World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen visibly lost his composure on Sunday after a dramatic defeat to Indian grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju at the Norway Chess tournament.
The 19-year-old Dommaraju, fresh off his birthday celebrations, staged a comeback following a rare blunder by Carlsen late in the match.
The loss saw the five-time world champion slam his fist on the table, sending chess pieces flying in the final moments of the game.
Video of the incident, which quickly circulated online, shows Carlsen knocking over pieces as he resigned. He initially stood up abruptly, prompting speculation that he was about to walk away.
OH MY GOD 😳🤯😲 pic.twitter.com/QSbbrvQFkE
— Norway Chess (@NorwayChess) June 1, 2025
However, the Norwegian returned to the board to pick up the scattered pieces before giving Dommaraju a pat on the back in a gesture of sportsmanship.
Dommaraju remained composed amid the surprising turn of events, briefly walking around the venue as he processed the unexpected win.
Carlsen streamed five hours of gameplay on his YouTube channel, with commentators reacting in real-time to the mistake that turned the match.
Earlier in the tournament, Carlsen also lost an Armageddon tiebreaker to world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, despite maintaining a favourable position for much of the game.
Carlsen has made headlines in the past for non-conventional behaviour, including being disqualified from a previous tournament for breaching dress code rules after arriving in jeans from a lunch meeting.
Sunday's events added another dramatic chapter to Carlsen’s tournament run, with both his play and reactions under intense scrutiny.
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