The Week in Chess

Magnus Carlsen announced that he has signed up to defend his World Chess Championship title. Carlsen did so via a mildly cryptic tweet with a photo showing him putting pen to paper. The World Championship match takes place in Sochi, Russia, 7th to 28th November.

Magnus Carlsen @MagnusCarlsen on twitter "It has been a pleasure signing autographs for the fans in St. Louis. After the tournament I found the time for 1 more"

All the indiciations coming out of the Carlsen camp seemed to suggest he had decided not to go to Sochi due to a combination of political and contractual issues but as VG Sport reported "Magnus Carlsen took the decision at the last minute, but now it is clear: he has signed the World Championship contract from FIDE and will play World Championship match against Anand."

VG Sport has a reported the signing in detail including a photo of the contract being faxed. FIDE confirmed that they received the contract and the match will take place in Sochi.

"Magnus plays the World Championship. He wants to play. He is world champion in chess. He wants to defend his title." Espen Agdestein Carlsen's manager.

Why so long? Espen Agdestein "We do not think it has taken so long. It was not until during the Olympiad that it was clear when the match would be played and we've spent the time until now to make the decision. It was a difficult choice." Agdestein confirmed that the decision was made at the last minute but that they'd been talking about it for some time. The unstable political situation meant they had to talk to their ministry. It seems in the end Carlsen just wanted to defend his title.

"There are only two months to match - it's small, but it is probably good. Magnus is pleased to have signed and now he's going to focus on being in absolute top form when the match starts - it is in fact a real effort."