The 64 - From Madrid to Astana: Part One - Madrid
From Madrid to Astana: And All The Extenuating Circumstances That Lead To The 2023 FIDE World Chess Championship
Part One - Madrid
KYIV
On the morning of February 23rd, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced that he was in effect annexing the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine, in what he refuses to call anything other than a "special military operation" (the latest batch of the country's newly published textbooks doubles down on this turn of phrase.) The Russian leader argues that Ukraine is not a nation and that Ukrainians are not people. Prior to this, Russian troops had already taken up positions along the Ukrainian border, the far eastern edge of democratic Europe. Despite repeated warnings from the west that Putin was massing hundreds of thousands of forces for such an assault, a full-scale invasion seemed to still be unthinkable. An attack would make it the biggest military invasion seen in Europe since World War II but at around 5 A.M. Eastern European Summer Time, that invasion is exactly what happened as thunderous explosions echoed throughout the country. War was afoot.
The siege to "demilitarize and de-Nazify" Putin's neighbor to the west (a government so pro-Nazi it is led by a Jewish President apparently) was expected to end within weeks, possibly even days but the country embraced and enlisted a fighting spirit, similar and surely inspired by Kyiv's Mayor, former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko and with that combativeness, as well as an incredible amount of resilience and a nationwide strength of character, the war between Russia and Ukraine still ensues well over a year and a half later, with Ukraine event launching it's own counter-offensives. Klitschko is a bit of a chess enthusiast himself. Here's a quick miniature where along with his brother Wladimir (also a multiple time world heavyweight champ) collectively take on a blindfolded Elizabeth Paetz, who wasn't then but has since become a Grandmaster in her own right. After seeing this game you'll immediately question just who exactly was the one playing blindfolded.
For a story titled From Madrid to Astana the reader may be wondering what does this conflict in Kyiv have to do with chess? But in fact, the 2022 FIDE Candidates Tournament ostensibly began in Ukraine and with the Kremlin. As reactions poured in from Putin's newfound imperialistic aggression, the chess world and who is eligible to compete for a shot at the FIDE World Championship would soon be altered drastically. In April of last year 44 top Russian chess players published an open letter to Russia's 'President' urging him to "Stop the war... During these tragic days we are thinking of all the people caught in the midst of this frightful conflict. We share the pain of our Ukrainian colleagues and call for peace."
Among those Russian players catalogued were 8-time Russian Chess Champion Peter Svidler, former Women's World Chess Champion and 'ChessQueen' Alexandra Kosteniuk, as well as the 2021 FIDE Candidates winner and World Chess Championship runner-up Ian Nepomniachtchi. Their stance on the war is clear. They support peace but anyone who speaks out against the Russian Federation are brave in their own right as Putin doesn't have a firm belief in free speech, particularly when such rhetoric directly questions him. However, most notably but unsurprisingly absent from the list of signees was GM Sergey Karjakin. The penned letter's intentions are certainly altruistic but also killed two birds with one stone by separating themselves from the likes of Russia sympathizers, a title Karjakin wears as a jingoistic badge of honor.
In March the 2016 FIDE World Championship Challenger, and one of eight players scheduled to partake in the upcoming edition of the Candidates Tournament, Karjakin would end up being suspended from competition for six months by FIDE over his pro-war comments. Karjakin repeatedly shared Russian propaganda and endorsed the war. When asked about whether or not he regretted his public support of the military invasion, the Crimea-born Grandmaster said "My answer is simple. I am on the side of Russia and my President. No matter what happens, I will support my country in any situation without thinking for a second!"
Ranked 18th at the time, the six-moth ban meant that Karjakin would not be able to participate in the upcoming FIDE Candidates tournament, set to take place in Madrid, Spain later that June. The Candidates is an 8 player Double Swiss Tournament where the winner faces off in a match against the World Champion Magnus Carlsen the following year. But with only 7 players now on the ballot, one more would have to be added to round out the field. The question is, which competitor will step up and fill this opportunistic vacant seat?
THE CANDIDATES
1 spot is always reserved for the previous World Chess Championship Challenger. 2 spots go to the top finishers of the most prestigious open chess tournament in the world, the FIDE Grand Swiss. 2 more spots are awarded to the winners of the FIDE Grand Prix Cycle, a series of prestigious chess tournaments which are used in part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship. 1 spot was awarded to a Wild-Card invite and the final 2 spots go to the top finishers in the world's largest knockout tournament, the most grueling chess tournament known to man, the FIDE World Cup.
So without further adieu, let's meet the 2022 FIDE Candidates --
- Ian Nepomniachtchi - 2021 World Championship Runner-Up
- Alireza Firouzja - 2021 FIDE Grand Swiss Winner and the youngest player in chess history to cross the 2800 Elo threshold.
- Fabiano Caruana - 2021 FIDE Grand Swiss Runner-Up. Top ranked American player, 2-time U.S. Champion and 2018 World Chess Championship Challenger.
- Hikaru Nakamura - Not even a professional chess player.
- Richard Rapport - 2022 FIDE Grand Prix Runner-Up - Top ranked Hungarian player.
- Teimuour Radjabov - Wild-Card Invite - Withdrew from the 2021 Candidates due to concerns at the time of the deadly Coronavirus disease.
- Jan-Krzysztof Duda - 2021 FIDE World Cup Winner - Top ranked Polish player. 2018 World Blitz Championship Runner-Up.
- ???
As per section 2.3 in the FIDE handbook pertaining to the Regulations for the FIDE Candidates Tournament and its qualification --
2.3. If any replacement is needed, the highest-rated player in the FIDE May 2022 standard rating list shall be invited...
As of April 2022, the FIDE ratings list looked like this --
So, some pretty simple math there isn't it? Ding Liren is the highest rated player and in one month's due time, he'll be the 8th and final Candidate. Well, in the words of the great Lee Corso...
The handbook also specifies that --
2.3. ... provided he/she has at least 30 standard games rated in the FIDE rating list from June 2021 to May 2022.
Now although Ding had been active playing in online tournaments, particularly in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour where he won the 2022 Chessable Masters...
....playing over the board provided to have its own set of complications. Ding's inactivity over the board was a result of strict sanctions implemented by the Chinese government over concerns of the COVID-19 disease. There were nation wide lockdowns in effect as well as strict travel laws in and out of China. So with nobody to play or anywhere to go play them, Ding was largely inactive for a year. At the time of Karjakin's ban on March 21st, Ding had only played in 4(!) standard games after June of the year prior! With only a month to spare, the hour glass had officially been turned over. It would now be a race against time.
In coordination with China's governing chess body, a series of tournaments in March and April were hastily organized for no other reason than for Ding's benefit. "The first games I remember were played on March 27th," Ding recounted. "I had to play each player four times and the tournament was organized for me, so I could have enough games to be in the possible squad for the Candidates. The other players were all very young and they were all born in 1999 and they are the future of Chinese chess."
I think I played my best chess in this period of time. Although my opponent's rating points were around 200 points below me, to beat them and to maintain the rating is not so easy."
Basically, one slip up or even a draw could be catastrophic to his rating and there was always the potential that he could be leap frogged in the table by the time the May rankings get published. "Especially in the first tournament I was very worried about losing a lot of rating so that I could not take the place and be overtaken by other players. Finally, I think I played very well, especially after a long time in lockdown. I didn't play many over the board tournaments, so the results were a surprise to me."
In this epic race against time, Ding said the grueling run of classical games that saw him play 28 games in a month seemed "very, very long." Not only did he complete the 30 games he needed to be eligible for the Candidates Tournament, but according to the official May 2022 FIDE Ratings List, Ding actually surpassed the idle Firouzja to claim the 2nd spot in the world, only now humbled by the one Magnus Carlsen.
More so than the #2 ranking, the number that strikes me the most is the #28 that sits under the games played column, more than doubling anyone else's activity shown on that list of top 20 players. Here's a catalogue of Ding's hectic one month schedule --
The only other player really hot on Ding's heels was Levon Aronian, who had a tough month of classical chess and lost 20 rating points. Therefor, thanks to these extenuating circumstances, the Chinese star can officially book his ticket to Madrid. The newly-installed world No. 2 said the experience has spurred him on to play the best chess of his life. Will that momentum carry over into June? According to 3-time British Chess Champ David Howell, he had this to say in regards to Liren's Candidate chances, "That's a lot of chess! He definitely can't say he's rusty now going back into next month's Candidates Tournament. I think, just on the back of his recent results, Ding has to be one of the favorites to qualify and challenge Magnus. I'm impressed he's playing here, I'm grateful, because he's such a great player and we want to see his games."
Ding is due to start in the Candidates with White against the defending tournament champion, Ian Nepomniachtchi.
I'm buying my ticket to the Candidates!
- Ding Liren.
MADRID
"Madrid. Civilization here is almost as old as the game of chess. Some claim the queen was given her powers to honor Queen Isabella...
That my friend's, is a chess legacy. - Danny Rensch
Tyrion Lannister once professed that "A wise man once said a true history of the world is a history of great conversations in elegant rooms." I suppose the same thing can be said about great chess because the magnificent Palace de Santoña, the venue for the most important tournament in all of chess, is about as elegant as it can get. High granite ceilings, decorative walls, a marked baroque character; this is where the 64 squares will be tried and tested.
ROUND 1
Round 1 saw two decisive games as Caruana defeated his American counterpart Nakamura with the White pieces. The two have played each other a total of 45 classical games and regulations have it that players from the same federation must meet each other as early as possible in a tournament to avoid any possible collusion. But the most fascinating game of round 1, possibly for all the wrong reasons, is Liren vs. Nepomniachtchi, which turned out to be the shortest affair of the round.
It's the top seed taking on the winner of the previous Candidates tournament but despite these credentials, the game wasn't even close. The following is the game, as annotated by Sam Shankland.
When asked about the encounter after his own victory, Caruana would later say how he was very surprised by this game. "It looked like he just blew him off the board." Nepomniachtchi would go on to say that "a win is always a win, but I guess it was quite smooth. I didn't analyze, but I am quite pleased with the game." Perhaps Ian benefited from his months-long hard work done to prepare for the 2021 World Championship, which saw a lot of Catalan type structures.
There are a lot of parallels to be drawn between the first round of the 2022 Candidates and the first round of its 2020 predecessor. Ding losing with the White pieces is a rarity, only going down twice in his last 50 outings. However, one of those two times was in the first round of the 2020 Candidates, before going on to lose in Round 2 as well.
Nepo on the other hand also started his victorious tournament in 2020 with a Black win in the opening round. In fact, this victory would be an omen in things to come for the Russian GM and his adversaries. Nepomniachtchi would hit the ground running and never look back, foreshadowing a dominant tournament victory, in which he led from wire to wire.
After a win in Round 4 against the young phenom Firouzja --
Followed up by back to back victories in Round 6 against Duda --
And also a win with the Black pieces against Rapport in Round 7, who pressed in what should have been a perpetual draw and instead accepted a losing position, irrespective of the consequences and much to the detriment and frustration of the other competitors.
In what is ostensibly a two-horse race, Fabiano kept matching Nepomniachtchi's victories and remained hot on his tail. With the exception of a lone Hikaru win, they are the only two who can claim ownership over any of the decisive results, but the shifting dynamics at play will never be the same after --
In what was a quick draw for the tournament leader against Ding Liren, the Twitch Streamer extraordinaire Hikaru Nakamura took a full point off of the co-leader Fabiano Caruana, creating that much more separation from Nepo and the rest of the field.
Annotations by GM Sam Shankland.
Now one point behind Nepo, Fabi would have his chances in round 9, with what might be his last opportunity to get even when he has the white pieces against Ian, but after some deep preparation and resilient defense, the reigning champion was able to hold on to the draw. Still up a full point with only 5 rounds to go and clearly in top form, the task to topple 1st in the standings seems like a scarcely credible hunch at this time of the tournament.
... But what about 2nd place???
THE MAGNUS EFFECT
The Magnus Effect could have many different connotations depending on your definition of it. For some, it may be how he grinds you down in middle games and endgames, leaning on your fortitude and technique until he snaps it like a twig. For others, it's playing perfectly, blitzing out 20 moves of up to date opening theory only to quickly come to the daunting realization that you are somehow worse. How? But really, The Magnus Effect is a psychological one. Just knowing that you are playing him takes a subconscious toll on your thought process, kind of how like 'Iron' Mike Tyson would win a fight well before the two combatants ever stepped foot inside the ring. On an episode of the Perpetual Chess Podcast, Eric Rosen recalled the time that he beat Magnus Carlsen twice in one night on that other chess website that shall not be named here on chess.com, only he didn't know it at the time. He learned after the fact that the anonymous account he claimed victory over was indeed the World Champion, but what's most fascinating about his comments were how he wasn't sure he would've won if he knew he was playing The G.O.A.T himself, as opposed to just some anonymous patzer online.
For the 2022 Candidates Tournament, a competition for which Magnus had no bearing on, it's amazing to see just how much mental real estate he took up in the competitor's minds, living there rent free. Magnus's new hobby he's picked up has been poker where he even found himself placed at the Final Table at Norway Poker. So when he began to entertain and toss around the idea that he would possibly relinquish his World Classical Championship title by not defending it in 2023, players and pundits were left pondering wether or not they should call this bluff. Shortly after beating Nepo in Dubai, that December Carlsen mentioned that "If someone other than Firouzja wins the Candidates Tournament, it is unlikely that I will play the next world championship match." In April, he reiterated this point of view to a Norwegian newspaper,
"If anyone expects or hopes that I will say yes, I have to prepare them for disappointment."
Despite Carlsen's tone and what reads as a deep conviction, most weren't buying into a World Championship without the World Champion. If they did, it would have changed their match strategy. The Candidates is a tournament where its 1st place or bust. It tests the idiom "if you ain't first you're last." to its most theoretical breaking point. Before Round 1 on the chess.com broadcast, GM John Ludwig Hammer said that "you have to go on the assumption that Magnus is going to play. You have to vie for that 1st place finish."
It's clear that nobody gave Magnus's comments much validity and even if they did, playing for 2nd wasn't on anybody's minds. During the pre-tournament press conference, Caruana (who was the only contestant to be present), mentioned that there's only one motivation and that is to win and qualify for the match, so much so that he also went on to admit that he didn't even know what the prize fund was because he didn't look at it, stating that "anything which isn't 1st place to me would be considered a disappointment." A reporter followed up asking about the possibility of the chances that 2nd place is on the table and wether or not it will play a role in this tournament. Faby had an interesting response. "I don't really buy into what Magnus says. I don't really know what that means and I didn't give it much consideration. I look at this tournament as still only 1st place will qualify." Piggy backing off of his comments, the reporter was curious on if he thought that Magnus should clarify his intentions before the tournament starts. Again, Faby reacted "How do you play for anything which is not first place? As a happy accident, second place could play a match but you would never play for anything besides first place. So maybe it would be just a lucky break for one player but not something to aim for."
ROUND 10
Caruana's play certainly backed up his rhetoric. He took on Duda in Round 10, a player who's lost two in a row and has never beaten Fabiano in a classical game. With that being said, Fabi pressed with the black pieces and after just 18 moves the engine favored it +2 for White. Duda would go on to convert.
ROUND 11
Now Caruana took on a streaking Ding, who has won two in a row and unlike Duda, Ding has his number in classical with a score of 6 to 2. Caruana whipped out a novelty on move 15 but Ding came prepared and ultimately bested the American.
Annotations by GM Rafael Leitao.
Caruana has slipped all the way to 4th.
ROUND 12
Rather bloodless round with the exception of Liren stumbling against Radjabov, which is a crucial loss for those jockeying for position that doesn't pertain to the top of the table. If 2nd place was on the cards, the standings just got that much more congested.
With the standings so tight, the pressing issue of a potential 2nd place having significance still had the reporters pestering players about their approach to the final two rounds. Logistically speaking, tiebreak scenarios would only be in regards to 1st place and with Nepo's dominating performance having him at 8.5, the winning score in the previous 4 of the last 5 Candidates forays, the notion of tiebreaks are rather unreachable as the head honcho only needs a draw in the next two rounds to secure 1st place. Nakamura and Liren stated in interviews that they would prefer to play rapid/blitz tiebreaks for 2nd place rather than relying on the Sonnenborn-Berger system even though Hikaru still claim's that "If he doesn't play I'd be shocked. I just don't buy it." Last minute changes to a competition could prove to be difficult but if all parties were in agreement, the FIDE Council could cut through the red tape and make that a possibility. Radjabov is on the record as being fine with the tiebreaks as they stand. His opinion on the matter is that "I'm sure he will play the match. I don't know why everyone is so stressed out about it."
ROUND 13
But this was a forgone conclusion. Nepo would win the tournament undefeated (the only other player to win without losing a game was Viswanathan Anand which coincidently also qualified him for his 2nd match with Magnus), a 2902 performance rating and with a record score of 9.5/14. However, the real intrigue lied in the runner-up position even despite all its uncertainties. There was only one decisive game in this round and that belonged to the contest Nakamura - Duda.
After winning on demand, this puts the chess streamer alone in 2nd place with only the final round yet to be determined. He's half a point ahead of Ding Liren who's at an even 7 points and wouldn't you know it, just how Caissa and the other Chess Gods drew it up, its Hikaru v Ding in the final round of the 2022 Candidates Tournament with a speculative chance to vie for the Chess World Championship on the line.
ROUND 14
There was only one game of value in the final round so let's get right to it --
Annotations by GM Sam Shankland
Hikaru titled his Youtube recap video in the previous round, "I won on demand!", but with 2nd place on the line it was Ding who won on demand with the White pieces.
Afterwards, Ding confirmed that at the beginning of the tournament he suffered from jet-lag and had trouble sleeping. His hopes for a quick draw in the first round didn't go his way, so afterwards his thought process became "After that I tried to take it as a normal tournament and not the Candidates, to not put so much pressure on myself." The Chinese GM has gained the reputation of being a slow starter and that could be because of the pressure he puts on himself. Ultimately, he seems to play much better when he's relaxed and provides himself the illusion that there's nothing on the line.
"For me, the reason that I played much better in the second half I think is that I relaxed a little bit after a disappointing first half. I became more confident and sometimes I spent less time on each move just to believe my calculation and to just not overthink too much and keep putting pressure on my opponent and awaiting further mistakes by them! [Smiles.]
In the end though, Ding believes that Carlsen will still defend his title in the following year. It is public knowledge that Magnus met with FIDE's President Arkady Dvorkovich to discuss potential changes to the match format. During the post Candidates press conference, Nepo was candidly asked about the issue of Carlsen perhaps not playing another match. "This question indeed bothers me and maybe not only me but also the chess community. I guess it wouldn't be good at all if the reigning world champion decides not to defend the title. But having played the match in Dubai and two Candidates, I can understand, the pressure is enormous. Basically, it doesn't matter how much you score, it's constant suffering. Even if you win here, you win there, it's very nice, but at least for me, until it's over I just feel like: please stop this! You're counting the days until it's done, somewhere deep inside you agree on any result. Let's finish."
It was eventually debunked that Magnus met with FIDE to change the format to fewer classical games. Regardless, with rumors continuing to circulate through the gossip grapevine, Carlsen was given an ultimatum. He is to make up his mind in the coming weeks with the set date being by July 20th, which coincidently is International Chess Day.
INTERNATIONAL CHESS DAY
International Chess Day is a day that sets out to commemorate the anniversary of the International Chess Federation, which was founded in 1924. There are many activities planned to celebrate the occasion like a 24-Hour Marathon Arenas, streamer programs and trivia but what should have been a day to observe and recognize the Immortal Game, quickly became a day that would go down in chess infamy. I remember watching the news trickle in live on the St. Louis Chess Club's broadcast during Day 1 of the 2022 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz tournament.
Skip ahead to 8:55 in the broadcast to watch what happened live --
And did you take note to who Magnus was sitting across from for round one? That's right... wouldn't you know it, the now former World Champion (still sounds odd to say) drew in the first round his previous title contender and once again would be challenger, Ian Nepomniachtchi. Despite all the fireworks going on off the board, there were none on it, as pieces got traded off early and often and that first round game petered out into a draw.
Magnus was asked about his decision during the post-mortem interview. Here's what he had to say --
When asked about if his decision devalues the world championship, he replied --
Yeah, I guess so... but that's not really my problem - Magnus
As one would expect, there were a wide gamut of reactions pouring in through Youtube, chess.com and chess Twitter. Groomed in an environment where every thumbnail and title from all content creators must use Magnus's name and likeness to generate clicks, this time it was actually warranted.
It's most interesting to see what past champions and challengers thought of the decision and they all surprisingly struck an empathetic tone having been through the arduous process themselves. The man who Magnus dethroned, the 15th World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand said that he understood his decision fully. "I was also getting tired of playing matches every year or two years several times in a row. In a sense, because I lost, this problem solved itself. Magnus's problems is a little bit that he isn't losing. Look, I understand his decision. I think we can only have respect for his accomplishments..."
Vishy's predecessor, the 14th World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik called it a "rational decision." The always outspoken Garry Kasparov, 13th World Chess Champion and often in the debate along with Magnus as being recognized as the Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T) posted a series of tweets on twitter. Although his tangent went on to be more of a political indictment on FIDE, his firsts thoughts were that "I wished my mother were still alive to see someone else do what I did, or similar! Walking away from what everyone expects, or demands, you do takes courage. My sympathies are with Magnus."
But when the conversation turned to Magnus's legacy, his place in chess history and then the ensuing World Championship match itself, the conversation became much more heated. Hikaru Nakamura, who's draw against Ding in the final round of the Candidates will now forever be viewed through a magnifying glass, had a rather narcissistic approach to the decision. "The Catch-22 here is that if I had actually finished second, I'm pretty sure Magnus would have played. At the end of the day, the two players who are the most recognizable in the world of chess at the moment are Magnus and myself. Furthermore, the idea of a world where I could be a world chess champion and Magnus is not the world chess champion, there is no way that Magnus would really be ok with that."
In this blogger's humble opinion, I don't believe what Hikaru says to be true. I think a lot of what Magnus found to be stale grew even staler in the idea of facing the same opponent in Nepo, an opponent he defeated in dominating fashion with a score of 7 1/2 to 3 1/2 in the previous championship match. With that being said and Magnus on record of wanting to face Alireza and the new generation, I think the underlying subtext there is the idea of a fresh and vibrant challenger. In the hypothetical situation where it was Hikaru who won the Candidates instead of Nepo, I believe Magnus would have taken that challenge head on. With chess at the zenith of its popularity and the potential of the "two most recognizable players" to use Hikaru's words, a world championship match between Magnus and Hikaru would have been the biggest event in chess history since the invention of en-passant.
And speaking of chess history, many began to question the validity of the match between Ding and Nepo, as well as Magnus's cultural footprint left on the game. A true differing of opinions can be heard on the ChessDojo channel during one of their DojoTalks videos. GM Jesse Kraai tweeted that the forthcoming match is "obviously not a World Championship match." He emphasized this tweet when saying that Magnus "torched the chess world in a massive way.", "you are killing hundreds of years of chess history and the glorious battles of the past." and even began to question Carlsen's mental health saying "chess players are neurodivergent. Fischer was neurodivergent and as time progressed, as he got a little older, the problems that were inherent became clearer and clearer. Is this the first sign of Carlsen losing his mind? Maybe. That's what it feels like to me because this decision is so nasty." I think a year later that last comment is a bit ludicrous but Carlsen's newly sported man-bun definitely gives off mad genius vibes.
I'm bashing Kraai a bit but the conversation as a whole was very insightful and informative with several viewpoints. Kraai actually goes through the history of when chess was segregated during the Kasparov years (Kasparov was also on record as stating the next match as "hardly a world championship match.") I encourage everyone to listen to the conversation for astute and some sharp opinions.
The fact of the matter is that unlike during the era when FIDE was split, there isn't a separate championship cycle. You play tournaments and qualify for the Candidates. Then you play the Candidates and the winner takes on the World Champion. The winner of that match IS the World Champion. It's not ambiguous. Fame chess author GM Jacob Aagaard weighed in and tweeted that --
In the 1975 Jimmy Caan futuristic sports film Rollerball, a famous line of dialogue can be pulled from that picture that I find particularly prudent to the Magnus situation --
No player is greater than the game itself.
The same rings true about Magnus and the game of chess. He's still the best player in the world but the fact is that he relinquished the throne and the chess world isn't supposed to just stop and upend its world championship schedule to appease one man, even if he is the greatest. In many other sports, its rather common that the best team doesn't win the championship. Just this past season in the NHL, the Boston Bruins set all-time records in both wins and points during the regular season only to get ousted in the first round of the playoffs. At UFC 69, Matt Serra upset the great George St. Pierre to win the Welterweight championship. He will forever be a UFC champion. The New England Patriot's undefeated season got upended when they were defeated by the Wild Card New York Giants to win Super Bowl XLII. The Patriots were unassailably one of the best rosters ever constructed, but Super Bowl Champions they were not.
One of the greatest things about sports is that they are not open to interpretation. You go out and play the game and may the best man/woman/team win. Just because Magnus decided to not defend his belt does not discredit the accomplishments of Nepo or Ding. Is it unfortunate and not as interesting? Of course, but his absence does not diminish the validity and prestige of the Classical World Championship title.
End of Part One
This is part one of a two part blog. Keep your eyes peeled for the next edition, Astana, which will cover all the games, spectacle and theatrics of the 2023 World Chess Championship.
