Magnus Carlsen Loses Cool After Shock Blitz Defeat to Arjun Erigaisi at World Championship
Carlsen’s table-banging outburst after his ninth-round loss to Erigaisi at the FIDE World Blitz Championship went viral, as the young Indian surged into joint lead and tightened the title race.
Norwegian chess superstar Magnus Carlsen once again found himself at the centre of attention for the wrong reasons after losing his composure following a defeat to Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi at the FIDE World Blitz Championship on Monday.
Carlsen, the reigning World Rapid and World Blitz champion, was beaten by Erigaisi in the ninth round, with the Indian GM showcasing sharp calculation and strong endgame technique to prevail with the black pieces.
Moments after the loss, Carlsen was seen banging the table in frustration, an incident that was captured on video and quickly went viral on social media, with fans dubbing it “Carlsen outburst 2.0”.
The episode comes just months after Carlsen had visibly lost his cool following a defeat to D Gukesh at the Norway Chess tournament in June. Despite his legendary status and success, the world No. 1 has often been criticised for struggling to accept losses gracefully.
Erigaisi’s win over Carlsen proved pivotal, as the 22-year-old Indian surged to the top of the standings alongside France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with nine points after 11 rounds.
The Indian followed up the landmark victory by defeating Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the 10th round to briefly take a half-point lead, before settling for a draw against American GM Fabiano Caruana in round 11.
With two rounds remaining on the opening day, Carlsen remains in contention for a record-extending ninth World Blitz title, having already claimed his sixth World Rapid crown on Sunday. He is currently placed among a group of eight players on eight points, alongside top contender Alireza Firouzja and India’s Sunilduth Narayanan.
Caruana, Daniil Dubov, and China’s Yu Yangyi are close behind the joint leaders with 8.5 points, ensuring a tight race as the championship heads into its decisive stages. Meanwhile, Indian stars R Praggnanandhaa and reigning classical world champion D Gukesh are further back on 7.5 points, placed in a large group tied for 14th.
Erigaisi has so far registered eight wins, two draws, and just one loss. Having defeated Carlsen earlier this year in classical chess at Norway Chess and now again in blitz, the Indian GM has underlined his growing reputation as one of the few players capable of consistently troubling the Norwegian across formats.
The 19-round open championship is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday, with rounds 14 to 19 set to be played on the penultimate day. The top four players will qualify for the semifinals, followed by the final, where the new World Blitz champion will be crowned.