Chess world number one
Magnus Carlsen draws against 18-year-olds – his reason: food poisoning
The current world number one in chess, Magnus Carlsen (archive image)
© Sylvia Lederer / XinHua / DPA
The much-anticipated chess match between Magnus Carlsen and just 18-year-old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the Fide World Cup ended in a draw. Carlsen justified his failure to win with food poisoning.
The current world number one in chess, the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, did not get beyond a draw in his World Cup game against the only 18-year-old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. In an interview with the world chess federation – the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (Fide) – after the game, Carlsen, who apparently looked extremely tired, justified his performance with food poisoning he had previously suffered.
Magnus Carlsen says he is “in a pretty difficult condition”
“Normally if I had a rest day while he (Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Editor’s note) had to play a hard tie-break yesterday. But I’ve been in pretty bad shape the last few days. I got food poisoning after playing Abasov. I couldn’t eat anything for the last two days,” Carlsen summarized after the match.
According to the specialist portal chess.com, Carlsen developed from an initially “13-year-old Norwegian child prodigy” to an “absolute top player. He conquered number one in the world rankings in 2011”. He currently still holds this position.
He has also won multiple world championship titles in rapid and blitz chess. At the current FIDE World Cup in Baku he is vying for his first ever World Cup title. Despite all the successes, this has so far been denied to him.
His opponent Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, also called Praggu, comes from India, is 18 years old and, according to experts, is looking forward to a probably rosy chess future. At the Airthings Masters 2022, an online rapid chess tournament, he already managed to defeat four-time world champion Carlsen.
Sources: chess.com, Youtube channel Fide