Carlsen vs Nakamura, Blindfolded: World’s Top Two Draw In Historic Chess Showdown

Last Updated:January 21, 2026, 19:28 IST

Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura played a historic blindfold chess match at ICE Barcelona 2026, drawing after 37 moves, with Levy Rozman commentating.

News18

While the world’s elite grind it out at Tata Steel in Wijk aan Zee, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura were busy doing something far more unusual — playing each other blindfolded.

The world No.1 and No.2 skipped the Dutch classical showdown for different reasons. Carlsen continues to limit his classical appearances outside Norway Chess, while Nakamura is fully locked in on the Candidates Tournament in March.

Instead, the two chess superstars reunited on Tuesday at ICE Barcelona 2026, one of the world’s biggest iGaming and gaming-tech expos.

And they didn’t just show up — they showed out and stole the show.

Blindfolded brilliance

The headline act was a blindfold exhibition game in which Carlsen and Nakamura played without seeing the board, relying purely on memory and calculation. According to FIDE, it marked the first-ever blindfold match between the world’s top two-ranked players.

Carlsen surprised by opening with the Reti, swerving away from his expected Catalan setup. Nakamura countered with the Agincourt Defense, and after 37 moves — played under a 15-minute time control — the game ended in a draw by repetition.

Not bad, considering neither could see a single piece.

Popular chess streamer Levy Rozman (GothamChess) provided live commentary, breaking down the ideas and helping spectators follow the action move by move.

Chess meets the algorithm era

The blindfold clash wasn’t the only attraction. Carlsen, Nakamura and Rozman also took on spectators in a series of blitz exhibition games, turning the event into a full-blown celebration of modern chess culture.

Nakamura reflected on how dramatically chess has evolved, explaining that while he once focused almost entirely on competition, content creation became a serious pursuit for him in 2019 — and post-pandemic, it’s now his main professional lane.

Carlsen echoed the shift, noting how chess has exploded online since 2023.

“It just keeps showing up in everybody’s algorithms," he said, adding that the pandemic pushed the game beyond classical formats toward rapid, blitz and speed chess.

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