Chess great Carlsen held to draw by 143,000 players

Chess legend Magnus Carlsen, considered one of the best players in history, has been held to a draw by a team of 143,000 opponents in an online match.

Organized by the match site chess.com, the duel—dubbed “Magnus Carlsen vs. The World”—pitted the 34-year-old Norwegian against amateurs from around the planet who decided their moves by popular vote.

The match with Carlsen, who was world champion from 2013 to 2023, opened on April 4, with each side allowed 24 hours to decide its next move.

After more than six weeks, it ended in a draw Monday.

“I felt that I was a little bit better, early in the opening,” Carlsen said in a video.

“Honestly, since then, they haven’t given me a single chance.”

Carlsen is not the first grandmaster to take on a team of thousands.

Russian chess giant Garry Kasparov played more than 50,000 opponents in a 1999 match, while India’s Viswanathan Anand played around 70,000 last year, according to news agency NTB.

© 2025 AFP