'Sharing title is now the thing': Vidit Gujrathi's good-natured joke at Magnus Carlsen and Nepo

Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi had controversially opted to share the World Blitz Championship title in New York last month.

By: Sports Desk

January 16, 2025 01:47 PM IST

2 min read

Aruna Anand and Vidit Gujrathi leave everyone in splits, including Viswanathan Anand, after their jokes about sharing the title. (Screenshot: YouTube/@Chessbase India)

The decision of Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi to share the World Blitz Championship title on New Year’s Eve in New York is still being talked about.

At a recent Pongal celebration hosted by five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand and his wife Aruna Anand at their home in Chennai, there were a few jokes about titles being shared.

Anand and Aruna hosted many of India’s top grandmasters like Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali, RB Ramesh and Srinath Narayanan besides Vidit Gujrathi and his fiancé Nidhi. There were many ceremonies, some hosted specially for the soon-to-be-wed Vidit Gujrathi.

During one of the ritual ceremonies, Vidit Gujrathi and his fiancé had to pull out a chess piece from inside a vessel of milk. With the score at 1-1, Aruna made a joke that left the legendary Vishy Anand and the others in splits.

“Anand, he’s saying they are sharing title,” Aruna said. The comment was a clear reference to Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi who shared the 2024 World Blitz Chess Championship.

Aruna’s remark was quickly followed by a comment from Vidit Gujrathi. “Sharing title is now the thing,” he smiled.

To this Anand added: “When married couples have Armageddon it doesn’t end well.”

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There has been a lot of criticism of Magnus Carlsen over that incident, especially after a video surfaced of him jokingly telling Nepo that if FIDE rejected their decision to share the title, they could “just play short draws until they give up”.