Magnus Carlsen is an embarrassment

Magnus Carlsen is an absolute joke. The man has absolutely no heart whatsoever. 

Tie score going into the final game of the World Chess Championship and he gets a big advantage and instead of trying to convert it offers a draw. Where’s the competitive drive? Where’s the belief in himself? Can you imagine Fischer or Kasparov offering a draw in that position?

Just disgusting behavior by a reigning world champion. No respect for competition whatsoever. I hope Caruana destroys him in the tiebreak. It would serve him right. 

I have given my thoughts, and  now it’s your turn chess.com. Was this the most disgusting behavior by a reigning champion in world chess championship history?

I’m not sure it was disgusting,...that’s more Bobby Fischer’s territory....but it was certainly the most pathetic performance I can think of at this level.

Great post. 

This is a world championship match. We expect the participants to honor the tradition of competition and fair play,  and for Carlsen to make a mockery of it today like he did is pathetic and an absolute travesty. 

A Great Belly- Acheing Post

Drawiano Drawuana vs Nutless Carlsen

Are you a supporter of what Magnus did? Please by all means make your case in defense of him

magnus is multiple time blitz and rapid world chess champion. last year in tie breaks he beat another blitz and rapid world chess champion. fabi has neither accolade, even once. can you blame him for taking advantage of the rules given him?

 

Yes I just did. 

This is the World chess championship, the most prestigious chess competition in the world, and with that comes the expectation that the participants will perform to the best of their abilities and so Magnus’ refusal to do so today is appalling, and makes a complete mockery of the championship

Probably he is fatigue, too many games at LTC.

I doubt it. Magnus does not believe he can beat Fabiano, otherwise he would’ve played on. If you don’t believe in yourself you have no chance of winning. Fabiano will win the tiebreak. I guarantee it

I think you are both right. If it's true that Carlsen is one of the best at playing fast then it makes total sense that he would take advantage of the rules that favor him and what he's good at. I'm absolutely horrible at playing fast, so much that' it's almost a totally different game for me.  So I also agree that purposely wanting to draw just to get to faster games is a little shady. Allowed, but shady. If the world chess championship is about chess the way tournaments are normally run then every game should be run the same until someone wins. Then, have a different event where they can play fast. Watching faster games is definitely more interesting, but it doesn't make sense to me to combine both types of games into one tournament.

Watching Carlsen during the last several games, I get the impression that he is not himself. Maybe he is ill, maybe exhausted, or maybe he is just burned out on chess right now, but for whatever reason he doesn't seem to have much energy. That low energy level is the only explanation I can think of for his bizarre draw offer today. Sure, the shorter playoff time controls favor him, but so did his position today. Why not end it when it's right in his grasp instead of heading into territory where he's only favored? I think Magnus is being affected by something beyond his control. 

I think he just wanted the match to go on for another day so the fans could enjoy some high drama

Magnus himself said in the post game interview that he thought he had a good position and was winning, but he didn't want to risk losing by pushing too hard for the win. Going for the draw and getting to tiebreaks where he has a 99% of winning sounds like a smart strategy to me.

I wonder if money had anything to do with Magnus’s decision?  Would a tiebreak meaning an extension of the World Championship match mean more money for the contestants or chess in general?  Would chess being in the spotlight a little longer add to chess?  Maybe Magnus was ordered by someone to take a “dive”?  If so, Caruna would be forced to not win the title by the same person because to accept a draw, Magnus would need a guarantee to win later on.

Or I am just being waaaay too paranoiac ...

Interesting theory. I hope it’s not true but if  it is true then Magnus obviously deserves a lifetime FIDE ban similar to the 1919 Black Sox scandal 

Maybe Caruna, too.

Magnus is a weenie. Even if he wins the speed games, he hurt his reputation with this. It will matter.

well if you have such a big heart yourself, how come you didnt make it to the WC match? Success in sports is a combination of many many difficult decisions done right, Magnus and his team have been exceptionally good with those so far. Go back to your sad little life and play some blitz if you need more excitement. Just let the man do his work the way he feels is right.

If you ever watch the Magnus Carlsen documentry and paid attention to today game i believe this was no surprise. Since he played his first international tournament, feel anxiety in very important game when feel under pressure and sometime does blunder, and if you paid attention before he offer a draw, Caruana was able to take an exit on his attack, so probably in that case lot of inactive pieces become active and than he know the game can change easily, so instead of feeling a very hard pressure that might push him to a blunder in game 12, he rather win it in blitz.

I feel Magnus Carlsen show great strenght by doing so, this mean he understand his own capacity in actual situation and manage to bring an option that is likely winning for him.

However; Magnus Carlsen will be studied further and I believe in that case he is most likely not gonna win the next world championship.