Magnus Carlsen to take on The World

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen is set to take on the world in Freestyle Chess (Fischer Random) via chess.com. The online chess platform has organised this match—starting April 4, 2025—where the Norwegians would play a game of freestyle chess with 1 move per day against the world through a voting system. All the participants will cast votes for the moves that they wish to play in the given position, and the most popular move would be played, giving Magnus a day to respond.

After the Indian legend, Viswanathan Anand, who participated in the ‘Vishy vs. The World’ match in September 2024, Magnus Carlsen is ready to take the baton from the former World Champion. Participation from over 60,000 players was witnessed during the ‘Vishy vs. The World’ match, which lasted about a month, resulting in a win for Vishy with the white pieces after 28 moves. Such exhibition matches always run the risk of potential use of unfair means while voting. However, Vishy’s smooth victory over The World with a relatively very low rating was a testament to a successful exhibition match.

While Vishy played standard chess in the match, Magnus Carlsen has taken up the challenge of the fresh and growing Freestyle Chess format. At the moment, 5000 players have signed up for the match, and it remains to be seen if Magnus’ match will outnumber the previous one with Vishy. With the growing popularity of the sport and Carlsen’s influence, it is very likely that the numbers might touch the 100,000 mark.

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