The champion is unlikely to defend his title against anyone other than Alireza Firouzja, risking return to era of two No 1s
![Carlsen’s doubts over title defence leave chess facing uncertain future | Leonard Barden](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8227dce160105f54ecc00aca543cd0612d7f3343/0_90_3887_2332/master/3887.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=cf510091e2f451de9fc717a88ed4f97f)
Magnus Carlsen is “unlikely” to defend his world title in classical chess again unless his opponent is the rising star Alireza Firouzja. The Norwegian’s statement, in a podcast made public on Tuesday, opens up an uncertain future where the game could have two rival No 1s, as occurred in the years after Garry Kasparov broke with Fide, the world governing body, in 1993.
Carlsen cited lack of motivation as the main factor: “ It’s been clear to me for most of the year that this world championship should be the last,” he said. “It doesn’t mean as much anymore as it once did. I haven’t felt that the positive outweighs the negative”.