Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen is the reigning world champion in chess, and symbolic of the resurgence in interest in the game. He is one of the top celebrities in his home country of Norway, where his televised matches often attracted larger audiences than other television shows.
He is one of the highest-ranked players of all time, and is as good at blitz chess as the classical format.
In November and December 2021, Carlsen successfully defended his title when crushed 14 games Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia by a wide margin, in Dubai, not even needing the full 14 games to prevail.
Victimized by an alleged chess cheating scandal
Carlsen was victimized by an alleged chess cheating scandal, in which a relatively low-ranked player (Hans Niemann) defeated Magnus twice with the weaker black pieces, in the span of merely a few months in 2022. The likelihood of that having been legitimate is estimated to be less than 1 in a 1,000. Once a 15-minute broadcast delay was instituted at the second tournament, the quality of the play by Niemann sharply declined.
Standing up courageously for integrity in chess, on September 19, 2022, Carlsen abruptly resigned after only one move in a new tournament match against Hans Niemann.[1]
Also in September 2022, Chess.com banned Hans Niemann from its platform and provided its explanation for why.[2]