'Magnus Carlsen may not be as dominant...': Vincent Keymer reflects on chess world No 1's recent decline

Magnus Carlsen has had a forgettable run over the past one month, arguably reaching the lowest point of his career so far. And according to Germany's Vincent Keymer, the five-time world champion isn't the dominant force as he has been for a majority of his career.

The Norwegian Grandmaster remains the No 1-ranked player in Classical chess as well as in the faster Rapid and Blitz time controls and has ruled the sport for more than a decade since winning his first Classical world championship in 2013. Carlsen's domination of chess, however, has taken a beating recently. He had, after all, lost to reigning world champion D Gukesh twice in as many meetings last year, including at the Norway Chess, his home event.

And while he managed to win the Norway Chess for a record-extending seventh time last year despite his sixth-round loss to Gukesh, Carlsen failed to finish among the top-three in the latest edition of the prestigious event earlier this month.

The 35-year-old suffered four Classical losses, including back-to-back defeats against eventual champion R Praggnanandhaa, and event needed a victory in the final round to avoid finishing at the bottom of the six-player standings.

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Things would then go from bad to worse as Carlsen suffered four consecutive losses while representing WR Chess at the World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships in Hong Kong, including a stunning defeat in just 30 moves at the hands of India's Arjun Erigaisi.

Keymer reflects on Carlsen's recent decline

"Two or three years ago it was still something special for me. But since then, I have grown myself," the German GM was quoted by RookReview as saying.

"It is also difficult to judge how strong Carlsen’s Classical chess is now. Because he barely plays it…

"Of course, the result at Norway Chess does not reflect his true level. But perhaps he may not be as dominant as we’re used to seeing him," he added.

Keymer was among the participants at the 14th edition of Norway Chess, which moved to Oslo this year after being held in Stavanger since its inception. The 21-year-old played out consecutive draws against Carlsen in the tournament but lost both Armageddon games.

After a forgettable run in the Rapid leg of the tournament, Carlsen bounced back in the Blitz section, winning eight consecutive games including with black pieces against Indian legend Viswanathan Anand along with one loss during the group stage.

He would later have a mixed run in the Blitz knockouts, where he suffered a double loss against Nodirbek Abdusattorov and later lost a fierce battle against Arjun with black pieces that lasted 119 moves.

WR Chess finished 18th in the final Rapid team standings but managed to finish top of Pool A in the Blitz tournament. They managed to defeat Indonesia in Round 1 of the Blitz knockouts, only to lose to Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals.

Chinese team Dragon Chilling, headlined by former world champion Ding Liren, completed a golden sweep in both events. Team MGD1, led by Arjun, finished second and sixth in the final Rapid and Blitz standings respectively.