Chess King Magnus Carlsen’s Passion for Poker

Having been involved for many years in pro chess and then pro poker, your writer has spent a long time contemplating the link between these two ultimate tests of (amongst others) strategy, analysis, clear thinking, discipline, nerve and psychology…

The similarities and significant overlaps have always been evident (and to a greater degree, the deeper we delve into the complexities of both), but this has never been more conspicuous than it is today, when technology – especially the internet – provides the perfect ‘mass inclusion’ environment for poker and chess. Both have benefitted immensely, with real money online poker and online chess competition attracting millions of players. And everyone has at their disposal practically unlimited learning resources, thus making for a universal improvement in terms of the overall player pools’ skill level.

Straddling the Poker/Chess Divide

Not surprisingly, this unlimited accessibility, combined with a thirst for achievement (even on a purely personal level), is seeing chess/poker players taking more than a passing interest in the ‘other’ game. This is certainly something I have witnessed increasingly during the last two or three years among a number of my friends, whose enthusiasm for experimenting – and even taking the ‘second’ game seriously – has been noticeable.

With this in mind, anyone with an interest in chess or poker would have to have been living in a cave not to have noticed that arguably the greatest ever chess player, former World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, has been investing quite a lot of time on poker. Note that I’m describing him as the former champion because, faced with the prospect of defending his title against Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia yet again after defeating him so comfortably the first time around in 2021 (Carlsen racked up a 7.5-3.5 victory without suffering a single loss), and aware of his lack of enthusiasm for certain fundamental aspects of competitive chess, the Norwegian genius decided to give up his crown.

As it turned out, the Russian was unable to replace Carlsen when the opportunity arose recently, despite the only time he went behind in the entire title match with fellow challenger Ding Liren of China being the very last game, the 14-game ‘long-play’ match having ended 7-7, and the first three ‘rapidplay’ play-off games each ending in a draw.

The Irony of Magnus Carlsen Being Great Publicity for … Poker

But what’s fascinating and newsworthy here – and which absolutely hasn’t gone unnoticed in the chess world – is what Carlsen was doing both in the run-up to and during the match that would determine his successor. The answer: playing poker! And we’re not talking a home game with chess friends, random online poker tournaments or letting off steam at anonymous online Texas Hold’em cash tables, but proper, big money events. Carlsen’s interest in poker has been very public, happily in the glare of a news media that’s growing increasingly inquisitive in terms of learning what the 32-year-old has in mind for the future.

Only he knows, of course. First, he’ll continue to play the high-profile chess tournaments where he’s guaranteed to both enjoy himself and earn bags of money. Some might say that he hardly needs to add to his wealth, which was already considerable even before the sale of Play Magnus to Chess.com for a tad short of a whopping $83 million last year. However, a potential fly in the ointment is a lawsuit, launched last year by teenage US Grandmaster Hans Niemann, who is suing Carlsen for $100 million amidst a bitter and dramatic cheating scandal (after numerous allegations aimed at Niemann) that rocked the chess world. Niemann, incidentally, is also suing Chess.com for the same amount.

That aside, Carlsen will also be keen to remind the chess world that he still sits at the top of the pile, and looks down on the rest from quite a height, regardless of who is the official world champion…       

Potential Poker Prowess

There’s no denying Carlsen’s obvious passion for poker. And we can only expect this to continue, given his commitment in the last couple of years. And one that has gathered steam in recent months.

The fact that he’s taken so much time away from chess – an environment which, like poker, is constantly evolving and punishes those (even so-called super-grandmasters!) who fail to keep their game ticking along – to go off to play poker, is conspicuously significant.

And his crusade thus far has not been without promise. For example, in last year’s Norwegian Championships Main Event in Dublin, a tournament that had 1,050 entries, he finished a very impressive 25th. And, very recently, in Monte Carlo, Carlsen went deep in the €5,300 buy-in PokerStars EPT Main Event, finishing 63rd.

Carlsen also recently made a much-publicised appearance on Hustler Casino Live where, once again demonstrating insightful psychology that he puts to good use at the chess board, he managed to come up with an impressive call while holding only bottom pair to win a pot worth $13,775.    

Interestingly, is it just coincidence that Carlsen was at Hustler’s, watched by a global poker audience, when the chess world was focusing on who would take over the world champion’s crown that had been in the chess king’s possession since 2013? Or is it a sign that the poker world is keen on pointing out that chess fans are crossing the divide? Note that, in the photo at the top of this article, Carlsen is sitting next to Alexandra Botez, a US-Canadian chess streamer whose rise to internet fame during the COVID-19 era attracted the eagle-eyed marketeers of poker, to the point that she, too, was also in Monte Carlo…

Image Credit: The Hustler Casino & WPT Global

Chess King Magnus Carlsen’s Passion for Poker

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