Chess Olympiad: Magnus Carlsen thought he’d lost by forfeit… then a photographer came to his rescue

Chess Olympiad regulations stipulate that if a player is not at the playing hall within 15 minutes of the round starting — known as the default time — they will be forced to default the game.

Norway's Magnus Carlsen takes on Colombia's Roberto Garcia Pantoja in the third round of the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. (PHOTO FIDE Michal Walusza)

Magnus Carlsen played his first game at the ongoing Chess Olympiad for Norway on Friday, but the world no 1 almost forfeited his third round game against Roberto Garcia Pantoja after arriving late to the playing arena. Magnus Carlsen’s match, and Norway’s chances against Colombia, were rescued by Chess dot com photographer Maria Emelianova. The former world champion went on to win in 40 moves, but not before plenty of drama.

The story goes that Magnus Carlsen had decided to arrive at the playing hall on a bicycle by himself rather than with the rest of the Norway team. This had led Magnus Carlsen to get delayed.

The tournament regulations for the FIDE Olympiad in Budapest stipulate that if a player is not at the playing hall within 15 minutes of the round starting — known as the default time — they will be forced to default the game.

What happened today and why do I have a photo of @MagnusCarlsen on a bike at 15:24 local time? Well you might hear about it all soon on @chesscom broadcast 😆 #chessolympiad https://t.co/qq32xlIFR5 pic.twitter.com/LGh5PoWCdw

— PhotoChess (@photochess) September 13, 2024

Talking to the media later, Magnus Carlsen said: “It was a bit of a mess. I am in a different hotel from the others, so they were supposed to pick me up. Then, they suddenly told me that traffic was horrible and they would be at my hotel at five to three. At that point, I thought I couldn’t get there in time by car, so I decided biking might be faster.”

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How Magnus Carlsen was saved by a photographer

Luckily for Magnus Carlsen, the start of the third round of the Chess Olympiad was already delayed, thus giving him a window to still make it to the game in time. But Magnus Carlsen did not know that and he was sure that he had forfeited the game, as he told Maria Emelianova.

“As I was waiting outside the arena to click photos of the players, I was told by another Norwegian player that Magnus Carlsen was arriving by bicycle. That’s when I got really scared that he would appear at all because it’s very hard to find the entrance to this arena (the BOK Csarnok events venue) even if you already know the layout of the venue. And it was raining outside,” Maria Emelianova recounted on the Chess24 live broadcast.

Norway’s Magnus Carlsen takes on Colombia’s Roberto Garcia Pantoja in the third round of the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. (PHOTO FIDE Michal Walusza)

“So I decided to go out to get some photos. That’s when I saw him, he was on the bicycle, he was soaking wet and he was trying to find the entrance. And he didn’t have his (accreditation) badge. He said his card was with with Norway team captain (Odin Blikra Vea), but he was like ‘I’ve already lost, right?’. That’s when I told him he still had four minutes.”

INTERACTIVE: How Magnus Carlsen beat Roberto Garcia Pantoja

Maria Emelianova then proceeded to show Magnus Carlsen a shortcut to get to the playing arena inside four minutes so that he could avoid a forfeit.

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She also took possession of the bicycle and since players cannot carry their mobile phones inside the playing halls, she also took that from the former world champion. Magnus Carlsen went on to win in 40 moves.

After the first two rounds at the Chess Olympiad, Norway are ranked 48th in the open standings. Magnus Carlsen opted to sit both those games. They defeated Korea in the first round and were held to a 2-2 draw by Canada in the second round.