Watch: Carlsen loses cool; slams table again after loss to India’s Erigaisi
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen slammed the table after losing on time to India’s Arjun Erigaisi at the World Blitz Championship in Doha. The ninth-round defeat, with Arjun playing black, was one of the tournament’s biggest upsets and pushed him joint top on 7.5 points. It was Carlsen’s latest emotional outburst.
Magnus Carlsen slams table again (Screengrabs)
World No. 1 and five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen once again grabbed headlines for his emotional reaction at the chessboard on Monday. This time, it happened after he lost to India’s Arjun Erigaisi at the World Blitz Championship in Doha.
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The Norwegian star slammed the table after running out of time, with the video of his action quickly going viral on social media platforms.Watch:
Arjun defeated the defending blitz champion in the ninth round, which has become one of the biggest shocks of the event. Before that round, six players, including Arjun and Carlsen, were tied at the top with 6.5 points each. With the win, Arjun moved to 7.5 points and joined Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov at the top of the standings. What made Arjun’s victory even more impressive was that he played with the black pieces. In chess, whites play the first move. And hence, it is understood that the white pieces hold the advantage over the black pieces.Carlsen opened the game in his usual aggressive style, but Arjun stayed calm and slowly gained control. At one point, the Indian grandmaster won a pawn and kept the pressure on. Although Carlsen managed to win the pawn back, the position was already leaning in Arjun’s favour.
Under heavy time pressure, Carlsen defended hard but eventually lost on time, which led to another frustrated table slam. This was not the first time Carlsen showed his anger during the event. Earlier in the rapid section, he lost to Russian grandmaster Vladislav Artemiev. After that defeat, Carlsen shook hands, grabbed his blazer, and walked away angrily. As he was leaving, he pushed away a camera that came too close.Earlier this year in Norway, he famously smashed the table after losing a winning position to India’s D Gukesh. ALSO READ: World champion at 7 in her first international event; 'nervous' while meeting PM Modi: How Pragnika Lakshmi became a chess prodigyThat moment went viral and was widely discussed and mocked online.