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Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen won his sixth World Blitz Chess Championship. The title was secured after Carlsen defeated Uzbek grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the final round of the championship tournament in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The victory means that Magnus Carlsen is now the reigning champion in classical, rapid, and blitz chess at the same time, the Triple Crown. This is the third time in his career that he has simultaneously held all three titles, doing so in 2014 and 2019 as well.
This may very likely be the last time Carlsen holds this distinction, as he decided not to defend his classical chess championship against Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Magnus Carlsen secures third chess Triple Crown
Carlsen, the top-ranked chess player in the world for more than a decade, claimed victory at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He took home the title in both of this week's tournaments, winning his fourth rapid chess championship and sixth blitz championship.
Magnus Carlsen secured his championship in the final round in a rematch against 18-year old Uzbek grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The win put him a full point ahead of American chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.
Carlsen was already the reigning classical chess champion going into the Rapid and Blitz Championships, meaning he now holds the Triple Crown. Although holding all three titles simultaneously seems like a nearly impossible feat, this is the third time in the Norwegian grandmaster's career that he has earned the distinction, doing so in 2014 and 2019.
This is likely the last time that Magnus Carlsen will hold the Triple Crown, as he stated in July that he has no intention of defending his classical chess title in 2023. The classical chess championship matches are held bi-annually, with Carlsen defeating Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi for the title in 2021.
A rematch was expected to take place between Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi in 2023. However, Carlsen has told FIDE that he will not defend his title, saying that he does not stand to gain much:
"I simply feel that I don't have a lot to gain. I don't particularly like it. Although I'm sure a match would be interesting for historical reasons and all of that, I don't have any inclination to play."
Magnus Carlsen clarified that he was not retiring from chess, but feels that there is nothing left to prove. Understandably so, as in addition to his many rapid and blitz chess championships, Carlsen has already won the world championship in classical chess five times.
