The Unbearable Outlandishness of Being

• Leonard Barden, Chess: Magnus Carlsen set fair for a further reign as world champion, The Guardian, November 30, 2018

FIDE, the global chess body, will ignore the more outlandish suggestions to reduce draws such as introducing Chess960 random games, but the clamour for change is strong. Expect some tweaks to be made to the rules for Carlsen’s next title defence in 2020 such as a slightly faster time limit in classical games and fewer rest days. There is a balance to be struck, for while chess fans dislike draws they can also be turned off by classical games chock full of blunders. [Read more].