New Delhi: Chess great Magnus Carlsen could have been at the receiving end on Friday had he not made it in time for his clash at the 45th Chess Olympiad that is being held in Budapest. Although he was able to feature in his first game of Round 3, World no. 1 could have lost his clash against Roberto Garcia Pantoja of Colombia even without taking the board.
Carlsen, who represents Norway, arrived at the venue late and was almost near to a forfeit but his chances were rescued by a designated photographer of the tournament. When the former world champion made it to the board, he wrapped up the game in 40 moves. As per the reports, Carlsen had decided to take a bike to the playing hall, all by himself, rather than arriving at the venue with his Norwegian contingent which caused the delay.
According to the regulations of the tournament, if a player is not at the playing hall within 15 minutes of the start of the round (default time), the player will be forced to concede the game. Carlsen explained the situation to the media after the game.
World No.1 Magnus Carlsen arrived at Round 3 of the 45th Chess Olympiad, for his first game, by bike! 🚴♂️ What’s the first word that comes to mind after watching Magnus’ “journey” to his board? #ChessOlympiad pic.twitter.com/OKnexThElN
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 13, 2024
“It was a bit of a mess. I am in a different hotel from the others, so they were supposed to pick me up. Then, they suddenly told me that traffic was horrible and they would be at my hotel at five to three. At that point, I thought I couldn’t get there in time by car, so I decided biking might be faster,” Carlsen said.
How did Carlsen get in?
When Carlsen arrived at the venue late, he thought he had already been defaulted (lost the game) but… a photographer saved the day for him. Carlsen was already lucky enough as the start of the round got delayed which gave him additional time to reach the hall. But he was unaware of this development and told the photographer – Maria Emelianova, that he is sure he had forfeited.
The photographer gave a brief outline of what had actually happened outside the playing hall on the Chess24 live broadcast. She said that she was waiting outside to click pictures of the players and that is when another Norwegian player informed her that Carlsen was arriving by bicycle. She said that she got scared for him because of the timing because it’s very hard to find the entrance to this (BOK Csarnok events venue) arena even if one already knows the layout. Moreover, it was raining outside.
What happened today and why do I have a photo of @MagnusCarlsen on a bike at 15:24 local time? Well you might hear about it all soon on @chesscom broadcast 😆 #chessolympiad https://t.co/qq32xlIFR5 pic.twitter.com/LGh5PoWCdw
— PhotoChess (@photochess) September 13, 2024
“So I decided to go out to get some photos. That’s when I saw him, he was on the bicycle, he was soaking wet and he was trying to find the entrance. And he didn’t have his (accreditation) badge. He said his card was with the Norway team captain (Odin Blikra Vea), but he was like ‘I’ve already lost, right?’. That’s when I told him he still had four minutes.”
Emelianova then guided Carlsen through a shortcut to the playing arena in those four minutes so he could reach it in time to avoid a forfeit. Emelianova also took care of Carlsen’s bicycle and his mobile phone as the ex-world champions rushed to his chair and board.
A photographer arrived at Magnus Carlsen’s rescue who was late in reporting for his Round 3 opening game at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest and narrowly avoided a forfeit. Here’s what exactly happened. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
