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The world champion and Ian Nepomniachtchi, who recently tweeted his opposition to the invasion of Ukraine, will meet in the two-day online $150,000 Airthings Masters finalMagnus Carlsen has had a rough week at the $150,000 online Airthings Masters, but the world champion still overcame the effects of Covid to reach the two-day final, starting at 5pm on Friday. Free to view live commentary by England’s David Howell and Jovanka Houska is available on chess24.com.Carlsen was beaten four times in 15 games in the qualifying round, and blamed the defeats on symptoms which were similar to brain fog: “I lacked energy, which made it hard to focus, and when I tried to think I blundered.” Those who beat Carlsen included two teenagers: Russia’s Andrey Esipenko, 19, who had already scored against Carlsen at Wijk 2021, and India’s Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 16. Continue reading...