Magnus Carlsen, the world’s top chess player, has just finished a historic online game that lasted 46 days and involved more than 143,000 opponents.
The match, hosted by Chess.com and dubbed Magnus vs The World, ended in a draw, marking a rare and impressive moment in the chess world.
The game started on April 4 and concluded after 32 moves. Carlsen, playing white, faced a collective team of global players who voted on every move. Each side had 24 hours to make their choice, and the move with the most votes from Team World was played. Despite Carlsen’s reputation as the strongest chess player in history, the massive team managed to hold him to a draw using a rule known as “threefold repetition,” where the same board position is repeated three times, leading to a draw.
The format used was freestyle chess, also called Chess960, where the positions of the main pieces are randomized at the start. This adds a layer of complexity and levels the playing field slightly, making it harder to rely on memory.