World number one Magnus Carlsen has made a surprising and honest admission about his current mental state in chess. Speaking during an interview with Take Take Take, the Norwegian chess legend said that he is struggling to find joy and form in the game he has dominated for years.
Carlsen, 33, is currently competing in the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz tournament but has managed to win just one game so far. His latest setback came against 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh, marking his second straight loss to the teenager. Gukesh had also defeated Carlsen at the Norway Chess tournament last month—a game that ended with Carlsen visibly frustrated, banging the table and drawing attention for his reaction.
“Honestly, I am not enjoying playing chess at all right now,” Carlsen said. “I just… I don’t feel any flow at all when I’m playing. I’m constantly hesitating, and it’s just really poor right now.”
The statement comes as a surprise to many fans and experts in the chess world, especially considering Carlsen’s reputation as one of the greatest players of all time. However, the five-time World Champion has been vocal in the past about burnout and the mental toll of constant high-level competition.
Carlsen praises Gukesh
Despite his own struggles, Carlsen was full of praise for Gukesh, who has now defeated him in two major events in a span of just a few weeks. Gukesh’s latest win came with the black pieces in 49 moves, after Carlsen failed to capitalise on a promising position.
“He’s doing incredibly well now,” Carlsen said of Gukesh. “It’s a long way to go in the tournament, but winning five games in a row is no mean feat. He’s playing well and is taking his chances too.”
Carlsen reflected on his loss, admitting he misjudged a crucial moment in the match. “I had a very, very nice position. He took his chance to open up with c6. After that, I got short of time and couldn’t really handle it that well. He found a lot of really good moves,” he explained.
He also mentioned that there was one last opportunity to escape with a draw, but he chose to push on, which backfired. “I had one last chance at some point to bail out to something that was very, very drawish, but I thought let’s continue playing. Then a couple of moves later I was pretty hopelessly lost.”
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