Overview

• The match, titled 'Magnus Carlsen vs. The World,' involved over 143,000 global participants voting on moves against the chess grandmaster.
• Carlsen played as white, while Team World, using collective voting, forced a draw on move 32 by threefold repetition, a rule triggered when the same board position occurs three times.
• This was the first-ever freestyle chess match featuring a reigning world champion, with randomized starting positions allowing for creative play rather than memorized strategies.
• The game shattered participation records for 'vs. The World' events, doubling the number of players from the previous record set by Viswanathan Anand's 2022 match.
• Despite Chess.com's prediction of a decisive Carlsen victory, the global team played strategically sound chess, earning praise from the grandmaster for their efforts.