Chess

When the Candidates Tournament to select a challenger for the world chess championship was suspended in March, titleholder Magnus Carlsen joked that, “If I get to sit on the title for a bit more, I’m not going to complain.”

Indeed, the Nor wegian’s reign will extend into 2021.

The International Chess Federation announced that the uncertainty of the coronavirus has forced it to cancel the 2020 championship match this December in Dubai.

“Scheduling it for this year, as originally planned, is impossible,” federation Director General Emil Sutovsky told Chess24.com. “Two options are on the table now: spring 2021 and autumn 2021.”

The Candidates Tournament to decide Carlsen’s challenger was suspended halfway through in March when Russia abruptly shut down air travel to deter the spread of COVID-19, and eight grandmasters had to flee host city Ykaterinburg.

At the time, Maxime Vachier-lagrave of France and Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia shared the lead (Vachier-lagrave held a slight edge after beating Nepo in Round 7). Both were a point ahead of Fabiano Caruana of the United States, Anish Giri of the Netherlands, Wang Hao of China and Alexander Grischuk of Russia, followed by Ding Liren of China and Kirill Alekseenko of Russia.now the chess federation must set a date in a safe place to finish the in-person Candidates Tournament. Sutovsky mentioned September or October, and perhaps not Ykaterinburg. Meantime, Carlsen, who has held the title since 2013 and defended it three times, remains on his throne as the 16th undisputed world champion.

Below is a win by Anish Giri against Fabiano Caruana from the Chessable Masters, the third event in the $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour.