‘Such acts are penalised as unsportsmanlike behaviour’: Levon Aronian blasts Magnus Carlsen’s table slam after loss to Arjun Erigaisi

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen once again found himself in the spotlight, not for his chess moves, but for his angry reaction at the board. The incident happened on Monday during the World Blitz Championship in Doha, after Carlsen lost to India's Arjun Erigaisi.

Carlsen, a five-time world champion, was playing under heavy time pressure when he eventually lost the game on time. Moments later, he slammed the table, pushed his chair back and walked away. A video of the incident quickly went viral on social media, drawing mixed reactions from fans and players.



Chris Bird, the arbiter who was on duty during the game, later explained what happened. He posted on X to calm speculation around the incident.

“No pieces, chessboards or tables were harmed during the filming of this video and for those wondering, Magnus immediately apologized to his opponent and me,” Chris Bird wrote on X.

However, the incident did not sit well with several in the chess community. Grandmaster Levon Aronian responded strongly, saying such behaviour should not be treated lightly.

“Chris, i don’t think we as should be normalizing tantrums like that. It does affect players who are in a middle of a game who hear loud noises. In many sports such acts are penalized as unsportsmanlike behavior in order to send a message to younger athletes,” Aronian wrote.

Bird replied once again, clarifying his stand and stating that he did not support Carlsen’s reaction.

“Certainly not my intention to make it seem like I was OK with this behavior. I think in the video you can see I briefly spoke with Magnus, who like I said apologized. Beyond that point the issue was handed to my superiors to deal with as they saw fit,” he added.

The loss itself was a major moment in the tournament. Arjun defeated the defending blitz champion in the ninth round, one of the biggest shocks of the event.

Before the game, six players, including Arjun and Carlsen, were tied at the top with 6.5 points. After the win, Arjun moved to 7.5 points and shared the lead with Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Arjun’s win was even more impressive as he played with the black pieces, which are usually considered slightly disadvantageous. He stayed calm throughout, won a pawn, and slowly built pressure. Though Carlsen fought back, time ran out.

This was not Carlsen’s first emotional outburst at the event. Earlier, after losing to Vladislav Artemiev, he walked away angrily and pushed a camera aside.

Earlier this year, he also slammed a table after losing to India’s D Gukesh, a moment that went viral online.


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