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Five-time chess world champion Magnus Carlsen has confirmed that he won't participate in the upcoming Candidates tournament in April. The World No.1 made it official after days of speculations going around.
The Norwegian star wrote a letter to the global governing body of the sport, International Chess Federation (FIDE), about his withdrawal from the tournament in Canada this year.
FIDE announced that the last spot in the eight-man event will go to Azerbaijan's Nijat Abasov. Magnus Carlsen secured a berth in the Candidates after winning the FIDE World Cup 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan in August last year. He defeated Indian prodigy R Praggnanandhaa in a nail-biting final.
"Despite qualifying for the Candidates Tournament 2024 by winning the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen officially withdrew from the event," FIDE said in a statement.
"Carlsen had previously stated his disinclination after reaching the semifinals of the World Cup and in some private interviews, however, the formal Letter of Decline was received by FIDE today,” the statement further read.
Who are the 8 players that have qualified for 2024 Candidates Tournament?
The top three players in the World Cup received a direct entry in the Candidates 2024. After Magnus Carlsen's withdrawal, Nijat Abasov, who finished fourth in the prestigious event, made the cut.
R Pragnanandhaa finished second and Italian-American Fabiano Caruana secured the third spot. Russia's Ian Nepomniatchi (runner-up of the last World Championship), America's Hikaru Nakamura (runner-up of Grand Swiss), and Frenchman Alireza Firouzja (player with the best rating) will also participate in the Candidates.
Indian chess players Vidith Gujrati (Grand Swiss champion) and D Gukesh (FIDE Circuit winner) complete the list of all participants.
This will be the very first time that India will have three players in men's Candidates. In fact, no other Indian men's chess player apart from the legendary Viswanathan Anand has participated in this qualifier tournament for the World Chess Championship match.
The 2024 Candidates is scheduled between April 2 and 25 in Toronto, Canada.
