No Longer World Chess Champion, Magnus Carlsen Sets Sights On Poker
May 03, 2024 Connor
Richards Editor & Live Reporter U.S.
Five-time 5️⃣ World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen
shocked the public in July 2024 when he announced that he wouldn't be defending the
5️⃣ title he had held for a decade. And while Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren were at St.
Regis Hotel in 5️⃣ Kazakhstan last month battling to take his place as supreme leader of
the chess world, Carlsen was getting ready for 5️⃣ a trip to the sunny Mediterranean
coast.
Carlsen is one of less than a hundred players remaining out of a field 5️⃣ over
1,098 entries in the EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main Event as part of 2024 PokerStars
European Poker Tour (EPT) 5️⃣ presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®, proving that his analytical
genius is far from limited to a 64-square grid.
In his first interview 5️⃣ since giving up
his World Chess Champion Title, Carlsen sat down with PokerNews and PokerStars for an
exclusive look at 5️⃣ what the future holds for the 32-year-old Norwegian chess
prodigy.
Returning to Monte Carlo
As it turns out, the trip to Monte 5️⃣ Carlo was not
Carlsen's first. He came to Monaco 15 years ago, but it was to play a different kind 5️⃣ of
tournament.
"I came here to this exact location in Monaco in 2007," Carlsen said,
"because I was playing a (chess) 5️⃣ tournament here. And I came to watch the European
Poker Tour because (Russian chess grandmaster) Alexander Grischuk, who was like 5️⃣ back
then a top ten (chess) player — (and) is still like a very, very good chess player — he
5️⃣ was playing here in the Main Event. So I went to watch him play."
A decade and a half
later, there's 5️⃣ a new grandmaster on the felt.
Magnus Carlsen sits down with PokerNews
and PokerStars for his first interview since giving up 5️⃣ his World Chess Champion
title
Carlsen isn't the only contemporary chess star who has taken a liking to poker.
Popular chess 5️⃣ streamer Alexandra Botez is also here at EPT Monte Carlo, as is two-time
United States Women's Champion and PokerStars Pro 5️⃣ Jen Shahade.
Are there any other
chess players who Carlsen thinks would excel at poker?
"I think the current World
Champion Ding 5️⃣ (Liren) here should be really strong," he said. "I know from talking to
him, he calculates really quickly in chess 5️⃣ is really, really good at math. So I'm sure
he could do well."
"An Interesting Challenge"
Widely considered one of the best 5️⃣ chess
players of all time, it is tempting to draw parallels between Carlsen's pivot to poker
and Michael Jordan's infamous 5️⃣ (and short-lived) early retirement from the National
Basketball Association to play professional baseball.
But Carlsen, who cited Rafael
Nadal, not Jordan, 5️⃣ as his greatest sports influence, said such a comparison would be a
mistake.
"I have no ambitions in poker," Carlsen said. 5️⃣ "I like playing, it's an
interesting challenge, but I have no ambitions."
Magnus Carlsen
Without ambitions to be
one of the poker 5️⃣ greats, it doesn't bother Carlsen to play under the spotlight with
cameras overhead and viewers at home scrutinizing his play.
"I 5️⃣ have no ambitions in
poker. I like playing, it's an interesting challenge, but I have no ambitions."
"I
don't like to 5️⃣ take a lot of pride and my poker," he said. "So I'm trying to, you know,
learn a little bit, 5️⃣ so it doesn't bother me that much. But if I do something really
stupid, then that's to be expected. So 5️⃣ that's fine."
A Natural On the Felt
Despite his
lack of ambition to master the game, Carlsen has demonstrated an impressive aptitude
5️⃣ and understanding of poker. During his appearance on Hustler Casino Live last month,
Carlsen made a heroic call with just 5️⃣ bottom pair against content creator Nick Austin to
win a pot ofR$13,775.
Like a seasoned pro, Carlsen assessed, both in the 5️⃣ moment and
after the fact, that his opponent would be unlikely to triple barrel with many of his
value hands 5️⃣ given how the hand played out.
"I sort of thought he was the kind of player
who showed who would probably 5️⃣ show down some weak one pair of hands you had," he told
PokerNews. "So I thought there was a reasonable 5️⃣ chance he was bluffing. And, you know,
sometimes ... you just feel it. And then sometimes you're right."
Magnus Carlsen
Even
more 5️⃣ impressively, Carlsen made these assessments naturally as he admitted that he
"(doesn't) really study."
"I probably should, but I enjoy, like 5️⃣ learning, talking to
people about the hand(s) we're playing."
Different Games, Similar Strategies
Perhaps
Carlsen's innate abilities at the poker table have 5️⃣ to do with the similarities between
poker and the game that earned him five World Champion titles.
"I think the
similarities 5️⃣ between poker and chess are more than people would think," he said. "Of
course, there is perfect information in chess, 5️⃣ but still, you make a lot of decisions
based on, like, imperfect calculation. So in that sense, it's a little 5️⃣ bit of the
same."
One similarity between tournament poker and some chess formats is the use of
shot clocks. As an 5️⃣ accomplished blitz player, Carlson has experience making difficult
decisions on the fly.
"I played like a little bit (of blitz) with 5️⃣ my friends ... like
during the pandemic," he said. "And I found it really stressful, really
intense."
Carlsen said he deals 5️⃣ with that stress the same way many poker players do: by
listening to music.
"I think the similarities between poker and 5️⃣ chess are more than
people would think. Of course there is perfect information in chess, but still, you
make a 5️⃣ lot of decisions based on, like, imperfect calculation. So in that sense, it's
it's a little bit of the same."
"Usually 5️⃣ when I play ... blitz chess online or even
rapid chess, I like to listen ... to music," said Carlsen. 5️⃣ "It sort of helps me calm
down and sort of just use my instinct. But here, I'm not sure of 5️⃣ that. I feel that I
have to think more because I have less knowledge. So I feel that like having 5️⃣ some of
that noise may just distract me. So I just try to, you know, sit there, follow what's
happening, 5️⃣ try and pick up as much as I can."
Playing on the televised feature table
with high-stakes pro Mike Watson to 5️⃣ his immediate left and other accomplished players
like Mark Teltscher and Oleg Vasylchenko just a few seats over, Carlsen certainly 5️⃣ has
an uphill battle ahead of him. But if there's anyone up for the monumental challenge,
it may just be 5️⃣ the five-time World Chess Champion.
Magnus Carlsen at the feature table
