Farewell to Yesterday’s Tomorrow

Magnus Carlsen has finally decided not to defend his World Chess Championship title in 2023. He, like 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) in the other half of the sky, will content himself with proving to his fans and critics “to be the best in the world”. That means that Carlsen, unlike Morphy and Fischer, won’t retire from the stage, but rather will challenge and motivate his colleagues to join him in imagining new games. “I’ve spoken to people in my team, I’ve spoken to FIDE, I spoke to [Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi] as well”, Carlsen said. “And the conclusion is, it’s very simple, that I am not motivated to play another match”.