Magnus Carlsen Returns to World Rapid and Blitz with FIDE Resolution after Jeansgate Dispute
Magnus Carlsen is set to return to the World Rapid and World Blitz Championships in Doha after resolving a year-long dispute with FIDE regarding a jeans penalty incident in New York and issues around the Freestyle world championship naming.
The upcoming Doha tournament will feature over 200 players across both formats, including official world champions Gukesh Dommaraju and Ju Wenjun, top American players Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, and notable competitors such as Levon Aronian, Hans Niemann, Faustino Oro, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, and Vasyl Ivanchuk. Notably, there are no English or British entrants in this event. Alireza Firouzja will be absent despite his prior speed chess success at the London Classic Super Rapid and Mumbai's Tech Mahindra Global League, where he performed strongly against top grandmasters.
FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich praised the Freestyle branding concept and recognized Carlsen as number one in this version of the world championship, signaling a potential new collaboration. The current agreement includes allowing jeans to be worn during play and clarifies the rules for the Rapid title. However, there was no mention of FIDE's Chess 960 world titles won in 2019 and 2022.
Faustino Oro, a 12-year-old prodigy who secured his second grandmaster norm in Buenos Aires and won round one of the event, needs one more norm and participation in a Swiss event for a chance at the youngest grandmaster record.
Simultaneously, the Hastings Rapid and Blitz tournament is underway, coinciding with the Hastings congress. However, sponsorship has diminished as Hastings Borough Council has not supported the event for two years and Caplin Systems is no longer involved. The main sponsor remains the John Robinson Youth Chess Trust. Currently, only one grandmaster rated above 2500, Pierre-Laurent Paoli, has entered.
In other news, British champion Jonathan Hawkins has been diagnosed with aggressive cancer and has stepped away from his role coaching England juniors. A GoFundMe campaign has been initiated to support Hawkins and his partner Angela Eyton during this difficult time.
