Chess: Carlsen’s four defeats in a row – just a blip or the start of a career downturn?

Magnus Carlsen lost four games in a row at the World Team Rapid, the first time since 2002 that he has had four consecutive defeats. Photograph: James Modesto/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

Magnus Carlsen’s four defeats in a row during the World Team Rapid in Hong Kong last week, coupled with his disappointing fourth place among six grandmasters in Oslo last month, have sparked discussion about whether the Norwegian, now a wealthy 35-year-old with a baby son, might be tempted towards a further reduction in his chess activities and a more relaxed lifestyle.

Carlsen had not previously lost four games in succession since Gausdal 2002, when he was 11 years old. The four defeats came after Carlsen had begun well, with a draw and then two victories, one against a historic rival, the Ukrainian veteran Vasyl Ivanchuk. That win was achieved in a classic example of a style and technique which Carlsen has made his own, a prolonged squeeze and grind maintained despite acute time pressure, as was his next victory against China’s Xu Xiangyu.