 "Magnus Carlsen slams the table after losing on time to Arjun Erigaisi. X/Chesscom")
Magnus Carlsen could not control himself from slamming the table after his queen slipped out of his hands and fell on the floor resulting him in losing on time to Arjun Erigaisi in the World Blitz Championship on Monday.
The punch on the table reminded fans of Carlsen’s similar act in Norway after he lost from a winning position to world champion D Gukesh. This was also not the first time the world number one grabbed headlines for his misconduct in the ongoing World Rapid and Blitz Championships.
Earlier in the tournament, Carlsen’s conduct came under spotlight after he pushed a cameraman awa y from him following a loss.
Arjun says Carlsen game was a mess
Fresh of winning a bronze in the World Rapid Championships, where Carlsen was the winner, Arjun put pressure on the Norwegian Grandmaster and made out a better position for himself with an extra pawn. However, Carlsen managed to win back the pawn late in the match but time was quickly running out for the world number one.
Then came the frustrating move where his queen fell out of his hands leading him to not hitting the clock on time and losing the match.
“It was a mess but I think I was better throughout. And in the end I blundered my ‘a’ pawn and it should be draw now. But while taking the pawn, he flagged which was unfortunate for him,” India’s number one said after the match. “If not for the last blunder, overall, I played well.”
Arjun emerges as joint leader
The win against Carlsen helped Arjun emerge as the top contender in the blitz championship. After 13 rounds, Arjun, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Fabiano Caruana shared the lead in the Open section. All three of them currently sit at the top with 10 points. The leaders are chased by six players on 9.5 points.
Arjun’s only loss of the day came at the hands of Netherlands’ Jorden van Foreest.
Carlsen, meanwhile, remains a point adrift of the top three with 9/13, the same number of points that R Praggnanandhaa has. World Champion Gukesh is currently further behind with 8 points.