“Maybe playing one last time for the road would be good” – Magnus Carlsen hints at Classical return 

World No.1 Magnus Carlsen recently said that he’s open to returning to Classical format. The legendary chess player opted out of his title clash against Ian Nepomniatchi in 2023.

Carlsen also did not take part in the 2024 cycle of the FIDE World Championship. In his absence, India’s D Gukesh became the world champion after beating China’s Ding Liren in the grand finale.

He was also critical of the classical format, saying it wasn't one of the best methods to produce world-class chess players. However, during an interview with Chess.com, Carlsen said he can make a comeback for ‘one last time’ in the classical format.

"In the last few years, I’ve been less and less enchanted with the prospect of playing classical. Maybe playing one last time for the road would be good,” Carlsen was quoted as saying.

"Maybe not that much, when I am looking at these top players play, I always somewhat think I want to play them but, I don’t know. I am very happy being a spectator for now," he concluded.

Earlier, the youngest world champion Gukesh spoke about his aspirations of facing Carlsen but the latter was clear cut in saying that he would not challenge the Indian for the title.

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Magnus Carlsen keeps dominating other formats

Magnus Carlsen recently won the World Blitz title along with Nepomniatchi as joint-winners, the first such instance in the tournament's history. After seven games, Nepomniatchi agreed to Carlsen’s proposal to share the title. They decided after they played three draws in the sudden death stage.

While Carlsen bagged the title for the eighth time, Nepomniatchi won it for the first time in his career. Earlier in November last year, he also won the title in the Open section at the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid Tournament in Kolkata.