Chess player Chelsie Monica Bungkam World Number 1 Magnus Carlsen
JAKARTA - Indonesian chess player, Chelsie Monica, managed to make a surprise by defeating the world's number one chess player from Norway, Magnus Carlsen, in a simultaneous chess session held in Hong Kong.
Chelsie, who holds the title of Woman International Master (WIM) and Indonesia's mainstay chess player, played a match against Magnus ahead of the implementation of the 2026 FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships.
The simultaneous chess that brought Magnus together with 24 different chess players took place a day before the main event. In the match which took place with a rapid chess format, Chelsie recorded herself as the only chess player who could beat Magnus.
"Being able to play with Magnus makes me very happy. I don't know how to explain it, but it really makes me happy," Chelsie said in an interview with the YouTube site ChessBase India.
Chelsie played the game against Magnus with black pieces. The two chess players started the game with the Italian Game, which is a favorite opening that Chelsie often plays.
Magnus then decided to surrender when the match was left with about five minutes left. The five-time world champion in classical chess immediately shook Chelsie's hand when the black rook was moved from C1 to H1.
"I was really nervous. I mean, he is the greatest chess player of all time and one of my idols in the chess world. At that time I thought, hopefully not lose quickly. So, I just tried to survive as long as possible and finally got lucky," said Chelsie.
After the victory, Chelsie was seen smiling happily and covering her face with her hands. She seemed to not believe she could stop Magnus Carlsen, one of the best chess players in the history of this sport.
Magnus is known to have collected various prestigious titles outside of the five world champion titles in the classic chess format. The 35-year-old chess player is also known to have six world champion titles in the rapid chess format and nine in blitz chess.