Considered by many to be one of the greats, Magnus Carlsen’s presence in Kolkata has created plenty of excitement for chess fans. The World No. 1 completed a double at the tournament, winning the blitz title with a round to spare on Sunday. Days after bagging the rapid title, he produced a stunning comeback against Arjun Erigaisi in the penultimate round. He ended the tournament in style, defeating Vidit Gujrathi in the final round to finish with three consecutive wins and a total of 13 points to win the blitz crown.

His popularity was at the forefront when he had to hand the trophy to Bristy Mukherjee, who won the All India Women Rapid event (Event B). She touched his feet on stage to seek his blessings during the closing ceremony.

The Norwegian was initially surprised and was then left blushing as he kept on grinning.

Fans have flocked to the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata, where the tournament was taking place, and whenever Carlsen left the arena, he was mobbed by everyone.

It was also Carlsen’s second double victory in Kolkata, replicating his win from 2019. Filipino-American Grandmaster Wesley So also made a comeback to get second place. Erigaisi claimed third position, followed by R Praggnanandhaa in fourth and Gujrathi in fifth.

Speaking on his display, Carlsen said, “It was a really, really nervy day. I was lucky that Wesley was the one who went on a big streak because he couldn’t realistically catch me. Overall, the tournament win is good. The score is not great but very decent, so I’m happy.”

“I’m heading to Singapore in a few hours to promote Freestyle Chess with Fabiano Caruana. I’ll be playing a match with Fabi in a few days. It should be fun, and being a tourist at the World Championship for a couple of days will be exciting,” he added.