Carlsen suffers first classical chess loss since table-slam outburst vs Gukesh

Magnus Carlsen's table-slam outburst against D Gukesh in Norway Chess 2025 (Screengrabs)

NEW DELHI: World No. 1 and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen suffered his first classical chess defeat in almost a year after losing to Jorden van Foreest at the TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2026 in Malmo on Monday. Carlsen, who rarely plays classical chess nowadays, had remained unbeaten in all five classical games since his dramatic loss to D Gukesh at Norway Chess 2025, where his frustrated table-slam reaction had gone viral.

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Van Foreest controlled most of the game and did not allow Carlsen any chance to recover in the endgame. The Norwegian eventually resigned after getting trapped. “I never thought it would happen. I was already resigned to making a draw, and I was OK with it. Then suddenly I got this moment out of nowhere, and things spiralled out of control,” Van Foreest said. “It was a fascinating game, and I think he also thought so. That’s why we discussed it a lot.” Carlsen had spoken about how deeply his loss to world champion Gukesh affected him. During Norway Chess 2025, he reacted angrily by slamming the table after the defeat, later admitting the loss made him question himself. “That was a really painful loss. Those hit a lot harder,” Carlsen had shared during an interview on Pardon My Take. “Honestly, part of me, when I had that loss (to Gukesh) recently, just felt it was so dumb and so unnecessary. It just made me feel so kind of washed and useless that my thought for a few days was just ‘I'm not sure why am I doing this.’ When I win it's good, but it feels kind of normal. Then when I lose, it's just, you know, for a moment, the world just falls apart.” Arjun Erigaisi drew his match against Nodirbek Abdusattorov and remained unbeaten in the tournament. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Yagız Kaan Erdogmus defeated Nils Grandelius, who suffered his fourth straight loss.

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