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World No 1 Magnus Carlsen applauds Jacorey Bynum (inset), after the young American player checkmated him in a Titled Tuesday game. (Screengrab via Chess24 YouTube)
It’s not everyday that Magnus Carlsen loses an online game by getting checkmated. And it’s definitely not everyday that the game ends in such dazzling fashion that even Carlsen applauds his opponent. But that’s precisely what happened in a recent Titled Tuesday game when the world no 1 was beaten by an untitled American player, Jacorey Bynum, who holds a classical rating of 2175 as per FIDE’s published ratings.
Carlsen was playing a five-minute blitz game against Bynum on Tuesday in round 1 of Titled Tuesday, which is an online event organised by Chess.com.
Before we get to the move that made Carlsen applaud, here’s a test to see if you can find the move.
The ill-advised move from Magnus Carlsen just before his opponent, Jacorey Bynum, moved in for the kill with a piece sacrifice. (screengrab via Chess.com)
This is what the board looked like after the Norwegian, playing with black pieces, played bishop to d4 (34…Bd4). What do you think Bynum played here?
Here’s a little hint: Bynum offered a sacrifice that the world no 1 could not refuse. But it was a poisoned chalice of a move that opened the door to a checkmate on the next move itself. Can you find it?
The answer is the queen.
Jacorey Bynum offered his queen up as a sacrifice, which Carlsen could not avoid. The rook would then move in for the kill. (Screengrab via Chess.com)
Bynum moved his queen to h5 leaving the World No 1 no option but to capture with the king. This would mean that the rook on b7 would swing on h7 to deliver a crushing checkmate. Carlsen could have resigned after the queen sac, but he allowed checkmate. Here is what followed: 35. Qxh5+ Kxh5 36. Rh7#
Just minutes before the checkmate, the Norwegian was in a much superior position on the board, with an advantage of 40 seconds on the clock as well.
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WATCH: Carlsen gets checkmated in dramatic finale
“Magnus has dark-square domination. His king is super safe next to the knight here at the edge of the board (on the h6 square),” British grandmaster David Howell was saying on the Take Take Take app’s live commentary for the game. Just then, Carlsen played 34…Bd4 which opened the door for Bynum to sac his queen.
“Oh my God! Magnus has blundered. Magnus has blundered checkmate! What a way to play your first game against the former world champion,” Howell said. “That came out of nowhere! We were just saying how safe Magnus’ king was.”
On his video, Carlsen could be seen doubling over in laughter as he realised what he had done. He then applauded his opponent, who barely reacted to the impending victory.
“This was his first time playing Magnus. And he played that spectacular queen sacrifice, what a heroic way to start the tournament,” Norwegian grandmaster Jon Ludvig Hammer, who has been Carlsen’s second in the past, said on Take Take Take’s live stream. Hammer then called it an “epic queen sacrifice”.
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Last year, an nine-year-old Indian boy Aarit Kapil had almost defeated the Norwegian in an online blitz game.
English (US) ·