Magnus Carlsen vs. The World: the chess mega-showdown that ended in a draw

Shaki Sutharsan · CBC News

· Posted: May 20, 2025 6:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

One chess grandmaster versus the world. Who would you stake on?

Chess.com, the website wherever the record-setting lucifer took place, had predicted Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen would look victorious by a ample borderline successful a mega-match against much than 143,000 players.

But connected Monday, aft an online freestyle lucifer spanning 46 days — billed arsenic "Magnus Carlsen vs. The World" — he was forced into a gully erstwhile Team World checked his king for a 3rd time. 

Biggest online chess lucifer successful history  

Team World managed to lead Carlsen into a gully successful 32 moves by executing a "threefold repetition" — prompting a gully erstwhile a presumption is reached 3 times. In this case, it was prompted aft Team World checked Carlsen's king 3 times successful the country of the board.

Anyone successful the satellite could motion up to play arsenic portion of Team World connected Chess.com. Team members voted connected each move, and each broadside had 24 hours to marque their play.

"Overall, 'the world' has played very, precise dependable chess from the start. Maybe not going for astir enterprising options, but benignant of keeping it much successful vein with mean chess — which isn't ever the champion strategy, but it worked retired good this time," Carlsen said successful a connection connected Friday, earlier Monday's draw.

The match, which began connected April 4, was the largest online freestyle chess crippled successful past featuring a satellite champion of Carlsen's magnitude.

Freestyle chess is played with the king, queen, knights, rooks and bishops successful shuffled positions, portion the pawns stay successful their accustomed places connected the board.

Carlsen, 34, has been the highest-rated chess subordinate successful the world for astir 14 years. In April 2004, erstwhile helium was 13, helium became the youngest grandmaster in the satellite astatine the time. The mega-match besides marked the archetypal clip Carlsen played against the wide public.

'Maximum resistance' against Carlsen

Mike Ivanov, co-founder and caput manager of Canada Chess Youth Club successful Richmond Hill, Ont., watched the crippled unfold connected Chess.com. A instrumentality of Carlsen, Ivanov is besides 1 of the galore coaches connected the site, immoderate of whom participated successful the lucifer by assisting the satellite players successful the comments conception of the game.

"Usually, erstwhile you play Carlsen, it's similar a bid wreck and you're hoping it doesn't deed excessively hard," he said successful an interrogation with CBC News.

While Ivanov didn't instrumentality portion successful the game, helium said his chap coaches were trying to enactment up "maximum resistance" against Carlsen and weren't expecting the result to beryllium a draw.

"Over time, the vantage that Magnus had disappeared," helium said. "He played immoderate dubious moves, let's say, and that allowed the world to accurately equalize the crippled and conscionable clasp the gully to the extremity of the game."

Ivanov said it was "very exciting" to spot the lucifer play retired successful existent clip arsenic the players from astir the satellite engaged successful wide discussions arsenic they decided their adjacent moves.

"Usually, chess is simply a quiescent game, and present it was thing but quiet," helium said.