The year-ending FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships were mired in controversy. The Rapid Championship was marked by Magnus Carlsen’s “jeans scandal,” while the Blitz Championship drew attention when Carlsen allegedly suggested to Ian Nepomniachtchi during the final to play short draws after the sudden death games failed to produce a winner. In a viral video circulating on social media, Carlsen can be heard telling Ian, “Just play short draws until they give up.”
The video and the match result sparked an uproar on social media, with fans, as well as former and current chess players, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to accuse Carlsen of match-fixing.
Carlsen addressed the controversy on Thursday, breaking his silence by retweeting a post from a French Grandmaster. He denied the allegations of match-fixing and clarified that his comments in the viral video were a joke, stemming from the absence of clear tiebreak rules.
“I’ve never prearranged a draw in my career. In the video, I’m joking with Ian in a situation with lacking decisive tiebreak rules. This was obviously not an attempt to influence FIDE. It was said in the spirit that I thought FIDE would agree to our proposal. If anything, it was a bad joke given the gravity of the situation,” Carlsen explained.
He added, “I think the match itself showed two players playing high-level chess, equally matched and both deserving of a win.”
Carlsen started the final with two consecutive wins against the Russian Grandmaster, needing only a draw in the third game to secure the Blitz title. However, Nepomniachtchi staged a remarkable comeback, winning the third game to bring the score to 1-2. In the fourth game, Ian showcased exceptional strategy by sacrificing his knight, clinching a win that leveled the score at 2-2.
In the sudden death games, both players demonstrated incredible accuracy, with each achieving a 98% precision rate. All three games ended in draws. After deliberations with FIDE, Carlsen proposed sharing the title, a suggestion that Nepomniachtchi agreed to.