Magnus Vs The World: World’s Top Chess Player Takes on One Lakh Opponents

The world’s top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is currently making history by duelling with one lakh opponents at the same time in an online chess match called Magnus Vs The World. The World No 1 kicked off the match with the move 1.e4 in an online Freestyle Chess (Chess960) game, breaking the record for the largest online chess match ever held.

Magnus Vs The World is a unique “vote chess” game played on Chess.com, where one lakh opponents vote for the next move against Carlsen. Each side has 24 hours to make a move, and after Carlsen makes his move, the one lakh opponents can start voting on the next move, with the move receiving the most votes being played after 24 hours.

This isn’t the first time a world champion has taken on thousands of opponents simultaneously. In 1999, over 50,000 players faced off against former world champion Garry Kasparov in the largest chess match in history. Last year, Chess.com organized a similar online vote chess game against five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, with nearly 70,000 players participating.

What sets Magnus Vs The World apart is that it is being played in freestyle chess, unlike the classical chess format used in previous events with Kasparov and Anand. Additionally, the one lakh players have the assistance of five coaches to help them strategize their next move.

While this may seem like a daunting task for Carlsen, he has experience playing against masses of opponents before. In 2002, at just 11 years old, Carlsen played in a similar match that attracted nearly 300,000 Norwegians online. In 2014, as the world champion, he checkmated Norway’s mass players in 34 moves during a prime-time match on NRK, Norway’s largest broadcaster.

The Magnus Vs The World match is not only a test of Carlsen’s skills but also a unique opportunity for chess enthusiasts around the world to come together and challenge the reigning world champion.