Magnus Carlsen says his time at the top is 'limited', urges Chess not to plan around him

Chess great Magnus Carlsen, who has reshaped the game with his relentless positional play and championed fast-paced formats, says he feels his time at the top is "limited" and has urged organisers not to shape the future of chess around his preferences.

The five-time world champion, who opted out of the classical World Championship cycle, said his motivation varies from tournament to tournament and hinted that his career as an active player may be entering its later stages.

"What's more important for the future of chess is that you shouldn't necessarily try things because of what I want to do or what motivates me. There's a pretty limited time frame in terms of when I'm going to be around as well," Carlsen said during the trophy unveiling of the Global Chess League (GCL) in Bengaluru.

The 35-year-old, however, made it clear that he remains eager to compete, particularly in the rapid format of the GCL. "For now, I like to play and I'm looking forward to competing here. It's a similar time format to what I was successful in recently," he said.

Carlsen, who holds the highest rating in chess history at 2882 and remains the world's No. 1 player in the FIDE rankings, said chess has gained a large number of new fans in recent years.

"Over the last 5-6 years, there have been a lot of new chess fans all around the world, and we're still trying to find the right formats to present the game," he said. "For me, it's interesting to be part of those innovations, but it's not necessarily an overarching goal."

Carlsen has been one of the central figures in the modernisation of chess, particularly through his success in rapid and blitz formats. But after choosing not to defend his classical world title, his competitive focus has increasingly shifted towards shorter formats and selected tournaments.

He will represent Alpine SG Pipers in the upcoming GCL.

Global Chess League
The GCL features six franchises competing in a double round-robin league stage, followed by knockouts to determine the champion.

Each team fields six players simultaneously across six boards, comprising one Icon, two Superstar Men, two Superstar Women and one Prodigy player.

The league uses a rapid time control of 20 minutes per player, with a two-second increment from move 41.

A win with Black earns four game points, compared to three for a win with White, while a draw earns one point for each player.