Chess Grandmaster Magnus Clarksen loses match and his cool as 19yo Indian, Gukesh Dommaraju, claims win
Is the game of professional chess in need of a red card system? Has one of the best chess champions of all time brought the game into disrepute and will he need to be sent to the judiciary for poor behaviour?
In scenes befitting a mid-match blow-up in any of the world’s contact sports, the man most chess tragics regard as the G.O.A.T (greatest of all time), Magnus Clarksen, has been beaten by a young Indian upstart and he did not like it one bit.
Images of Carlsen slamming his fist into the board and sending the remaining chess pieces flying across the table and onto the ground, were met with shock after his opponent, Gukesh Dommaraju, claimed a checkmate victory with a lightning quick move and sideways glance in the Norway Chess tournament.
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Gukesh, a Grandmaster and current world champion, was stalking Carlsen as the match quickly ebbed and flowed, until the Norwegian seemingly made a fateful move that left the door ajar for the Indian upstart.
His reactions were quick and decisive, and as quickly as Carlsen realised his blunder, the winning move was made and the match was over.
A thunderous fist-slam from Carlsen signalled his disgust at the result and he trembled with anger before signing off in defeat and storming from the venue, unwilling to take questions or remain to congratulate his opponent.
The growing rivalry between the two has been been greeted with a a PR shot in the arm the chess world could not have dreamt of as the vision went viral.
Carlsen’s social media baiting of Gukesh in the early rounds of the latest tournament only added fuel to the fire. Couple that with one of the worst congratulatory handshakes ever presented in pro sport and it is clear to see this is definitely not fun and games.
“If you come for the king, you best not miss,” Carlsen spruiked after an early round victory over Gukesh.
Gukesh responded after his first-ever classical win over the Norwegian grandmaster saying “right now, what means the most to me is that I didn’t lose the game.”
“But yes, beating Magnus in any form is special.”
