Looks burned out: the Chinese Ding Liren Image: picture alliance/dpa
Surprising moves, fewer draws: For the first time, freestyle chess is being tested with a long thinking time – to the disadvantage of the boys. Magnus Carlsen wants to promote the new chess.
Concerns about Fischer chess, or as it is now called: freestyle chess, are often justified aesthetically. Opening with a wing pawn is distasteful to regular chess players, but can be the best option with a different basic setup. Traditionalists complain that in some of the constellations drawn, you can attack an opponent’s pawn on the first move or castling immediately.
Both played a role in the final game of the GOAT Challenge. Magnus Carlsen opened the diagonal with his queen attacking a black pawn, and Fabiano Caruana’s best response would have been to swap king and rook so that his king would protect that pawn.