It has been 16 years now that Magnus Carlsen is the highest-rated player in the world - he emerged as World no.1 in the January 2010 FIDE Rating list, and has since stayed there. A huge testimony to Magnus' unreal strength is, in his entire career there have only been 3 times he has lost twice to the same opponent in a classical tournament!
The first recorded instance we could find was in Linares-Morelia 2007 - a 6-player classical double Round Robin Tournament with the best players in the World.
@vishy64theking Anand defeated Magnus with both colors, and went on to win the tournament a full point ahead of Magnus who finished 2nd!
In the Bilbao Masters Grand Slam Finals in 2008, it was Veselin Topalov who defeated Magnus with both colors. Topalov won the tournament!
Since then, there were no such events where Magnus lost to the same opponent twice in an classical event. That was until 2nd June, 2026 - Praggnanandhaa defeated Magnus Carlsen with both colors at Norway Chess 2026!
These stats speak to the amazing strength of Anand, Topalov, and Pragg - but perhaps more so about the incredible longevity of Magnus Carlsen! The World is looking forward to his last 2 classical games at Norway Chess - we'll see Magnus playing Classical Chess again at the FIDE Olympiad 2026 this September.
Photos: Oscar Javier, Nadja Woisin, Michal Walusza
#chess #chessbaseindia #magnuscarlsen