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CBS News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Magnus Carlsen, No. 1 ranked chess player, slams fist onto table after losing to world champ Gukesh Dommaraju
Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, the world's No. 1-ranked player, suffered a major defeat on Sunday to current world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. After Dommaraju made his final move, Carlsen, 34, was seen slamming his fist onto the table and standing up out of his seat in frustration before shaking hands with the 19-year-old grandmaster from India. The video of Carlsen's loss in the classic chess match at round six of Norway Chess, an annual international chess tournament, quickly spread on social and sparked a debate about sportsmanship online. It was a shocking loss for Carlsen and a "lucky day" for Dommaraju, the younger chess grandmaster told a reporter with Norwegian broadcaster TV2. The match was live streamed on Twitch via the world's largest chess website. Despite the defeat, Carlsen was still in the lead at the tournament. Norway's Magnus Carlsen (L) plays against India's Gukesh Dommaraju during the first game of Norway chess tournement in Finansparken in Stavanger on May 26, 2025. CARINA JOHANSEN/NTB/AFP via Getty Images Magnus Carlsen's ranking Carlsen became the world's top-ranked player in 2010 at 19 and has won five World Championships. He achieved the highest-ever chess rating of 2882 in 2014 and has remained the undisputed world No. 1 for more than a decade, the Associated Press reported. Earlier this year, Carlsen made history after more than 143,000 people worldwide played against him in a single, record-setting game. Billed as "Magnus Carlsen vs. The World," the online match began April 4 on and was the first-ever online freestyle game to feature a world champion. Who is the current chess world champion? Dommaraju became the youngest world champion last year at just 18 years old following a final win over China's Ding Liren at the International Chess Federation (FIDE) 2024 World Championship. He surpassed a record held by Russia's Garry Kasparov, who won the title at age 22, after clinching a dramatic endgame in Singapore to be crowned champion. Dommaraju also became the second Indian, after five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand, to hold the title. Following his victory against Carlsen over the weekend, Dommaraju told TV2 that he was still shaking after the game. "I don't know what happened," he said. Dommaraju is ranked No. 5 in the world, according to How chess player rankings work There are two main systems for chess ranking: the Elo System and the Glicko System. According to which uses the latter method, the ranking "represents your strength of play" and is calculated using statistics. In the Elo System used by FIDE, the chance of one player defeating another is calculated in a percentage. For example, player A has a 60% chance of defeating player B. If player B wins six out of 10 games, player B's ranking would stay the same. If player B won seven or more games, player B's ranking would go up. If player B wins 5 or fewer games, player B's ranking would go down. The Glicko System is more complicated and built on the Elo System, using a more complicated formula, said. contributed to this report.
Reuters
4 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Chess-Carlsen slams table in defeat to Gukesh at Norway Chess
June 2 (Reuters) - A seething Magnus Carlsen slammed his fist into a table after suffering his first defeat to world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a classical game on Sunday in Stavanger. Carlsen had his opponent on the ropes for much of the match in the Norway Chess 2025 tournament but his composure cracked under the pressure of a ticking clock and he committed a blunder that handed India's Gukesh a decisive advantage. Carlsen slammed his fist on the table after the defeat before exchanging a quick handshake with Gukesh, apologising for his outburst and storming off. "I mean, (the win was) not the way I wanted it to be, but okay, I'll take it," Gukesh told "... I've also banged a lot of tables in my career." Carlsen remained top of the standings after the defeat.
CBC
20-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Magnus Carlsen vs. The World: the chess mega-showdown that ended in a draw
One chess grandmaster versus the world. Who would you bet on? the website where the record-setting match took place, had predicted Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen would emerge victorious by a large margin in a mega-match against more than 143,000 players. But on Monday, after an online freestyle match spanning 46 days — billed as "Magnus Carlsen vs. The World" — he was forced into a draw when Team World checked his king for a third time. Biggest online chess match in history Team World managed to lead Carlsen into a draw in 32 moves by executing a "threefold repetition" — prompting a draw when a position is reached three times. In this case, it was prompted after Team World checked Carlsen's king three times in the corner of the board. Anyone in the world could sign up to play as part of Team World on Team members voted on each move, and each side had 24 hours to make their play. "Overall, 'the world' has played very, very sound chess from the start. Maybe not going for most enterprising options, but kind of keeping it more in vein with normal chess — which isn't always the best strategy, but it worked out well this time," Carlsen said in a statement on Friday, before Monday's draw. The match, which began on April 4, was the largest online freestyle chess game in history featuring a world champion of Carlsen's magnitude. Freestyle chess is played with the king, queen, knights, rooks and bishops in shuffled positions, while the pawns remain in their usual places on the board. Carlsen, 34, has been the highest-rated chess player in the world for almost 14 years. In April 2004, when he was 13, he became the youngest grandmaster in the world at the time. The mega-match also marked the first time Carlsen played against the general public. 'Maximum resistance' against Carlsen Mike Ivanov, co-founder and head coach of Canada Chess Youth Club in Richmond Hill, Ont., watched the game unfold on A fan of Carlsen, Ivanov is also one of the many coaches on the site, some of whom participated in the match by assisting the world players in the comments section of the game. "Usually, when you play Carlsen, it's like a train wreck and you're hoping it doesn't hit too hard," he said in an interview with CBC News. While Ivanov didn't take part in the game, he said his fellow coaches were trying to put up "maximum resistance" against Carlsen and weren't expecting the outcome to be a draw. "Over time, the advantage that Magnus had disappeared," he said. "He played some dubious moves, let's say, and that allowed the world to accurately equalize the game and just hold the draw to the end of the game." Ivanov said it was "very exciting" to see the match play out in real time as the players from around the world engaged in mass discussions as they decided their next moves. "Usually, chess is a quiet game, and here it was anything but quiet," he said.
National Post
20-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen is forced into a draw in a showdown against ‘the world'
Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen was forced into a draw Monday by more than 143,000 people worldwide playing against him in a single, record-setting game. Article content Article content Billed as 'Magnus Carlsen vs. The World,' the online match began April 4 on the world's largest chess website, and was the first-ever online freestyle game to feature a world champion. Article content The mega-match ended after Team World checked Carlsen's king a third time, a stunning outcome after had predicted Carlsen would win by a wide margin. Article content Members of Team World — anyone around the globe could sign up — voted on each move and each side had 24 hours to make their play. Carlsen played the white pieces. Article content The world forced the draw on move 32 after checking Carlsen's king three times in the corner of the board where it could not escape. The rule is called 'threefold repetition,' meaning all of the pieces on the board are in the exact same position three times to prompt a draw. Article content 'Very, very sound chess' Article content Carlsen, 34, became the world's top-ranked player in 2010 at 19 and has won five World Championships. He achieved the highest-ever chess rating of 2882 in 2014 and has remained the undisputed world No. 1 for more than a decade. Article content 'Overall, 'the world' has played very, very sound chess from the start. Maybe not going for most enterprising options, but kind of keeping it more in vein with normal chess — which isn't always the best strategy, but it worked out well this time,' Carlsen said in a statement Friday as Monday's draw seemed imminent. Article content Article content In a freestyle match, the bishops, knights, rooks, queen and king are randomly placed around the board at the start while the pawns are in their usual spots. Freestyle chess is popular because it allows players to be more creative and avoid memorization. Article content 'We made history' Article content This was the third 'vs. The World' record-setting online game. In 1999, Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov played against more than 50,000 people on the Microsoft Network and won after four months. Article content Last year, Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand won his 'vs. The World' match against nearly 70,000 players on Article content In the virtual chat this week, players appeared split on whether to force the draw — and claim the glory — or to keep playing against Carlsen, even if it ultimately meant a loss. Article content
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Magnus Carlsen v The World: chess champion's 46-day match ends in draw
On the surface it hardly seemed like a fair fight. But after 46 days the online freestyle chess match between the Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and 143,000 enthusiasts from around the globe has ended in a surprise draw. There was, however, a major consolation for Carlsen as he smashed the record for facing the biggest number of opponents in an online chess match. The game, which was billed as Magnus Carlsen vs The World, began on on 4 April, with the former world champion and highest-rated player in history regarded as a significant favourite. After he played his first move, Team World then voted on a reply, with each side then having 24 hours to make their next move. Despite appearing to have the early initiative against Team World, Carlsen was unable to find a way to further improve his position. The match ended after 32 moves when Team World was able to force a draw by checking Carlsen's king and repeating the position three times. 'I felt that I was a little bit better, early in the opening, then maybe I didn't play that precisely,' said Carlsen. 'Honestly, since then, they haven't given me a single chance.' With freestyle chess, the bishops, knights, rooks, queen and king have randomised starting positions, while the pawns remain in their usual spots. Carlsen has proven a master at the format, which allows for more creative and unusual positions, and last month won a tournament against other grandmasters in Grenke with a staggering 9/9 score. However, he admitted he had been able to find a way past the Team World's defences, with many casual fans using chess computers to help them choose sensible moves. 'Overall, 'the world' has played very, very sound chess from the start,' added Carlsen. 'Maybe not going for most enterprising options, but kind of keeping it more in vein with normal chess – which isn't always the best strategy, but it worked out well this time.' The match was the third record-setting online chess match between a grandmaster and the World. In 1999, Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov played against more than 50,000 people on the Microsoft Network. The former world champion won after four months and hailed it as 'the greatest game in the history of chess.' Last year another chess legend, the Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, won his 'vs. The World' match last year against nearly 70,000 players on The goal of the Carlsen match was to break Anand's 70,000-player mark, and ended up doubling it.
