An undercurrent here is how FIDE, steeped and mired in tradition, shepherds the sport alongside technological disruption, both in how the game is played and how

An undercurrent here is how FIDE, steeped and mired in tradition, shepherds the sport alongside technological disruption, both in how the game is played and how it is enjoyed. Magnus Carlsen would not be the first world champion to go to war with FIDE, and it’s surprising how recent stories don’t mention the surprising withdrawal-but-not-retirement of Carlsen from championship play here. Put together with the other puzzle pieces, ot feels like Magnus is trying to play a game that’s not on the board. The last candidates tournaments and championship matches have IMHO been boring, over-prepared, extremely risk-averse, uninspiring stuff, and it’s not fun to watch Carlsen/Caruana/Nepo loaded like Atlas or Sysiphus. More enjoyable things happen in looser formats. So some disruption sounds good to me.