Chess: 'That's what he was trying to go for...' Fabiano Caruana explains why Magnus Carlsen lost his cool after loss to D Gukesh

Magnus Carlsen's table fist smash at Norway Chess after losing to world champion Gukesh has become a global talking point, overshadowing the actual game between the two players. The incident, which occurred a few weeks ago, showed the former world champion's frustration and led to widespread media coverage and social media reactions beyond the chess community.

Not just the fist smash, Carlsen admitted in interviews that he stopped his car on the way to his hotel to regain composure after the defeat. During the Norway Chess closing ceremony, both Gukesh and Carlsen acknowledged that their game, rather than the incident, was their most memorable tournament moment.

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Fabiano Caruana, who finished second in the Norway Chess tournament behind Carlsen, shared his perspective on the incident during a recent C Squared Podcast. While understanding the general public's reaction, he expressed surprise at the chess community's response to the situation.


"Magnus definitely wanted to win (against Gukesh) to prove a point: the point being that not only is he (Gukesh) not nearly as strong as Magnus but also that he's not as strong as other players. I think that would be his point, that's what he was trying to go for. So I think Magnus wanted to dominate. And I don't think he cared as much if he were to dominate Arjun (Erigaisi) for example," Caruana stated on the podcast.

Caruana explained Carlsen's particular motivation against Gukesh, noting: "Gukesh is a world champion. So that carries a bit more weight. There was also Wei Yi, who's a great player. But it doesn't feel like Magnus has anything that he has possibly to prove against Wei Yi or against me. Maybe against Hikaru (Nakamura) and me he would feel like this is a really nice game to win."

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The Norway Chess tournament holds special significance as it is the only classical format tournament Carlsen participates in throughout the year. Caruana's victory over Gukesh in the final round helped Carlsen secure the tournament win.

Regarding the rising Indian chess prodigies, Caruana expressed his expectations to compete on equal terms with players like Gukesh, Arjun, and R Praggnanandhaa, while stating he doesn't find them intimidating at present.



Caruana also provided his assessment of Gukesh's recent performances: "I don't think for the last two events (Superbet Chess Classic and Norway Chess) you can say that Gukesh is not playing close to his best classical chess. That would be a big stretch, not even a stretch I think that would just be dishonest."

He further acknowledged Gukesh's achievements: "But overall if you look at the last year and a half, then Budapest Chess Olympiad and FIDE Candidates and then Wijk aan Zee twice... Gukesh has had good performances. Obviously he's been one of the players who is ambitiously fighting for first place in many events."
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