One of the world’s biggest sporting competitions will pit a teen phenom from India against a soft-spoken assassin from China — but it will be missing the GOAT from Norway.

The 2024 World Chess Championship is set to kick off this week, a showdown between 18-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju of India and reigning champion Ding Liren of China. And while it is still considered the game’s marquee event, the absence of Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, the five-time champion who declined to defend his…