Magnus Carlsen Shoves Cameraman in Frustration After Shock Defeat at FIDE World Rapid Championship
World number one Magnus Carlsen, a five-time champion in rapid chess, sparked attention following an unexpected loss to Russian Grandmaster Vladislav Artemiev during the FIDE World Rapid Championship in Doha.
In the seventh round, Carlsen, playing as the top-rated competitor, made a critical error on his 15th move, allowing Artemiev to secure a decisive victory. The win elevated Artemiev to 6.5 points, placing him a full point clear at the top of the leaderboard.
Clearly frustrated, Carlsen quickly left the playing area after the game. As he departed, a cameraman followed closely to capture footage. Video footage circulating widely on social media, shared by the International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) on X (formerly Twitter), shows Carlsen pushing the camera away in a moment of visible anger.
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The post from FIDE read: “🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen lost to Vladislav Artemiev in Round 7 of the FIDE World Rapid Championship in Doha. #RapidBlitz” accompanied by the clip.
Carlsen had entered the day strongly, scoring 4.5 points out of five on the opening day. However, his form wavered in the early rounds of day two. In round six, he faced French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, ending up with tripled pawns on the e-file and eventually agreeing to a draw after a hard-fought battle.
The Norwegian recovered later, defeating Armenian Grandmaster Shant Sargsyan in round eight and then prevailing against American Grandmaster Ray Robson in the day’s final round. These two wins allowed Carlsen to reach seven points, tying him with three other players.
In the women’s section, reigning champion Koneru Humpy maintained her composure to share the lead, while Indian players D. Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi remained competitive in the open category.