Magnus wins the 2022 World Rapid Championship!

Photo credit: FIDE/Anna Shtourman

He may have given up the Classic Title, but it's hard not to think about Magnus Carlsen from Norway as the GOAT.
Everyone knows it's impossible to declare which player has been the Great Of All Time.
It's much like what's happening in soccer, with many thinking Messi is the GOAT and the rest putting Maradona in that privileged position.
Chess has changed dramatically in recent decades thanks to computers and powerful chess engines.
It's probably not fair to compare Magnus with the champions of the past. Yet, this man from the North doesn't miss a chance to push his name up into the Olympus of the greatest players of all time.
In Almaty, the largest city in Kazakistan, Carlsen won the World Rapid Championship for the fourth time in his career.
Since 2012, it's Magnus with someone else in the middle.

Source: Wikipedia

Over 13 rounds, Magnus lost only one game, playing black vs. Artemiev. The Norwegian won eight(!) games and drew four. Hikaru Nakamura, who finished undefeated, got the 44th position in the rank. The young German GM Vincent Keymer placed second, half a point behind the Champions, as well as Fabiano Caruana, who got third by tiebreaks.

Here is the press conference right after Magnus became World Champion.

 

Will Magnus do it again in the Blitz Championship?
We'll see that pretty soon!