World Chess Weekly: Is Magnus Carlsen Now The Most Dominant Figure in Sport?
The week started on an all too familiar note for chess fans. The rest of the sporting world needs to start taking notice.
GM Magnus Carlsen made it an incredible 20 world titles to his name as he scooped the 2025 FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship to add to the Rapid title he won last week.
What's left for him to win? Carlsen is now all set to target this year's new Total Chess World Championship, run by Norway Chess with FIDE backing, and become a reigning triple world champ.
He is, of course, now the red-hot favourite to do so. Carlsen has been rightly lauded for his achievements. Are we in chess watching the most dominant performer ever in elite sport?
Among the plaudits was Nobel Laureate Demis Hassabis, a chess player himself who attended the 2016 World Chess Championship.
Hassabis called Carlsen "the greatest mental athlete of all time."
In Doha, Carlsen took the Blitz by dispatching GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov 2.5-1.5 in the final. He's now won that version of the title nine times.
He rode his luck at times, but Carlsen knows how difficult he is to beat.
"I don't think I ever looked particularly likely to win the event, but so long as I'm not mathematically eliminated, then ruling me out is probably not a good idea," the Norwegian said.
Carlsen's dizzying list of notable wins in 2025 include:
- Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam
- Norway Chess
- Grenke Freestyle Chess Open
- SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia
- Esports World Cup
- Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown
- World Rapid Championship
- World Blitz Championship
Meanwhile, in the Women's World Blitz Championship, GM Bibisara Assaubayeva won it for the third time. At just 21 years old, one day she could rival Carlsen's nine.
Court Of Kramnik
As the events in Doha concluded, former classical World Champion GM Vladimir Kramnik dropped what he thinks is his own bombshell on the chess world.
Kramnik, who ended 2025 viewed by many chess fans as public enemy number-one, turned up to a court in Lausanne, Switzerland, to deliver the papers he's filing against world governing body FIDE.
Kramnik has previously alleged he has been defamed and is fighting back against what he claims is harassment by FIDE's leadership. So Kramnik Vs FIDE is upcoming in the Swiss courts, unless his court papers are thrown out.
FIDE's Ethics & Disciplinary Commission investigation into the 50-year-old's behaviour will also continue.
Ratings Out
FIDE's first ratings list for 2026 was also out this week, dropping on January 1.
There was little movement in the classical ratings due to December being dominated by fast-paced events such as the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League and the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships.
But, as we predicted, the most notable change is that there is now no longer any Russian players in the world's top 20, for the first time in history. Russia's number-one GM Ian Nepomniachtchi fell to 23 in the list.
The caveat to that is Dutch number-one GM Anish Giri, who is Russian by birth but not nationality, climbed two spots to six. That was the only a minor shift in the Open top 10. The Women’s top 10 remained unchanged.
Abdusattorov delivered a stellar performance at the 2025 XTX Markets London Chess Classic, gaining 19 points and moving closer to the Open top 10.
GM David Antón Guijarro dominated the Spanish Championship to claim both the national title and +16 rating points.
The 21-year-old GM Nihal Sarin continued his steady rise: victory at the President’s Cup “Masters” in Uzbekistan (+15) propelled him into the Open top 30.
GM Alexey Sarana, a Russian playing for Serbia, reclaimed a spot in the Open top 40 after winning the KazChess Masters.
What lies ahead? The historic Hastings International Chess Congress, which we showcased before Christmas, ends on Sunday.
Then we're gearing up for that other traditional chess event in the Netherlands. The 88th Tata Steel Chess Tournament starts on January 16. We can't wait! Happy New Year.