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World Rapid Champion Magnus Carlsen skipped the last round of the FIDE rapid event in Astana just when he was supposed to play against Hans Niemann on board 1 of their respective teams.
Instead, Ian Nepomniachtchi faced Niemann.
Niemann called out Carlsen after the game.
“If you arenโt willing to handle things on the chess board, donโt even bother playing. Chess is the greatest combination of art and war. Cowardice leads to inevitable defeat.”
Carlsen did not comment in public, but Hikaru Nakamura responded to Niemann in a YouTube video:
“It is ironic to see Hans talking about settling things over the chessboard when in reality Hans is the one who did file a 100 million dollar lawsuit and try to settle things away from the board”
