Magnus Carlsen is on the verge of losing his leadership in the FIDE rankings
The permanent leadership, which the Norwegian grandmaster has held since July 2011, was threatened due to a failed performance at the Total Chess World Championship in Budapest
Norwegian grandmaster, 16th world champion Magnus Carlsen was a step away from losing the lead in the FIDE rankings for the first time in 15 years.
His unchallenged leadership, which Carlsen has held since July 2011, was threatened by a poor performance at the new Total Chess World Championship, which is held in Budapest and combines classics, rapid and blitz.
In the first six games of the group tournament, where they play with classical time control, the 35-year-old Carlsen did not win a single victory, and on the eve of the sensational loss to Hayk Martirosyan from Armenia. The Norwegian has four more games in the group.
In the live rating, Carlsen has already lost 15.8 points (2,807.2), the Norwegian risks falling below 2,800 points for the first time in 17 years.
Carlsen's closest pursuer, American Fabiano Caruana, plays successfully in Budapest (four wins and two draws). He scored 17 points and came close to the leader with a rating of 2800.0.
