Chess champion Magnus Carlsen has responded to accusations that he secretly agreed to a draw before the World Blitz Chess Championship final.
Wednesday’s historic final in New York between Carlsen, the defending Norwegian champion, and Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi ended in a rare draw, with both players sharing the title.
A video circulating on social media shows the two discussing the outcome and a proposal to the governing body, FIDE. However, Carlsen, who briefly walked out of the tournament earlier this week over a dress code dispute, clarified that the conversation was merely a joke.
“I’ve never prearranged a draw in my career. In the video, I’m joking with Ian in a situation… lacking decisive tiebreak rules. This was obviously not an attempt to influence FIDE,” he wrote on X.
“I think the match itself showed two players playing high-level chess, equally matched and both deserving of a win.”
But Carlsen’s quarterfinal opponent, Hans Niemann, has called for an investigation. Two years ago, Carlsen accused the American of cheating, and the ensuing legal dispute was only settled a year later.
Niemann wrote on X: “This is cause for an investigation by the FIDE Ethics Committee. I can’t believe that two players who maliciously accused me and tried to ruin my career are openly breaking the rules. The irony simply can’t get any worse.”
Five-time World Chess Champion Carlsen no longer competes in the World Chess Championship – recently won by Gukesh Dommaraju – and now mainly plays the blitz version.