Magnus Carlsen won the Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown event with two rounds to spare, prevailing in the three-day exhibition event over a stacked field that included Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and world champion D Gukesh. Carlsen pocketed a $1,70,000 (approximately Rs 1.5 crore) for his victory at the event in what was his return to the Saint Louis Chess Club for the first time since the Hans Niemann cheating allegations in 2022.
Carlsen defeated world champion Gukesh five times in six games over the three days, with one contest on the first day ending as a draw. Gukesh ended last in the standings in an event which also featured the world’s top three players.
Magnus Carlsen takes on world champion D Gukesh in a Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown clash in St Louis. (PHOTO: Lennart Ootes/ Saint Louis Chess Club)
What made the victory even more remarkable was that Carlsen was playing in his first over-the-board tournament since he became a father last month. After the first day of the Clutch Chess tournament, Magnus Carlsen complained that his ‘mind was not working at all‘. “Today my level of play was extremely poor… It was terrible, but I’m feeling like really not good at all,” Carlsen had told St Louis Chess Club in an interview after the first day when Gukesh was leading the standings with Carlsen second.
After the second day too, where he had surged into the lead, Carlsen was not too happy with his form. “I would like to have a little bit more control in my games than I did today,” Carlsen said after day 2.
Former world champion Magnus Carlsen poses at the St Louis Chess Club during the Clutch Chess exhibition event. (PHOTO: Lennart Ootes via St Louis Chess Club)
But the world no 1 from Norway was in roaring form on day 3, prevailing over one of the strongest fields assembled for an exhibition event.
“I was a lot happier today. You know, there there’s still things here and there that I’m not super happy about, but there was more flow and I felt that I was kind of more on top of things and not missing as many tricks. So yeah, today was a lot better and that feels really, really good to end on a high note and to actually be able to win convincingly in the end,” Carlsen said.
WATCH: Magnus Carlsen interview after winning Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown
When Carlsen was asked what had changed over the course of the three days, Carlsen said: “I honestly think it was mainly just getting a few days of practice here, playing against the best in the world, and also getting a few days of good sleep and rest after traveling. I think that helped helped a lot. When I feel good and I’m rested, I usually play quite well. So, I think that was more or less it. That was the main reason why it went better today.”
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The world no 1 from Norway continued: “Especially when I haven’t played for a while, I’m always like a little bit uncertain as to how I stack up, especially against the younger guys when I’m playing a lot of them because they improve a lot. Hikaru and Fabi, they’re obviously incredibly strong, but they’re a little bit more of a known entity. And it’s it’s really satisfying to be able to show that I that I’m still when I’m playing well, I’m still quite a bit better than the others. So, yeah, feels really good to be able to show that against the best in the world. And yeah, as I said many times, like that’s why that’s why I’m here to play against the best. And I’m happy to have gotten that opportunity after a couple of months.”
