I’m a big fan, and he is probably the greatest player of all time.
That said, he struggles with autism, and by his own admission, thinks of nothing every moment except chess. He must be under such intense pressure to perform, and increasingly, intense pressure to walk away.
It must be paradoxical in that he is so good at chess and it has been so good to him, but at the same time it is essentially a worthless pursuit.
The trouble is, he probably realizes this and must think about what else can he do with his life.
Interesting that one of the previous forfeits was by Grandmaster Mamedyarov.
Who was also Carlsen’s opponent today.
Being on the autism spectrum will certainly make him a better player, but would make him hard to live with.
In all fairness he did just sell the MagnusCarlsen.com brands to another chess company for about $60 million.
Hope that someone out there is truly looking out for his best.
“He must think about what else can he do with his life.” Very true. He is the best ever and he has nothing to prove. Mr. Carlsen, please quit pro chess and open a school with a cool building, good teachers and reasonable tuition.