Five-time world chess champion Magnus Carlsen angrily slammed his fist on the table out of frustration following a shocking loss to reigning classical world champion Gukesh Dommaraju at the 2025 Norway Chess tournament.
Carlsen, known for his composure, showed the intensity of the moment through his shocking gesture, and commentators now called this event one of the biggest turnarounds of the year.
The 19-year-old Gukesh seized the opportunity of Carlsen’s rare mistake and secured a dominant win of 3-0. This impressive win marks Gukesh’s first-ever classical win over the widely known chess star, adding a major milestone in the young Indian grandmaster’s rising career.
In a social media post made by Norway Chess, it shared the exact moment when Gukesh had beaten Carlsen and stated: “What just happened? 😱🫣”
Some netizens commented on the post and expressed their support towards Gukesh: “From becoming the youngest World Champion ever to now taking down Carlsen in a classical match — Gukesh continues to redefine what’s possible”, “Gukesh we are proud of you 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳”, and “Snatched the win out of Magnus ‘s hand 🔥🔥🔥”
More netizens expressed their reaction to Carlsen’s gesture. One commented: “If you cannot regulate emotions when defeated, you should either not play or train yourself better. You cannot sour the your opponent’s win like this. This is an internation game between very talented players, not some toddler competition. Gukesh was very graceful but you can see him flinch when the other player banged the table. Not okay at all”, and ”
After the game, Carlsen admitted that he was confused by his opponent’s tactics. He expressed: “I don’t completely understand what (Gukesh’s) concept is here. It seems to me that I just have excellent play.”
Moreover, this was a big moment for Gukesh, who made his name known as the youngest world chess champion in history. Gukesh stated: “99 out of 100 times, I would lose. Just a lucky day!”
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He added: “First classical win against Magnus, I mean, not the way I wanted it to be, but OK, I’ll take it.”
Despite his loss, Carlsen remains at the top of the Norway Chess standings, while Gukesh has climbed to the third spot. The Norway Chess tournament offers an estimated total prize money of $148,000, with mostly $62,000 awarded to the winner.
On processing his emotions quickly
According to Gukesh’s coach, Grzegorz Gajewski, the young athlete’s ability to process emotions quickly helps him handle new challenges.
The Polish coach remarked: “One of the main things that we wanted to focus on here was to just be fully committed and fully present, fully focused on every game, regardless of the results… He actually started the tournament with two losses, and it did not discourage him from fighting, and he didn’t lose his spirit or anything like that. So, that’s a very big success in terms of how the (previous) tournament ended,”
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“We enjoy the good wins and we enjoy the points, but we try to move on and focus on the next games,” he added.
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