Magnus Carlsen might walk away from classical chess

Let’s be clear: Magnus didn’t make some dramatic, final-announcement speech. But after his recent loss to 19-year-old World Champion and Indian prodigy D Gukesh at Norway Chess, he made a few comments that hit hard. “I simply don’t enjoy classical chess anymore,” he said. Those words cut deep, not because I blame him, but because it says so much about where the game is right now. If you’ve been following Magnus for years like I have, you know he’s never been one to chase titles for the sake of it. He already gave up the world championship title because the preparation grind wasn’t worth the stress. And now, it seems even elite round-robin events don’t bring him joy anymore. It’s not about losing (he’s done that before and bounced back), it’s about the why behind showing up to play. And maybe that’s the most relatable thing about him. Classical Chess Is a Grind Let’s face it: classical chess at the top level is brutal. Hours of prep, memorizing 20+ move theory trees, and then sittin ... Read full article.