India, Sept. 25 -- Magnus Carlsen relinquished his World Chess Championship title in 2022, but despite that, he still maintains the No. 1 rank in FIDE classical rankings. The five-time World Chess Champion is still the best classical chess player in the world. He is also reigning (shared with Ian Nepomniachtchi) eight-time World Blitz Champion, and a five-time World Rapid Champion.

Carlsen is not part of the ongoing FIDE cycle. He won't participate in the upcoming 2026 Candidates Tournament, and also won't challenge D Gukesh for the World Championship title, or feature at the upcoming 2025 Chess World Cup.

He wasn't in action at the recent FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, where Anish Giri won and Matthias Blubaum finished as runners-up. T...