Will Magnus ever Return to the World Chess Championship?

Magnus Carlsen is undisputedly the greatest chess player of this generation. Many consider him the greatest chess player ever, but that is very difficult to quantify because of how much the game builds on itself through time and study. Magnus not playing in the Classical WCC is not a surprise because it's the second time he's elected not to play in it (2022 Ding vs Nepo). 

Just to put his level of play in perspective, Magnus has and does intentionally choose bad openings that give his opponents significant advantages just to take them out of their opening preparation, then goes on to recover and win most of those games. Magnus has achieved the highest elo rating ever at 2882, and at one point went over 2 years (125 classical games) without losing. He's the only player in chess history to win the triple crown (World Champion in classical, rapid, and blitz simultaneously. He's won the triple crown 3 times. 

Regarding Fischer Random or Chess960, it was invented by another person many consider the goat, Bobby Fischer. Fischer defeated Boris Spassky in 1972, being the first American to defeat the Soviets in chess in decades. Fischer, after becoming champion, was disgusted with where he saw chess going, specifically with the advent of engines and computer-backed opening analysis. He hated that the beginning of the game (at top level) required memorization of sometimes 20 moves of theory with dozens of potential branches that needed to be explored. Because of this, he created Fischer Random or Chess960. 

The idea was to eliminate the possibility for opening preparation, and require the players to play what Fischer referred to as "pure chess" from the start. Because there are almost a thousand variations the game can begin with, it's impossible to prepare openings. Magnus has adopted many of the same sentiments as Fischer, as he believes there are not many current opponents that have the ability to challenge him consistently. The opponent he views as most worthy is a man named Alireza Firouzja, whom he said would be the only person he would defend his title from in 2022.

Though I don't like the abdication of classical chess by the greatest player on the planet, I certainly understand it. The amount of opening preparation that goes into even the first 4-6 moves of a top level chess game is unfathomable. I can certainly see why he likes Fischer Random better, as it allows him to be more creative and dynamic, and doesn't allow his opponents to memorize their way into a draw-like position by move 16. 

There's also a unique opportunity that Magnus has that nobody before him had, which is the chess boom brought on by the Queen's Gambit. During covid, and after the show came out, chess content received a long awaited boom of popularity. The person that has benefited the most from this is a man named Levy Rozman, an international master from NYC. Levy covers a range of skill levels through his game recaps and his Guess the Elo series, however the majority of his top level coverage includes Magnus Carlsen at the center. If you understand chess, you'll understand why. Magnus' ability to "squeeze water from rock" is second to none. As a result of this, Magnus has himself gained much popularity. 

Because of this increased popularity in a newly expanded market, Magnus has launched apps, gained sponsors, and signed exclusive deals with online chess sites and streaming platforms. He's also been invited onto numerous podcasts, all of which adding to his existing popularity.  These new streams of income mean that he doesn't have to rely on winning top-level classical tournaments to make a living playing chess, thus adding to his freedom to walk away from it. 

Will we ever see Magnus Carlsen return to top level classical chess? Who's to say. I personally hope Magnus does one more run through the Candidates Tournament and wins one more Classical title before officially retiring. But until then, I look forward to the magic he will create on the 64 squares with Freestyle Chess.