The King wasn’t about to abdicate the throne.
Magnus Carlsen, the world’s number one chess player, lived up to his reputation on Sunday in Toronto as he defeated another grandmaster and world number eight Wesley So to claim a third straight Champions Chess Tour title. It was a highly anticipated final match as the Philippine-born So was able to win over the Norwegian whiz back in round five. Going into the finale, the idea that another upset could take place wasn’t far-fetched.
But hey, Carlson had other plans. He got his revenge on So, beating him in two sets to claim the trophy. In the final frame, the US grandmaster fought valiantly to no avail. Magnus was in GOAT mode.
After the intense contest, many fans indeed believed that Carlson is now worthy of the GOAT title.
“The best player of all time,” chess fan djdiveck posted on Instagram.
The others, like IG user brunoopenhim echoed this claim.
“The Greatest Champion of this magical game👏👏👏👏,”
Another chess fan in cosme_patrick meanwhile, was forced to concede that Carlsen truly has the upper hand against So.
“The best and the better player,” he commented.
Over on X, more GOAT praise came Magnus’ way.
“We’re witnessing goatness,” @michaelworkspace tweeted.
Chess enthusiast @arcitejack was rooting for the underdog but he understood what was up.
“Kind of bummed. I wanted So but Mag was clearly better,” he wrote.
But perhaps, the best reaction to Carlsen’s tremendous performance came from the man who pushed him to be at his best.
“Really disappointed with the way I played today, it’s not how I wanted to end. Big congrats to @MagnusCarlsen, do you ever lose?,” So tweeted.
In one tweet, Wesley summed up how competitive yet self-aware he is. He also handled the loss with class. For sure, he’ll come back a stronger chess player after this.
(CF)