Magnus will not defend his title

[Richard Bates]

In purely financial terms, if he cares about that which I suspect he does, the loss of the title of World Champion will come with consequences, I suspect.

Lots of people commenting how the title will become devalued to those in the chess world who understand that they aren’t the best player, but still if most people understand World Champion to be shorthand for “best player”, not being able to use it will be a big loss.

Maybe he’ll enter the next candidates cycle…

[Geoff Chandler]

...that will be the reason Richard.

He was fed up seeing other players winning big money in the candidates and he was not allowed to play in it.

Of course FIDE could play the snide and not allow him back into to World Championship citing
if you win the candidates you will not play the in the match so what's the point.

[NickFaulks]

And on a scale of 1-20, what are the chances of Nepo dropping out?

Don't understand.

[NickFaulks]

In purely financial terms, if he cares about that which I suspect he does, the loss of the title of World Champion will come with consequences, I suspect.

I don't think the Carlsen brand needs FIDE so much now, but they can and probably will still work together.

[Geoff Chandler]

Nepo dropping out? That might complete the set of, shall we say 'Good Luck' Ding has had.

First of all he gets a place in the candidates because Karjakin was a fool and got himself kick out.
Next he is the final because Carlsen has quit.
If Nepo for some reason forfeits the match (cannot think why - how about; 'If I cannot play Carlsen then I won't play anybody.'
Ding is the champ. Of course, he may refuse to take the title on these terms stating; If I cannot play Carlsen then I won't play anybody.'

Fide will then go down the list trying to award the title to anybody who will take it.
Nobody wants it, Carlsen is declared the world champion till the end of time.

[MJMcCready]

I think it's a good decision.

He doesn't need the money. He has nothing to prove as it's absolutely crystal clear that he's the best player in the world.

The demands of modern match preparation make him unhappy - so why continue?

I'm sure he doesn't need the money but it would have been nice to see him overtaking former champions in terms of longevity on the throne.

[MJMcCready]

In purely financial terms, if he cares about that which I suspect he does, the loss of the title of World Champion will come with consequences, I suspect.

Lots of people commenting how the title will become devalued to those in the chess world who understand that they aren’t the best player, but still if most people understand World Champion to be shorthand for “best player”, not being able to use it will be a big loss.

Maybe he’ll enter the next candidates cycle…

Well, it's not the first time the FIDE Championship has been devalued but also Magnus is very good for marketing purposes, so him not being there will cause a loss in revenue for sure.

[MJMcCready]

And on a scale of 1-20, what are the chances of Nepo dropping out?

Don't understand.

I meant is it likely that Nepo will follow suit.

[LawrenceCooper]

What odds can I get on Magnus winning the Candidates but not playing the match afterwards?

[MJMcCready]

20 years down the line you might get odds on it. If he is overtaken in the rating list by the then current world champion, we might see him try and make a comeback I guess.

[Ian Thompson]

Nepo dropping out? That might complete the set of, shall we say 'Good Luck' Ding has had.

First of all he gets a place in the candidates because Karjakin was a fool and got himself kick out.
Next he is the final because Carlsen has quit.
If Nepo for some reason forfeits the match (cannot think why - how about; 'If I cannot play Carlsen then I won't play anybody.'
Ding is the champ.

According to Sutovsky:

• If Nepomniachtchi dropped out, he would be replaced by Radjabov (3rd place in Candidates).
• If only one of Nepomniachtchi, Ding Liren and Radjabov was prepared to play, the other player would be the highest rated player in the Jan 2023 rating list (Firouzja on current ratings).

Although Sutovsky didn't say it explicitly, he implied that if none of Nepomniachtchi, Ding Liren and Radjabov were prepared to play, the match would be between the two highest rated players in the Jan 2023 rating list (Firouzja and Caruana on current ratings).

[Mike Gunn]

I think Magnus's withdrawal will be good if it leads to going back to a 3 year cycle and doing away with the rapid/ blitz tiebreaks. Magnus has clearly been the WC on merit but his WC matches have been less interesting/ entertaining/ tense than many in the past. We could get a couple of interesting matches now while FIDE sorts itself out.

[Gerard Killoran]

At the risk of repeating myself, we already have a precedent in 1948 where the world champion was the winner of a tournament. The Candidates provides far more entertainment than any World Championship in recent years. The last two resembled a football World Cup final where a boring 0-0 draw, after extra time, was decided by a penalty shoot-out. Apart from boxing, which other sport decides its world champion in this way?

[Ian Thompson]

Apart from boxing, which other sport decides its world champion in this way?

Darts and snooker are two obvious examples.

[Matt Mackenzie]

And on a scale of 1-20, what are the chances of Nepo dropping out?

Don't understand.

I meant is it likely that Nepo will follow suit.

Why do you think it "likely"?