Historic first: Two chess players crowned world blitz champions

The historic solution occurred after Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi played seven games that ended without a final victor

Grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi were jointly awarded the World Blitz Championship 2024 title on Wednesday. The first-ever decision to share the top spot was made after seven games without an ultimate winner.

The unprecedented solution was proposed by Carlsen after three consecutive draws in sudden-death tiebreakers. Sudden death in chess involves fast-paced games with strict time controls to determine a winner in tied matches. The five-time reigning world champion from Norway dominated the start of the final, winning the first two games and putting pressure on Nepomniachtchi. However, the Russian grandmaster managed to make a strong comeback by winning the next two games to even the score at 2-2.

Video shared by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) via X shows Carlsen proposing the idea to which Nepomniachtchi agreed, with the opponents shaking hands. “History has been written today!” the world chess governing body said, declaring that it has two champions. 

The decision sparked criticism from US grandmaster Hans Niemann, who has accused FIDE of being controlled by a single player for the second time within a week. 

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“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 said in an indignant post on X.

The comment apparently referred to Carlsen being disqualified from the World Blitz Championship in New York City last week after officials told him he could not wear jeans to compete. However, he swiftly returned to the tournament after FIDE relaxed the dress code rule. 

FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement that he would let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code.

Commenting on the decision to split the title between Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi, American-Canadian woman FIDE master Alexandra Botez denounced the move, saying that chess was “getting soft.”