Coach Nepomniachtchi was shocked by Carlsen's refusal to play for the chess crown

MOSCOW, July 20, Oleg Bogatov. Decision of current world champion Norwegian Magnus Carlsen to refuse a title match with Ian Nepomniachtchi is shocking to some extent, said the personal trainer of the Russian chess player Vladimir Potkin. Carlsen on Wednesday announced his refusal to play a world title match with Nepomniachtchi due to lack of motivation. The Russian won the Candidates Tournament in Madrid in early July and won the right to play against Carlsen again in 2023. The Norwegian defended the title four times, the last time he beat Nepomniachtchi in December 2021 with a score of 7.5-3.5. Now Nepomniachtchi has to fight the Chinese Ding Liren, who is second in the Candidates Tournament. «This decision of Magnus Carlsen is shocking to some extent. I think it's probably due to the experience of internal motivation that he finds every time he plays a match for the world title, I don't think there is any implication here that this match is with Jan. the strongest opponent for Magnus. Therefore, of course, part of the statement of Magnus is shocking. We were looking forward to this most striking match, «Potkin said.