A chess grandmaster who is playing a single game against 140,000 people thinks the match is heading for a draw.
The mega-match features undisputed world number one Norwegian Magnus Carlsen playing freestyle chess online against “the world”.
The game, which began on 4 April, allows Team World to vote on each move, and each side has 24 hours to make their play.
In freestyle chess, the bishops, knights, rooks, queen and king are randomly shuffled around the board while the pawns remain in their usual spots. The format is popular because it allows players to be more creative and avoid memorisation.
Magnus Carlsen (L) taking on world number three Hikaru Nakamura in February. Pic: picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Described as “Magnus Carlsen versus The World”, it had been predicted Carlsen would win by a wide margin but his Team World opposition could force a draw if it checks Carlsen’s king three times.
“Right now we’re heading towards a draw by perpetual check,” Carlsen said in a statement.
“I felt that I was a little bit better, early in the opening, then maybe I didn’t play that precisely. Honestly, since then, they haven’t given me a single chance. So now, I think, it’s just heading towards the draw.”
Grandmaster is a chess celebrity
Carlsen became a grandmaster at 13 and enjoys celebrity status that few other players have.
The 34-year-old became the world’s top-ranked player in 2011 and has won five world championships. He achieved the highest-ever chess rating of 2882 in 2014 and has remained the undisputed world number one for more than a decade
Last year, he quit a tournament in New York after refusing to change out of the jeans he was wearing. He later accepted a fine, and officials agreed to relax the dress code.
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This is the third record-setting online game versus “The World”.
In 1999, Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov played against more than 50,000 people on the Microsoft Network, which Kasparov won after four months.
Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand won his match last year against nearly 70,000 players on Chess.com, which is also hosting Carlsen’s match.
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