Magnus Carlsen - The Dying King

Magnus has lost the will to win!

I am probably 10 years older than Mr. Magnus Carlsen, and have therefore had the great privilege of being able to follow Magnus throughout his career - and WOW what a huge influence one person has had on chess worldwide!

In addition to his many great victories, I hope people appreciate what Hikaura and Magnus have meant to the world of chess, with them and probably because they have been such big stars, chess has moved from being stupid nerds with square glasses - and now all important matches are streamed.

But technology alone is not enough! Even if you can make streams, it wouldn't be enough without some people who would spend hours watching, admiring and feeling for and against, and we owe Magnus a lot for that. Of course, and Daniel for creating a platform like chess.com, and take take take, for being the world's first proper TV channel on such a large scale.

I often follow Magnus and/or Hikura every single match, of importance the two players play - and I am aware of many other great and fiercely skilled players, but I do not have enough time to follow them all, and those two are just the ones who have dominated the scene for several decades.

Magnus is losing his grip - and I predict in the coming decade, the king of chess will lose his position. Let me explain.

When you have seen Magnus since he was a boy of 13-14 years and until today, where life has given him all the victories, all the trophies that everyone dreams of, and he still sits at the top of FIDE, and is the best in the world without seeming at all bothered, so it is clear to see that he has lost the will to win, and life after he has become a husband and father, has made chess not fill everything in his universe anymore.
Take Hikaru, he still has that "fire" because he hasn't achieved all the titles Magnus has over and over again, so Hikaru still has that drive to achieve "something he lacks and wants" - and Magnus doesn't have that, since he has achieved EVERYTHING! There's nothing to motivate Magnus in the way that a player dreams of reaching 3000 in rating, or becoming the next speed chess champion, or winning the world championship - he's done it all several times!

So when I still follow the world's very best chess player, and see the man - the boy has become - it's clear to me, chess has a loss of importance and necessity for Magnus, which all the great players without him, still burn to achieve.

Maybe it's a human process, in life, maybe because chess doesn't offer players at Magnus' level more to strive for, but I see a king who will lose his throne, soon!

The day it happens, the day Magnus is so far away from being able to play for the world championships, I will feel lost myself, since he has been the North Star in my sky and why I have followed chess for so many years. It will be difficult to find someone as dominant as he has been - or as significant, and we will probably see a future where the world's best changes at short intervals.
For me, chess = Magnus Carlsen, and his eternal rival Hikaru who for so many years has dominated and shown everyone else how to play bullet chess.

New times, because soon the King will be gone!