Epic 46-day chess match that pitted Magnus Carlsen against 143,000 people ends in draw

Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen faced off against over 143,000 players from around the globe, resulting in a dramatic draw.

The groundbreaking online chess match, dubbed "Magnus Carlsen vs. The World", unfolded on Chess.com, the world's largest chess website, beginning on April 4th. This marked the first online freestyle game to feature a reigning world champion.

The match concluded after Team World delivered a third check to Carlsen's king, a surprising outcome that defied Chess.com's initial prediction of a decisive victory for Carlsen.

The scale of the game shattered previous records for online "vs. The World" matches.

In 1999, Garry Kasparov, then world champion, played against over 50,000 participants on the Microsoft Network, ultimately winning after a four-month battle.

More recently, in 2022, Viswanathan Anand emerged victorious from his own "vs. The World" match on Chess.com, facing nearly 70,000 players.

Carlsen, 34, became the world’s top-ranked player in 2010 aged 19 and has won five World Championships. He achieved the highest-ever chess rating of 2882 in 2014 and has remained the undisputed world number one for more than a decade.

“Overall, ‘the world’ has played very, very sound chess from the start. Maybe not going for most enterprising options, but kind of keeping it more in vein with normal chess — which isn’t always the best strategy, but it worked out well this time,” Carlsen said in a statement Friday as Monday’s draw seemed imminent.

Because it was a freestyle match, the bishops, knights, rooks, queen and king were randomly shuffled around the board while the pawns remained in their usual spots. Freestyle chess is popular because it allows players to be more creative and avoid memorisation.

Team World voted on each move and each side had 24 hours to make their play. Carlsen played the white pieces.

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The world won on move 32 after checking Carlsen's king three times in the corner of the board where it could not escape. The rule is called "threefold repetition," meaning all of the pieces on the board are in the exact same position three times to prompt a draw.

In the Chess.com virtual chat, players appeared split on whether to force the draw — and claim the glory — or to keep playing against Carlsen, even if it ultimately meant a loss.

“Don’t Draw! Let’s keep playing Magnus,” one user wrote. “This is an opportunity that won’t come along again. I’d rather play the Master all the way to the end and see if we can battle it out another 20 or 30 moves! Let’s have some FUN!!!”

Another added: “Thanks Magnus for such a great game. We made history.”