Chess Chess superstar Magnus Carlsen declined to share a photo with the World Cup challenger and trophy: “No. It’s not appropriate “

Sakakin The World Cup series starts next Friday in Dubai. Reigning champion, Norwegian chess superstar Magnus Carlsen meets Russia Jan Nepomniaštšin. The winner is promised a prize pool of one million euros.

At Wednesday’s media conference, Carlsen was asked for his opinion on Nepomniašch’s claim that Carlsen would not be very motivated for the World Cup final.

“I’m hearing this for the first time, and that inspires me even more. So thank you very much, ”Carlsen said of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK: n by.

Carlsen was also on the verge of humor in predicting how the match series would go.

“I predict the person who gets more points in the coming weeks will win. I hope it’s me. If I win, it will probably be because I made good transfers and good decisions under pressure. ”

Carlsen not only entertained the media, as at the end of the event he refused to pose in a co-op with Nepomniaštš and the World Cup trophy.

“No. That is not appropriate, ”said Carlsen, according to NRK.

In all 14 matches will be played in the World Cup series unless one of the contestants reaches an unreachable lead. You get a point for a win and 0.5 points for a draw. The 14th match of the match series will be played on December 14th. If the situation is even, a rematch will be played on December 15 with accelerated playing time.

Carlsen is number one on the world list and Nepomniašchi Fifth. Nepomniašchi was able to challenge Carlsen after winning a qualifying tournament in Russia.