Will we witness the two worlds collide?
It is a wild time for fans of football and chess! We might witness a historic battle take place between the Egyptian footballer star, Mo Salah, and the worlds' best chess player, Magnus Carlsen.
Recently, the Egyptian forward for Liverpool, Mo Salah, expressed his great interest in chess. In an interview with Sky Sports, he revealed how he is "addicted" to playing the classic game and even have people recognize him during the online games.
Mo Salah revealed that he is at 1400 ELO - a higher than average rating. He also expressed his desire to one day play chess against Magnus Carlsen, who he describes as unbeatable.
"(Are you good at chess?) Yeah, I'm good. But I'm not Magnus," he stated. "Nah Magnus is... no one has a chance against Magnus. But hopefully we play one day." he laughed.
Magnus Carlsen gives a swift response to Mo Salah
It seems like Mo Salah's wishes may happen as Magnus Carlsen responds back to the star footballer. Carlsen, who is known for his casual and witty remarks on social media, published a post on X/Twitter. He merely posted the waving emoji and tagged Mo Salah.
This could only be an acknowledgement to Salah's statements. But, of course, we are already excited to see if this leads to a Mo Salah vs Magnus Carlsen showdown.
This is even more exciting as Carlsen is a fan of Salah himself. In 2019, Carlsen chose Mo Salah as his captain in the Fantasy Premier League. Chess.com tweeted both the legends side by side, "game recognizes game," it stated.
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We have seen a chess x football moment before..
While chess and football are two completely different games with starkly different scenes - this isn't the first time we see the two worlds collide. Previously, the Luis Vuitton campaign which showcased two football legends, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, playing a game of chess, broke the internet.
The iconic picture received tons of reaction from the chess community - even from the chess GOAT himself, Magnus Carlsen. He wittily commented that it mimicked the greatest rivalry as the board portrayed a former game of his against Hikaru Nakamura.
We may just see another huge chess and football crossover. This time between Mo Salah and Magnus Carlsen. Who knows what's on the horizon...
Stay tuned to esports.gg for more chess news and stories!
