yesterday we celebrated the new world rapid Champion vodar meren today the chessor is resting after a few dramatic days in New York Magnus Carlson the reigning rapid and Blitz champion refused to change out of his jeans and Fay answered with Banning him from round nine Magnus then said he would not play the rest of the tournament he pulled out also stating he would not play the world Blitz Championship but take take take has breaking news tonight and we are going to Levy Rosman in New York in the take take take sofa sitting there with Magnus
Carlson thank you Kaa I'm here with Magnus Carlson on the rest day between the world rapid championship and the world Blitz Championship uh and Magnus I believe you have something to announce yeah um well I mean long story short like we can talk about how it got there um but U I am uh yeah I'm playing at least one more day here in New York and if I do well uh another day after that so you will be playing in the 2024 World Blitz Championship uh I do have some questions for you for sure when
did that decision become final um about uh a couple of hours ago maybe um we we had a lot of discussions discussions yesterday um well first of all I should let's go back to sure um let's go back to a couple days ago um I did have some some Choice words for f in my interview with you um and I would I would say that it was a bit imprecise um like I definitely mean it when it comes to certain people uh in in F no question about it I think this situation was badly mishandled
on on on their site um on on their on their side and I was about to basically book my plane tickets and get out of here um my uh father said that we should maybe wait to the morning to make a decision to speak to uh the feed of president for kovich whom we we have a good relationship like we know that we can reason with with with him I think him actually being um being uh asleep when this thing went went down meant that there was there were no grown-ups in in F you can
argue whether I am or or not but that's like we we felt that there was nobody um even slightly willing that they weren't even willing to have a conversation or or um or anything uh and we had long conversations with um with Anna yesterday which and others which generally didn't lead anywhere it was this you know uh the same um the same answers that Arbiters are basically robots who cannot think on their own who have no um no way to even deviate slightly from it's not I'm I'm I don't even know if I broke any
rules I I still haven't gotten a clear answer on that they were saying that genes were generally not allowed if it's generally not allowed that must mean that there must be exceptions and if I with I think uh a decent attempt at an outfit apart from that didn't meet that exception I don't see what what would frankly so I'm not even sure I broke any rules but anyways they decided to um take that opportunity to um you know pursue like a very narrow interpretation of of a rule and apparently there was no room for discussions
or anything Anan said very clearly that he he didn't know that he had any opportunity to uh do anything past it uh past uh you know uh go with the Arbiters honestly Draconian decision of not of not pairing me um and well that means that he was um for all his good qualities he was not ready for for this job that's that's that's what I um what what I feel um but I felt that speaking to dorich yesterday um and to uh t as well the main um the main sponsor um we did feel that
we could have some fruitful um discussions so at the end of the day I decided that the only reason that we were having these discussions at all is that I realized when I woke up that not only like didn't we speak to some more reasonable people I also love playing Blitz and that's that's why I'm that's why like it's it's still it's still a thing um I want to um to give the fans as well an opportunity to to see this I don't know if it's going to be if it's going to be the last
time who who knows but for now I'm here um and there there have been some I think slight alterations to the rules uh as a matter of principles principle I'm definitely playing in jeans tomorrow um but yeah here we are there's a lot that has been said that this goes beyond the genes uh themselves and before I get into to all of that my main question that sort of the detractors of the whole situation have is you had some time right so for those that say well why couldn't you have just changed your pants and
sort of kept going um what is sort of your message there we saw that Yan pishi had to change out of a sweat not had to but he he made the decision I guess if he didn't change out of his sweater he would have been in the same boat as you he would have been unpaired for a round is it just sort of a matter of like you said it's a matter of principle are you in a position where you can sort of make a public plea that it's a ridiculous rule like let the players
play their chess and that's really the star of the show um yeah I I think it it has to be about the intent of of the rule like right not the necessarily like the very minutes of the letter of of the law I think that's how any reasonable um Arbiter like any any reasonable body of that's how it should that's how it should be and yeah of course I could could have um I could have uh changed obviously um I didn't want to it would it would make it would be an unnecessary way of um
conforming of of no but not only conforming but also like taking concentration of whatever in between in between rounds but it would I didn't agree with the the decision I thought the punishment that they were going to to hand out for what was possibly not even an infraction was unbelievably harsh um and yeah I didn't I didn't I didn't agree with it I didn't want to comply um and I stand by that uh of course I could have done what other other players do but what what will happen now is that there will be some
some Le like there will be some room for Arbiters to actually use common sense and I think we sort of all want the same thing we don't want people turning up to these tournaments not putting any effort whatsoever into how they present themselves nobody thinks that that's what's um what what should happen we want the players to be comfortable sure but also relatively um cable so myself other players and FIA we're we're not in I think generally not too much in in in disagreement I know that not every player has the same means for uh
for clothes and and so on but I think if I think it's good that they're making at least some sort of um some sort of effort um so we're we're generally not in this disagreement I just think that and it's not like I didn't comply at all like I accepted the fine no question and I said that it was an honest mistake and and that I would change the the the next day it's not like I didn't um I didn't comply at all and there was this thing with in in Kazakhstan a couple a couple
years ago where um through my own fault obviously I was um laid by back from a ski trip stuck in stuck in traffic and um I turned up in in you know sweatpants or or whatever cuz I simply did not have have time to change um I also had no idea that the games were about to start so I was just trying to get there as quickly as possible and I know that generally that's not acceptable so the fact that they I don't remember if they warned me or find me or or whatever of course
and I changed before the next round obviously I did because what I wore was not appropriate attire at all what I wore a couple of days ago was in my opinion and I think of of any reasonable person it was appropriate for for uh a 200 player chess tournament now how much of what happened do you think is beyond the genes there Hans nean was here hikaru's been here like over the last 48 hours a lot of people have sort of hinted at it's beyond the genes it's sort of more big picture you hinted at
it before you departed do you think any of it is spill over in sort of a mutual last straw feeling from all the freestyle stuff going on can you talk a little bit about that or is it really strictly just about the dress code no of course it's about it it's about it's about several several things but I would say that if you put freestyle if you put freestyle aside um yes I think um that F have been very very difficult about that about that whole thing uh but we've generally been able to reason with
um dor kovich about that if you're talking about stovsky well I don't think that mind can be can be reasoned with um in in any way and we've told them we told them such as well can I just quickly jump in though how like how does that make sense How can there be a CEO you cannot reason with but a president who you have a great relationship with maybe it's normal for sports organizations and their Stars right but I don't know it seems kind of counterproductive maybe I don't know if it's a little bit good
cop bad cop but um um you know apart from like geopolitics and and so on people will have their opinions on on that doovic has generally been true to his his his word when when we've uh when we talked to him um satovsky not so much so that's that's the that's sort of the difference why satovsky is still employed by feda um I have no idea um he um I think he um you know I'm sure he he has some good good qualities but from from people I've dealt with nobody's had particularly good experiences with
him and it's it's honestly it's honestly frustrating um but it's the way it is hikaro was here yesterday and he said that it would be really helpful if top 20 top 30 players or just the best players in the world had some form of a union or an agreement amongst each other that they could communicate with Fay for different things different initiatives different policies but it generally feels like you are the only one that has any sort of final say or author for the players because if they do make a a better policy for dress
code it won't just be your jeans it will be the sweaters it will be there will be no more questions of why you know Nishi has to change his sweater but but dubov gets to web inaga every single round and we sort of have to wonder like what's business casual and what isn't so I am wondering like will they basically only change something for everybody if if you have a problem with it not that it's any fault of your own but that they just don't listen to any other top players well I guess it's to
extent it's it's yeah it's it's a question of uh um of of power of course that and and that's been the case in the in the past as well um so when of course this is not only about the genes but in this case it kind of mostly is as well um because you know I've refused to play candidates in the past because I didn't um I didn't agree on the way that things were were being uh being run 2011 yeah 2011 I dropped out of the world championship cycle once before that as well because
I didn't like the way things uh were were run I've had discussions with tournament organizers where I've been very firm about the way that I felt that they are doing things wrong and they're doing them unfair and I don't want to be be a part of it if it if it doesn't if it doesn't change and I'm prepared that this is is like I this has been a theme for many years like I'm prepared to generally um to generally walk away um but um I'm glad that in this case at least we've managed to to
have some sort of change uh change instead of the completely robotic um automatic um autom um you know um one warning and then basically if you don't if you don't change then uh it's an automatic not expulsion but not being paired from around which to most people to most people would be that that exact um thing that there is some room for interpreting the rules um and I don't know it it feels Al it also feels to me that it kind of was better before um that when when I started playing top tournaments like for
many years um there were Arbiters that were a lot maybe sort of more old school in the sense that they were more um trying to find Solutions instead of always trying to strictly follow the the letter of the the law um and I think that's that's um that's um a better a better approach and um I did listen to what the Arbiter had to to say as well the chief Arbiter I disagree with him vehemently and I think it's very clear that he is not qualified for for the the job that he that he that
he has here um and I think it's good that now with the way things are going to be uh the powers will not rest only with um with an Arbiter who um yeah who's out of his depth you mentioned just now uh the thought of walking away and also you know you're not sure if it'll be the last World Blitz championship and so on uh and I I do think the world is watching so I I kind of wanted to ask about that specifically you have the freestyle the Fisher random you know the the tour
that's upcoming and you've done a couple of events like last year and also this cool thing in uh Singapore with Fabiano um but for you what makes chess exciting like what would make it exciting is it a matter of Simply uh price fund and and and stature and and stars and all that or is it uh the format is it the circus to get the eight players into a candidates and to emerge One winner and you have to play that person in one match once every two years um would you you know is something like
defending the world championship which I guess you're no longer world champion but at least when you were is it you know two two 60-minute games a day is it strictly the openings when you look at the Chess World now and how much time you have left in it um what excites you is it just rapid Blitz and sort of no openings like uh I think the the world and I me too I I'm I am interested in knowing like your thoughts well for me it's uh it's it's it's very simple I I think of the
formats that I think are first of all that are are fun to play like that's what I I I wanted to and um I I I still for me when it comes to to to Freestyle it's it's very simple I just think that fundamentally that it's a better it's it's it's a better game I think that chess or the opening uh the sort of the the standard position I think it's it's it's a great position it's it's a very playable one in a vacuum but it's been it's been analyzed for so many years and it's
becoming harder and harder and I think that's just simply not that suitable for for a long time control yes I evidently it's it's still playable it's becoming more and more uh becoming more and more difficult and I simply feel that freestyle is at the top level I'm not talking about uh I'm not talking about you know taking anything away from your club tournaments or even uh I am tournaments or national championships or or whatever I just fundamentally believe that at the top level freestyle is more exciting and more more playable and I do love the
idea of playing long chest game sitting there for um for hours with deep ideas and guess what that's a lot easier if you're you're not playing Theory from from from the first move so that's to me that that's that's what it's it's really about the I still love playing if I only care about you know certain PR certain titles I would be playing tournaments I'm still playing the like I love playing I think for alwaysed still works what if Chess Championship matches everything was sort of a days qualifier top 100p players show up they have
to qualify to make it into the tournament and then every single tournament was a was a knockout and let's even add the fact that it's not going to be a five hour game once a day you have to play two 60-minute games something like that but it's it it is the traditional position is something like that exciting for you um not particularly no uh I I again it's I think it's generally better to have um to have when you're playing normal position to have more games and shorter time controls um but I don't know um
still but I do like some part parts of it as you said more games uh I feel that having uh a knockout phase at the end is um exciting and it's and it's keeping with the with the with the with the times as um as well but um you know I also it's I I understand that you know F want to do their do their thing um that and that and that for for both for the for for both them for for a lot of fans and for for players as well the classical World Championship
is is um is a big deal um and like we don't want want to stop anybody from from from doing that just as uh I don't think fer should stop us from organizing a freestyle World Championship when there effectively is none at least with um with a um longer longer time Control El it's like we want to cooperate with uh with with Fay but if they're not you you know if they're not playing um playing ball like when you're you're offering them money they're asking for more and I know that stovsky said that he wasn't
threatening or they were not threatening players but what his statement was basically we're not threatening players but we're actually threatening players um but well it's it's it's a it's a long thing but basically I love playing chess um but at certain certain formats and in under certain conditions that's fair um you know Hans demon was here yesterday would you incorporate any of his ideas like right now for the next freestyle tour there's only one qualification spot would you open it up to uh to a few others um I think I I think having open qu
some open qualifiers is is um it's a good it's a good thing we we want to give not only the very best players but also so um also others like niman the chance to um to to qualify so that's fair I know you don't really think about losing ever too much but I do have a a a funny thought like um I've had a debate with my with my wife for a while I play a lot of bullet and you know sometimes I get asked by people um why do you like what do you love
about playing chess I say oh it's like the creative positions you know I I I attack in every game and it's just exciting I play a lot of different openings my wife just says no you really like chess cuz you win a lot I don't win as much as you but let's say I win 60 to 65% of my games she say you just win a lot like for people who lose more than they win they don't enjoy it as much so I guess my question to you is you you've won a lot you've won
a lot unless you're you know removed from a tournament for jeans let's say if freestyle happens and you know you're playing the type of Chess that you want you you know you are will you still enjoy it as much if you don't win every single tournament because you are losing some degree of an advantage you opening ideas and so on putting pressure through the middle game um or do you expect like no I I'm going to go in and I'm I'm going to be the freestyle world champion or else I won't be as happy I
don't like I don't understand the question like of course I won't be as happy if I don't if I don't win like I always I always want to always want to win but I think we'll we'll sort of cross that bridge when it um when it when it when it comes like yeah um I do agree that chess is a lot more enjoyable when you're when you're winning especially when you're feeling a bit of a flow uh as well as well as as well as winning um but it's yeah it's not always it's not always
that case and I do understand that over over the years it's going to be um probably less winning for for me as well and more more struggles and I'm I suppose every format then will be a little a little less a little less fun but it's not like I suck at classical chess you know that's it's it's I mean I generally think that it's imperfect in in in in in the sense that it it sort of equalizes the the the game too much like it makes draws a bit more a bit too too prevalent because
it's it's sort of too easy to um to prepare and and defend but I I still like play it occasionally I'm still and I'm still very good so like that's not the reason why I'm I'm not playing yeah I guess the question was mostly are you you know worried that going into a freestyle format yeah yeah um takes away some of thinking no but I'm not thinking about it at the at the at the moment um but I I I still think that you know thinking from from scar and freestyle that I'm I'm I'm very
um I'm very good and um um hopefully I'll be able to to prove that that's fair is there anything we haven't covered today haven't asked you that you want the world to know before you go honestly this went down a little um a lot longer than I thought it would and it's obviously my fault cuz I I keep rambling uh but no I think we're um we're all right and um you know I'm excited to to play play some Blitz tomorrow um and um you know uh hopefully um I can make the day too and
um give some uh some entertainment to people back in Norway as well who probably will be uh less than sober towards the end of uh uh end of the second day that's true under the new format uh when you are a crown Champion it's already going to be new year just based on the time zones uh I appreciate your time uh and I think I'll send it back to Oslo guys take it away Levy Magnus H thank you for that breaking news from New York Magnus Carlson is back and that is exactly what the fans
wants to see World Blitz championship starts tomorrow with reigning Champion Magnus cron in the field remember to download the take take take app to follow all the action and you can follow the broadcast on our take take take YouTube channel exciting news coming from New York today we are now looking forward to World Blitz championship match uh World chip World Blitz Championship starting tomorrow we'll see you then bye [Music] a [Music]
