The decision announced Wednesday by Magnus Carlsen, the reigning world chess champion, to skip the chance to defend the crown in a match next year means that there will soon be a new titleholder.
And for chess, that could be the hard part. There is a real possibility that whoever wins next year’s world championship match, which will now be played between Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, who won the candidates tournament this month to become the prescribed challenger, and Ding Liren of China, who finished as runner-up, will be seen as an illegitimate, or at least severely diminished, champion.
