Reigning world chess champion Magnus Carlsen refused to defend his title against Russian grandmaster Jan Nepomniachtchi.

Norwegian chess player quoted by Chess24.

" I just feel like this ending won't do me much, I don't really like it.

I'm sure this fight would be interesting for historical reasons and all that, but I don't have any desire to play and I just won't do it,"

Ian Nepomniachtchi wins Candidates Tournament in Madrid. Thus, the Russian will have to fight for the chess crown with the second number of the tournament, which was the Chinese Ding Liren.

In 2021, Carlsen has already met Nepomniachtchi in the final and won a landslide victory.

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Earlier it was reported that Ukrainian chess players beat Norway in a charity match.