zlacker

The submitted article does not mention that Carlsen has a feud[1] with FIDE over Freestyle Chess.

Reportedly he was not sure he'd even bother to show up to this event[2].

[1]: https://www.chess.com/blog/Eternal-Pawn/chess-at-the-crossro...

[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErKi4NcLlOc

>>magica+(OP)
Yep. He was also performing extremely poorly in this tournament.

>>magica+(OP)
Not only Magnus was saying he would withdraw if FIDE didn’t approve them also participating in the Freestyle league. Hikaru Nakamura was also saying he’d withdraw if FIDE forced them to choose between leagues.

FIDE conceded — and then punished Magnus for his jeans and refused to allow Hikaru to have cameras. It’s hard not to see it as political, given the context and fact FIDE went after multiple top level players.