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‘There was a meme with a cat on the table…’: D Gukesh left in splits, drops verdict on Magnus Carlsen’s table slam
D Gukesh opened up on Magnus Carlsen's table slam reaction and dropped his verdict on it.
D Gukesh scripted history at the recently concluded Norway Chess 2025, where he claimed his maiden classical win vs Magnus Carlsen. The match was an epic thriller as Carlsen was left extremely angry with the defeat and slammed the table in frustration. Carlsen’s reaction went viral on social media, and has inspired memes since then.
Recently, Gukesh opened up on the moment, where he maintained his calm composure as Carlsen lost control in an emotional moment.
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Speaking to Chessbase India, he recalled the moment and its memes, and said, “The memes are actually funny. There was a meme with a cat on the table and the cat jumps.”
“I was laughing for like 10 minutes,” he added.
Speaking after the defeat, Carlsen also seemed shellshocked. He said, ““I generally feel good in this tournament, I just don’t think it’s fun to play anymore, and that’s the problem. I’m sitting there in the middle of the game, thinking that I have the same position as I had so many times. It’s just moving slowly.”
“I don’t find it exciting, and I know I can play really well. It is satisfying to play well, but then I collapsed towards the end, and showed great weaknesses; Gukesh fights really well,” he added.
Carlsen ended up winning the tournament for a record-seventh time and he also succesfully defended his title. He finished on top with 16 points, followed by second-placed Fabiano Caruana (15.5 points). Meanwhile Gukesh came third with 14.5 points and Hikaru Nakamura was fourth with 14 points. India no. 1 Arjun Erigaisi finished in fifth position with 13 points and Chinese GM Wei Yi (9.5) finished bottom of the standings.
Speaking after the final round, Carlsen was also asked to pick his successor and he had a surprising response to that. “There is no one. There is no one at the moment. That's the honest answer. There could be, but at the moment, it’s not likely,” he said.
