The world’s top-ranked chess player happily posed for a selfie with an awe-struck teenage opponent before their match — just to quickly rat her out to a referee for having a cellphone.
Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, 35, was asked by Kazakhstani chess prodigy Alua Nurman, 18, to pose for the photo at the Grenke Chess Festival in Germany on April 2, footage shows.
Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, 35, posed for a selfie with Alua Nurman, 18, at the Grenke Chess Festival in Germany. Alua Nurman Carlsen — who’s widely thought to be the greatest player in the history of chess — leaned in and flashed a big smile moments before the game began.
Carlsen then got up and told referee Michael Ruetten that Nurman had a cellphone — which is not permitted under strict anti-cheating rules, the Times of London reported.
He then agreed to play on once his young opponent handed her phone over to the referee, video footage shows.
Carlsen went on to win, and Nurman ultimately got second place in the women’s category.
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Nurman later said she considers Carlsen one of her heroes and was inspired by another grandmaster who took a pre-match selfie with him last year.
“When I saw the pairings, I was out of my mind,” she told ChessBase India. “Last year [French grandmaster] Etienne Bacrot also took a selfie. I thought like, why not?”
Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Champion and the reigning six-time World Rapid Chess Champion and has won the World Blitz Chess Championships nine times.
