Reigning world chess champ Magnus Carlsen mulls over his chips at the World Series of Poker last week. He recently said he won’t be playing in the next world chess championship. (Image: Screenshot via PokerGo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHis rating of 2882 is the highest ever achieved in chess. Earlier this year, Chess.com<\/em> rated him the second-best player, behind only legend Garry Kasparov and one spot ahead of Bobby Fischer.<\/p>\nWhat this five-time world chess champ would rather do is play poker … and not that well. At last week\u2019s World Series of Poker at Bally\u2019s and Paris, Carlsen hit the railway out of the money, not even surviving Day 1C.<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t have any inclination to play,\u201d Carslen said on his new podcast, Magnus Effect. \u201cThe matches themselves have been at times interesting, at times a little bit of fun. But overall, I feel like it\u2019s my time to go from the world championship matches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bad Track Record for Sports-Switchers<\/h2>\n Remember when Michael Jordan quit the Chicago Bulls to join baseball’s Chicago White Sox in 1994? He returned to basketball, and his senses, within a year. Will Carlsen?<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t rule out a return in the future,\u201d he said on the podcast. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t particularly count on it, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Carlsen, at 31, the game\u2019s reigning champion and biggest star, had been slated to defend his title against Russia\u2019s Ian Nepomniachtchi next year. Instead, Nepomniachtchi will now play China\u2019s Ding Liren, with the winner claiming Carlsen\u2019s vacated title.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Carlsen said he would continue playing competitive chess, just not world championships.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy playing tournaments a lot,\u201d he said on his podcast. \u201cObviously, I enjoy them a lot more than I enjoy the world championship, and frankly, I don\u2019t see myself stopping as a chess player any time soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
About Carlsen<\/h2>\n Carlsen has been a true chess championship from an early age. His father, an amateur chess player, taught Carlsen how to play the game at 5.<\/p>\n
Hailing from Norway, he won the Norwegian Chess Championship at 15. At 18, he surpassed a rating of 2800. Then in 2010, at 19, he reached No. 1 in the FIDE world rankings, the youngest<\/strong><\/p>\nCarsen is currently the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion\u00a0and five-time\u00a0World Blitz Chess Champion. He has also held the number one position in the FIDE world chess rankings since 2011.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Magnus Carlsen refuses to play in next year\u2019s world chess championship and will voluntarily surrender the title he\u2019s held since winning it in 2013 at age 22. His rating of 2882 is the highest ever achieved in chess. Earlier this year, Chess.com rated him the second-best player, behind only legend Garry Kasparov and one spot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":222236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81886,14,16],"tags":[81910,81908,81907,81909],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Chess Champ Cashes In Checks for Poker Chips - Casino.org<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n