Magnus Carlsen’s reaction to losing to chess grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju in a stunning upset has captivated the internet, as the Norwegian has gone pretty viral.
Typically, chess keeps to its own corner of the internet. However, there are times when something happens in the centuries-old strategy game that takes the attention of the internet. This has been aided by a number of prominent chess players, including Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, who have become internet celebrities.
Tournaments are being streamed more often as well, both on Twitch and YouTube, opening it up to even bigger audiences than ever before. This includes world championship events, Chess.com’s popular PogChamps tournaments, and beyond.
The Norway Chess 2025 tournament has been streamed on YouTube too, and while the audience numbers have been pretty solid, nothing has captured the attention quite like Carlsen’s reaction to his loss against Gukesh Dommaraju.
Magnus Carlsen goes viral slamming chess table
The Norwegian, who is ranked as the number one chess player in the world, found himself defeated by Gukesh in round six of the event after a miscalculation and uncharacteristic blunder.
Upon resigning from the game with the defeat looming, Carlsen slammed the table, causing a number of pieces to scatter. It also prompted gasps from the commentators, who were taken aback by his reaction to the defeat.
Dave Portnoy responds to Magnus loss
However, it was also the pairs exit from the table that caught the eye. After slamming his fist, Magnus was quick to jump up, shake Gukesh’s hand, and apologize for the slam.
Carlsen fixed a number of the scattered pieces as Gukesh walked away, stunned by the result. The world number one then gave his opponent a pat on the back before leaving the arena, skipping his media duties.
Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy posted the clip with the caption: “I can’t stop watching this and I don’t know why.” That has gotten over 7 million views at the time of writing.
Similar posts have also seen the clips being reposted to a further few million views each. “I wonder if he knows it’s just a game,” one said.
During the match, Carlsen said he ‘didn’t understand’ his opponent’s concept and that he had “excellent play” for himself. That was before things were spun upside down and he was defeated.
The win was Gukesh’s first over Magnus in Classical Chess rules, but the world number one still has games to play in the Norway Chess event.
Content shared from www.dexerto.com.