Fans of The Queen's Gambit will get a kick out of Monday's match between Norway's Magnus Carlsen and the United States' Hikaru Nakamura at the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
The game between the grandmasters started with Carlsen moving his king's pawn up to e4, a popular first move; Nakamura mirrored it. But it was then that things got silly: Carlsen next moved his king up to where the pawn had been, an opening known as the Bongcloud Attack, and "one of chess' worst possible opening moves," Vice reports.
"Don't do this!" one of the commentators watching the match blurted.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
When Nakamura saw his opponent's move, though, he burst into laughter — and mimicked it. Both Carlsen and Nakamura had already qualified for the next stage of the tournament, and their Bongcloud game, which was just for laughs, ended in a draw. You can review the game at Chess24.
-
The app tackling porn addictionUnder the Radar Blending behavioural science with cutting-edge technology, Quittr is part of a growing abstinence movement among men focused on self-improvement
-
Magazine solutions - August 29, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 29, 2025
-
Magazine printables - August 29, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 29, 2025
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
