It was the fist slam heard ‘around the chess world.
Two of the titans of chess — one, the up-and-coming champion versus arguably the best participant of all time — squared off over the weekend in a sport that has drawn consideration not only for its consequence however for the post-game response.
Magnus Carlsen, the top-ranked chess participant on this planet, misplaced for the primary time within the classical (assume lengthy, advanced video games) format to Gukesh Dommaraju, the present world champion who at 19 years previous is seen as among the many sport’s brightest younger stars.
The sport, which got here as a part of the Norway Chess 2025 event, swung after Carlsen misplaced a knight, resulting in a frantic endgame during which every participant had solely seconds left on their clocks.
With Gukesh in a clearly profitable place, Carlsen expressed his frustration in a fashion relatable to most anybody who has ever performed chess: With a fist to the desk.
Carlsen then supplied a handshake of resignation earlier than standing up and providing one other relatable exasperation: “Oh my god,” together with an apology.
Whereas the sport in all probability would not have made the identical waves with out Carlsen’s response, the loss does supply a rising sense of Gukesh’s rise. Nevertheless it additionally provides some sense of simply how dominant Carlsen stays on the age of 34.
In an interview instantly after the match, Gukesh detailed his shock at profitable the sport, which at one level seemed hopeless for him.
“There wasn’t a lot I might do,” he mentioned. “It was simply clearly misplaced, so I used to be simply making an attempt to make strikes which had been difficult for him, and luckly he acquired into time scramble.”
“99 out of 100 instances I’d lose,” Gukesh added.
Others within the chess group supplied a bit extra assist for Gukesh’s efficiency.
Gukesh additionally reportedly instructed Chess.com that he might relate to Carlsen’s response: “I’ve additionally banged a number of tables in my profession!”
Carlsen retains his title because the top-ranked participant by the Worldwide Chess Federation (FIDE), which calculates rankings primarily based on performances throughout sanctioned tournaments. Carlsen can be a five-time world chess champion, a title awarded for profitable the sport’s most presitigious event (The Candidates Match) and besting the present world champion (or with the present champion beating the winner of the Candidates).
Carlsen declined to defend the title in 2022, with China’s Ding Liren taking the highest spot solely to be defeated by Gukesh in 2024. Then solely 18, Gukesh turned the youngest world champion in historical past.
That has meant one thing of a pure rivarly between the 2.
Carlsen has beforehand praised the Indian phenom, noting just lately in an look on the podcast The Joe Rogan Expertise that Gukesh “works his a– off all time time” but additionally isn’t as sturdy as a number of the shorter time codecs which have gained in reputation and status in recent times.
Together with the embrace of shorter time codecs, chess has boomed on-line, with a growth in protection and content material creators who analyze video games in actual time and supply loads of commentary.
And with Carlsen nonetheless by far the sport’s high star, a blunder and loss — and response — just like the one to Gukesh has sparked its personal compilations of reactions.
