Magnus Carlsen throws bottle & rages out after title-losing blunder
FIDEFive-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen was just one right move away from claiming his eighth consecutive tournament before blundering his position, prompting him to rage out and smash a bottle.
Carlsen was up against Alireza Firouzja, fresh off his Candidates run, in the fourth game of the Chess.com Classic Grand Final when he needed one more win to cement his next chess title.
Around the 40th move of the game, the Norwegian needed to trade rooks with Firouzja and continue with his winning position to close out the match.
Carlsen declined, moving his rook away, and quickly found himself in a losing position, leading to his resignation.
The chess champion immediately spotted his mistake during the match and could be seen yelling angrily on his webcam. The broadcast later showed him slamming a water bottle on the ground out of frustration.
The moment was punctuated by commentator Tania Sachdev, who exclaimed, “And the bottle gets destroyed,” on the official broadcast.
Firouzja went on to win the Chess.com Classic with a score of 3-2, citing game 4 as a major reason for his victory.
“I was lucky that he got so tilted after the game four,” he said on the Chess.com broadcast.
Carlsen was visibly frustrated for the entire match and even expressed his rage with a punch toward his computer screen after the final game.
The former Chess world champion often wears his heart on his sleeve in difficult matches during classical in-game chess tournaments, showing his frustration and depth of thought for every move.
However, he hasn’t resorted to tossing things or throwing a public tantrum.
But in the comfort of his room, and in front of his computer, he became just like every other disgruntled gamer after making a game-losing mistake.