Recognition
The FIDE World Championship match in Astana has turned out to be a most pleasant surprise. While expectations were generally modest and many pundits had expressed or feigned indifference before the match, interest in the battle between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren seems to be growing by the day. The players lay into each other with abandon and so far draws have been a rarity. Four out of the first six games have ended in a decision, we have seen brilliant attacks and it’s anyone’s guess who has the best chances.We don’t know who will win the match and we don’t know either what the position of the winner, the new World Champion, will be in the chess community. There is good reason to think that his status will be less glamorous than it should be. As Magnus Carlsen, the number one in the world rankings, has decided not to defend his title, we will have a world champion who many will not see as such. That is far from ideal and it remains regrettable that Carlsen has undermined a great175