A Bangladeshi daily reports that chess champion Magnus Carlsen was defeated by 9-year-old Ryan Rashid Mugdha in an online bullet chess game. The match occurred on January 18 during a Bullet Brawl tournament on chess.com. Coach Naim Haque confirmed the result, attributing Carlsen's loss to an accidental mouse click.
Magnus Carlsen, recognized as a five-time world chess champion and one of the greatest players in history, reportedly lost to Ryan Rashid Mugdha, a third-grader from Dhaka, Bangladesh, in an online tournament. According to a report in The Business Standard, the game took place on January 18 in the Bullet Brawl format, where players have only one minute to complete all moves.
Mugdha, who does not have his own chess.com profile or an official title, played using the account of his coach, FIDE Master Naim Haque. The pairing with Carlsen happened randomly. Haque stated that Carlsen made an error by accidentally clicking the wrong square, moving his queen and providing Mugdha with an opportunity to secure the win.
"I teach Mugdha chess, and he always loves to play online. I let him use my ID, and later, he suddenly called me, saying he had beaten Carlsen. At first, I couldn’t believe it. Then he sent me screenshots and all the game details, and I was amazed," Haque told the daily.
Mugdha holds the title of current Under-10 junior champion in Bangladesh. Participation in the event requires membership in chess.com's Verified Titled Players club, which Mugdha accessed via Haque's account.
This incident follows Carlsen's recent disqualification from the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York for a dress code violation. He wore jeans, received a USD 200 fine, and was disqualified for repeated infractions before withdrawing, returning, and jointly winning the title with Ian Nepomniachtchi.
