from the first move to games between the best players in the world. In classical chess, the deep knowledge of openings that these players have means that the first 20 moves are often made almost by heart. The modality promoted by Carlsen is a breath of fresh air for these players and even for the spectators, but according to Leontxo García, medium or low level fans “hate 960 because it is very difficult and because they feel intellectually naked.” Fast chess for the age of impatience. That, together with the long duration of the games, meant that their interest in today’s world where immediacy is rewarded was very limited. This way of playing offers a more dynamic and entertaining format, but its adoption is still limited. On the Chess.com platform, for example, anyone can play one of these games, but the popularity of conventional chess is massive, although quick games tend to be especially attractive on said platform. It is these formats that attract the most attention, and this chess ‘triathlon’ may be a good compromise solution. Long live chess. Which does not mean that many continue (we continue) thinking that there is only one real chess world championship. The classic chess of a lifetime. With its long games, their scandals, his punches on the table and its scenes. That said, what matters in the end is that chess still more alive than ever. Image | Frans Peeters In Xataka | Beth, from ‘The Queen’s Gambit’, is a mix of Bobby Fischer and Judit Polgár, whose stories are impressive… and real

Magnus Carlsen is considered the best chess player in history. He has not been able to beat the entire world

May 23, 2025 by usatoday24

Last April 4 began A very special chess chess game. With white pieces Magnus Carlsen, considered the best chess player in history. With blacks, the whole world. And the world managed to force the tables. Carlsen can’t with the world. On May 20 ended This game Freestyle chess, and did it surprisingly. After 32 movements, “the world” forced tables in a lady end thanks to the triple repetition rule. This rule allows a player to claim a draw (tables) if the same position on the board occurs at least for the third time during a game. Magnus vs. The World. The event, organized by the online chess platform Chess.comhe has faced the ex -champion of the world of classic chess – he had that title by not wanting to defend him – against more than 143,000 users of Chess.com who joined strength to try to beat him. Freestyle chess. The game did not use the rules of classic chess, but those of Freestyle chess, the new modality that Magnus Carlsen is promoting. In this modality, the positions of the pieces of the rear row (towers, horses, alfiles, lady and king) are chosen randomly, although two rules must be fulfilled. The first, that the bishops must be in boxes of different color. And the second, can be continued on both sides, so the king must always be between the two towers. Thus ended the game of Carlsen vs The World. Tables by repetition. A legend. Magnus Carlsen, 34 years old, became the world’s largest score player in 2010, at age 19, and has won five world championships. In 2014, it managed to reach the highest elo score in history, 2,882 points. In recent years, tensions with the FIDE and its own tiredness with the classic chess modality have caused the fight to defend the title of World Champion. He continues to play classic chess tournaments, but is especially interested in fast games tournaments and, in recent times, in Promote freestyle modealso known as Chess960 (chess 960) or random chess of Fischer. Voting movement. After each Movement of Carlsen, in the turn of “El Mundo” a voting system was followed that lasted 24 hours and in which all those involved in the game could participate. It was not mandatory to vote in each movement, and to help the players of “El Mundo” there were several “coaches” who shared their own reflections on the best movements with their analysis of the state of the game. A “solid” game. In statements After the game, Carlsen Indian That “in general,” the world “has played a very, very solid chess from the beginning. Perhaps he has not opted for the most entrepreneurial options, but has remained more in the normal chess line, which is not always the best strategy, but this time it has worked well. The world did not risk and worked. In the last movements the players of “The World” discussed whether to force the tables with triple repetition or try to continue playing to win it, even if that supposed the defeat. In the end the votes favored the most conservative strategy, and preferred to force the tables. The world lost against Kasparov and Anand. There have been previous events of this type. In 1999 Garry Kasparov played against more than 50,000 players via Microsoft Network and won after four months. Last year the great teacher Viswanathan Anand He won a game against more than 70,000 players at Chess.com. In both cases they were classic chess games. How was the game? Chess.com analysts have described the game as “a roller coaster” in which there were a couple of dramatic moments. Carlsen came to have a somewhat more advantageous position, but he could not take advantage of it and confesses that from that moment everything was aimed at the tables because “they did not give me a single opportunity.” Image | Frans Peeters In Xataka | A study says that AIs are “cheating” to chess. That’s what we want to think

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