Athletistic/Chess. Russian Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin has commented on the news that reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has withdrawn from the crown match with Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi, who won the Candidates Tournament.

“Alas, my worst fears have come true. Magnus Carlsen refused to defend his title. Now I’m afraid serious chaos will begin in chess! How can you organize a world championship without a champion and which will give money for it?” Karjakin wrote on his Telegram channel.

For Carlsen, this match for the chess crown was supposed to be the sixth in a row.

In 2013, the Norwegian lost to defending champion Viswanathan Anand. A year later, Carlsen takes his revenge and does not give up the title of world champion. In 2016 he beat Sergey Karjakin, in 2018 – Fabiano Caruana, in 2021 – Jan Nepomniachtchi.