Magnus Carlsen Criticizes Viswanathan Anand’s Suitability For FIDE Role

By Unnati Madan On Dec 30, 2024

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen criticized Viswanathan Anand, the deputy president of chess’ global governing body, saying the five-time champion isn’t suited for his role. This statement came just hours after Carlsen confirmed he would compete in the World Blitz Championship.

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Magnus Carlsen Criticizes Viswanathan Anand Over FIDE Role

The Norwegian was involved in a big controversy last week after he withdrew from the event. FIDE fined him for breaking the dress code by wearing jeans on Day 2 of the tournament.

“Well, first of all, let’s go back to a couple of days ago. I did have some choice words for FIDE in my interview with you. And I would say that it was a bit imprecise. I definitely mean it when it comes to certain people in FIDE. No question about it,” Carlsen told “Take, Take, Take.”

He added: “I think the situation was badly mishandled on their side. And I was about to basically book my plane tickets and get out of here. My father said that we should maybe wait until the morning to make a decision to speak to the FIDE president, Arkady Dvorkovich, whom we have a good relationship with.”

Magnus Carlsen’s Disagreement with Anand on Dress Code Issue

Further, Magnus Carless said that his conversations with Viswanathan Anand didn’t lead anywhere. He said that the Indian Chess Master wasn’t ready for his job. He said:

“We had long conversations with Anand yesterday and others, which generally didn’t lead anywhere. It was generally the same answers, that arbiters are basically robots who cannot think on their own, who have no way to even deviate slightly from… I don’t even know if I broke any rules. I still haven’t gotten a clear answer on that,” said Carlsen.

Earlier, the five-time World Champion and FIDE deputy president Viswanathan Anand addressed the controversy surrounding the ban on Magnus Carlsen after he was initially fined and then disqualified from the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship for refusal to comply with FIDE’s dress code after turning up in jeans.

In a candid conversation with Chess Base India, Viswanathan Anand expressed his views and said, “Actually, the appeals committee is irrelevant here because no appeal was submitted.”

“Obviously, it was not a step we wanted to take, but we offered several options. But he said on principle he was not going to do it. He himself stated it became a matter of principle for him. And so then the arbiters simply applied the rules and we supported that,” added Anand.

The Battle Over FIDE’s Dress Code: Carlsen vs. the Rules

When asked if this was just the beginning of something bigger, since a lot had happened, Magnus said he wasn’t involved in FIDE events. Anand, on the other hand, simply replied that he wasn’t surprised.

“Okay, so there is stuff going on behind, but I’d like to focus on the fact that okay, we follow the rules. Every other player is following the rules. For instance, Russian chess grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi was asked to change, and he did so. And so he was able to continue. This is a rule also we apply consistently with everyone. Magnus simply (2:21) Refused to follow it left us with little choice.”

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