Norway Chess Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen Held To Draw in Showdown Against ‘The World’
Team World voted on each move and each side had 24 hours to make their play. Carlsen played the white pieces. The world won 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.
Mumbai, May 20: 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. Billed as “Magnus Carlsen vs. The World,” the online match began April 4 on Chess.com, the world's largest chess website, and was the first-ever online freestyle game to feature a world champion. The mega-match ended after Team World checked Carlsen's king a third time, a stunning outcome after Chess.com had predicted Carlsen would win by a wide margin. R Praggnanandhaa Wins Superbet Chess Classic 2025, Defeats Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja in Blitz Tie-Breaks To Clinch Title.
Team World voted on each move and each side had 24 hours to make their play. Carlsen played the white pieces. The world won 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.
Very, Very Sound Chess
Carlsen, 34, became the world's top-ranked player in 2010 aged 19 and has won five World Championships. He achieved the highest-ever chess rating of 2882 in 2014 and has remained the undisputed world number one for more than a decade.
“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.
Because it was a freestyle match, the bishops, knights, rooks, queen and king were randomly shuffled around the board while the pawns remained in their usual spots. Freestyle chess is popular because it allows players to be more creative and avoid memorization.
We Made History
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. R Praggnanandhaa Wins Superbet Chess Classic 2025, Defeats Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja in Blitz Tie-Breaks To Clinch Title.
Last year, Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand won his “vs. The World” match against nearly 70,000 players on Chess.com. In the Chess.com 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.
“Don't Draw! Let's keep playing Magnus,” one user wrote. “This is an opportunity that won't come along again. I'd rather play the Master all the way to the end and see if we can battle it out another 20 or 30 moves! Let's have some FUN!!!”
Another added: “Thanks Magnus for such a great game. We made history.”
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)