Magnus Carlsen is the world chess champion, and by acclamation one of the very best players in history.

But on Wednesday he said he would not play in next year’s world championship, voluntarily surrendering the title he has held since he won it in 2013 at age 22.

Now 31 and a five-time world champion, Carlsen said he was “pretty comfortable” with the decision, which he said he had thought about for “more than a year.”

“I am not motivated to play another match; I simply feel that I don’t have a lot to gain,” he said on the first episode of his new podcast, the Magnus Effect.

“Although I’m sure a match would be interesting for historical reasons and all of that, I don’t have any inclination to play, and I will simply not play the match.”