Unprecedented Event: Two Chess Players Named World Blitz Champions for the First Time
Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi have made history by agreeing to share the title of the 2024 FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship, marking an unprecedented decision in the tournament's history. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi were jointly awarded the title of World Blitz Champion 2024 on Wednesday. This historic decision to share the championship emerged from a series of seven games that concluded without a decisive winner.
Carlsen proposed the unprecedented solution after three back-to-back draws in sudden-death tiebreakers. In chess, sudden death refers to high-pressure games with strict time limits to resolve tied matches. The Norwegian grandmaster began the final strong, winning the first two games and putting Nepomniachtchi under significant pressure. However, the Russian player fought back, claiming victory in the next two games to level the match at 2-2.
A video shared by the International Chess Federation via X captures the moment Carlsen presented the idea, which Nepomniachtchi accepted, leading to a handshake between the two opponents. “History has been written today!” the organization stated, announcing that it now has two champions.
This decision drew criticism from US grandmaster Hans Niemann, who accused FIDE of being influenced by a single player for the second time within a week.
“FIDE goes from forfeiting Carlsen to creating an entirely new rule. Seems like the regulatory body of chess has no intention of being unbiased. They seem to only care about what one player thinks,” Niemann expressed indignantly on X.
His remarks seemingly referenced Carlsen's disqualification from the World Blitz Championship in New York City the previous week, when officials ruled that he could not wear jeans during the competition. However, after FIDE softened its dress code policy, Carlsen quickly rejoined the tournament.
FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich stated that he would allow World Blitz Championship officials to consider permitting “appropriate jeans” with a jacket and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code.
In response to the decision to split the title between Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi, American-Canadian FIDE master Alexandra Botez criticized the move, asserting that chess was “getting soft.”
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
Carlsen proposed the unprecedented solution after three back-to-back draws in sudden-death tiebreakers. In chess, sudden death refers to high-pressure games with strict time limits to resolve tied matches. The Norwegian grandmaster began the final strong, winning the first two games and putting Nepomniachtchi under significant pressure. However, the Russian player fought back, claiming victory in the next two games to level the match at 2-2.
A video shared by the International Chess Federation via X captures the moment Carlsen presented the idea, which Nepomniachtchi accepted, leading to a handshake between the two opponents. “History has been written today!” the organization stated, announcing that it now has two champions.
This decision drew criticism from US grandmaster Hans Niemann, who accused FIDE of being influenced by a single player for the second time within a week.
“FIDE goes from forfeiting Carlsen to creating an entirely new rule. Seems like the regulatory body of chess has no intention of being unbiased. They seem to only care about what one player thinks,” Niemann expressed indignantly on X.
His remarks seemingly referenced Carlsen's disqualification from the World Blitz Championship in New York City the previous week, when officials ruled that he could not wear jeans during the competition. However, after FIDE softened its dress code policy, Carlsen quickly rejoined the tournament.
FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich stated that he would allow World Blitz Championship officials to consider permitting “appropriate jeans” with a jacket and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code.
In response to the decision to split the title between Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi, American-Canadian FIDE master Alexandra Botez criticized the move, asserting that chess was “getting soft.”
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
