Ranks and Files

When Magnus Carlsen, the best chess player in the world, declined to defend his championship title in 2022, he gave up the throne and disrupted the system. For over a decade, Carlsen had reigned supreme. The thirty-five-year-old Norwegian grandmaster is the five‑time world champion in classical chess, the six-time rapid champion, the nine-time blitz champion, and the current freestyle champion. His peak rating of 2882 is the highest ever. When Carlsen plays, there’s no doubt about who the favourite is in the event.

With Interregnum: Inside the Gruelling and Glamorous Battle to Become the Next King of Chess, Jordan Himelfarb takes readers through the dramas and upsets of what happened next. The Toronto Star opinion editor applies the term “interregnum” precisely. The fracture created by Carlsen’s abdication resulted in a power vacuum that sharpened rivalries and destabilized the hierarchical structure of the sport. Whether any successor can achieve...