‘I was not at the level I needed to be’: Magnus Carlsen says ‘my brain is fried’ after Titled Tuesday setback

The first new-look Titled Tuesday chess event kicked off on September 2, and it was Russian Grandmaster Alexey Sarana, playing for Serbia, who came out on top. Sarana scored 9.5 points out of 11 and beat strong players like World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and Iranian GM Alireza Firouzja along the way. His win also gave him back-to-back Titled Tuesday titles.

Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen was in the fight for first place for most of the tournament but eventually finished fifth with 9 points. His crucial loss came in the ninth round against eventual winner Sarana. After the tournament, Carlsen admitted he was not at his best and that he lost control despite being ahead of Sarana for most of the time.

“My brain is fried, to be honest. I can’t imagine, but apart from that, I’m okay. Obviously, I’m not happy with the score or the play. I mean, the play was a lot worse than the score. But that’s how it is. I had a shot against Sarana (Alexy). I was better, and then I lost control, and he took his chances perfectly. So it was very deserved. But I was not at the level I needed to be at all today,” Carlsen said.

Carlsen on new Titled Tuesday format

The new Titled Tuesday format, with 5 minutes and no increment, has changed the feel of the event. The tournament is now also part of the qualification path for the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC). Carlsen said he enjoyed the faster pace, as there is less waiting between games. He further added that the new format has not made a lot of difference in his approach or score.

“I enjoyed the fact that there was no increment since it means you don’t have to wait that long until the next game. It becomes more predictable. So that is good. But it was also fun to watch the flagging skirmishes in other games. And as for myself, I don’t think it made a ton of difference in kind of approach or score,” Carlsen said.

The new Titled Tuesday has some big changes that make it different from before. There will now be only one tournament instead of two a week. The time control has also changed from 3 minutes plus 1 second increment per move to 5 minutes with no extra time. The prize money has also gone up to $276,000 for the whole year, with each weekly tournament offering $3,000.