World Chess Weekly: Is This The Beginning Of The End For Magnus?
GM Magnus Carlsen's last tournament victory was [checks notes] last week.
Granted, that was the inaugural ASEAN E-Sports Chess Cup in Thailand rather than an over-the-board event, but a win is a win.
Fast forward a matter of days and the picture couldn't look more different. At the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championships in Hong Kong, Carlsen suffered four consecutive defeats while playing for the WR Group team. It was an almost unimaginable run for a player who has spent 15 years crushing everyone.
With losses to GMs Arjun Erigaisi, Shant Sargsyan, Javokhir Sindarov and the relatively unknown 21-year-old Armenian Aydin Suleymanli, Carlsen's live rapid rating dropped by 29 points, from 2832 to 2803. It is his lowest rapid rating since FIDE introduced official rapid ratings in 2012.
So naturally, the chess world has started asking the question: is this the beginning of the end for Carlsen's reign?
Hong Kong wasn't an isolated incident. Earlier this month, in classical chess, Carlsen endured one of the roughest Norway Chess tournaments of his career. The seven-time champion on home turf lost four games—including defeats to GM Alireza Firouzja and GM Praggnanandhaa R—and, at one stage, found himself rooted to the bottom of the standings.
For a player who has been world number one continuously since July 2011, that was almost unthinkable.
"There's just a mess in my head," Carlsen admitted during the event.
The results came at a cost. He dropped 17 FIDE rating points and, in the live rankings, now sits on 2823—still comfortably ahead of world number two GM Fabiano Caruana, but noticeably closer to the chasing pack than we've become accustomed to seeing.
Between Norway Chess and Hong Kong, Carlsen briefly returned to winning ways by claiming the inaugural ASEAN E-Sports Chess Cup. It was another trophy for one of the most decorated players in history.
But after Hong Kong, some are wondering whether that victory merely papered over the cracks.
Now, for the first time in years, there is a genuine sense that the rest of the world has caught up. The generation behind him is smelling blood.
Praggnanandhaa, fresh from winning Norway Chess, continues to establish himself among the elite. World Championship challenger Sindarov has climbed to world number four after a remarkable run of form. Erigaisi, Gukesh, Firouzja and a host of young stars are no longer hoping to compete with Carlsen—they expect to.
The aura of invincibility that once surrounded the Norwegian has begun to fade.
GM Danny Gormally, the English player, went out on a limb, saying: "Hot-take: Magnus is no longer the strongest player in the world. In fact, he's not even in the top two. Sindarov and Pragg are the top dogs now."
GM Pavel Eljanov said: "When I questioned whether Magnus Carlsen's era might be coming to an end after his loss to Jorden van Foreest, many thought it was an overreaction.
"Four straight rapid losses later, the discussion feels much more relevant. At the highest level even a small drop in focus can be costly. Someone younger, hungrier and more motivated is always coming. Even the greatest champion of all time isn't immune."
No one summed up the mood better than GM Hikaru Nakamura, perhaps the most authoritative voice on the subject.
Reacting to Carlsen's recent performances, the world number three suggested the recent results may represent more than a temporary dip.
"It feels like the beginning of a shift of Magnus being the greatest player of all time."
Tight Finish In The Rapid
Outside the Carlsen melodrama, the 2026 FIDE World Team Rapid Championship finished in thrilling fashion with the title decided by on the final round.
With three teams tied for first place on 18 match points, Dragon Chilling emerged on top thanks to superior tiebreaks. Defending champions Team MGD1 finished second, while Hexamind took third place.
Dragon Chilling. Their board one, former World Champion GM Ding Liren, finally broke a six-game drawing streak and defeated GM Zhao Jun of Interstellar Club in just 20 moves. This victory set the tone for the rest of the match, which ended 5:1 in Dragon Chilling's favour.
Despite a stellar line-up of top world grandmasters and exceptionally strong preparation, WR Chess finished in 17th place, winning only half of their matches, drawing one and losing five.
With the Rapid now concluded, the focus shifts to the FIDE World Team Blitz Championship which starts on Saturday, June 20.