Mohamed Salah, one of the world’s best footballers, has revealed that he is addicted to chess and would like to meet GM Magnus Carlsen. The former world champion responded with a waving hand emoji.
The Egyptian goalscorer is regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time and has become a living legend for English Premier League giants Liverpool.
The 32-year-old revealed his obsession in a new interview with Sky Sports ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City. Salah: “I play chess and I have a passion for it. Every day, literally every day,” he laughed.
Salah said he plays online, although he did not reveal where, and has previously posted photos on Instagram of himself playing on Chess.com. In an interview with Sky Sports, Salah said his online detractors ask him if he is really a star footballer.
“I won’t say my name. Some people ask me: ‘Are you Mo Salah?’ I put my name and another number and say yes, and they don’t believe me and say: ‘You’re lying.’ I say yes.” “Lying.””Are you feeling alright?” Salah said his rating was around 1,400.
“I’m fine. It’s not Magnus, but that’s okay. There’s no one who can be with Magnus. But I hope one day we can play.”Carlsen is known to be a huge football fan and admirer of Salah, with the winger featuring regularly in the Fantasy Premier League, putting him at the top of the game in a game with over seven million players.
The former world champion accepted the challenge on Sunday, tagging Salah on X/Twitter and responding with a simple emoji. If the two had actually met, Salah would not be the first footballer to take chess lessons from a Norwegian.
In 2018, Salah’s Liverpool teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold played against Carlsen in a friendly in Manchester, England. Alexander-Arnold, who received a check in the 17th move, was not in good shape.”I’ve been playing chess since I was young and I’ve always loved it. “It’s hard to find someone who wants to play like me,” he said.
American star Christian Pulisic revealed his passion for the game after taking on 10-year-old Carlsen in the 2022 Charity Chess Challenge. The 25-year-old AC Milan (formerly Chelsea) midfielder met Carlsen in London for an advertising campaign for global sports brand Puma, for which they are both ambassadors.
“It’s a great game that can help you with a lot of things, like solving problems or seeing different patterns,” one player told the Daily Mail. Pulisic is now a playable bot on Chess.com.Former Real Madrid player Esteban Granero is another star player who loves chess.
“I like chess. In another life, I would like to be a professional chess player. I love chess and I love watching chess. I spend most of my free time with him.” the Spanish star told Chess.com in 2020.
In the same year, a player with a FIDE rating of 1597 met Carlsen at Chess24. Some players in Norway’s national football team are also known to play chess. One of Erling Haaland’s closest friends, Salernitana star Erling Bothheim has a FIDE rating of 1662 and was active in tournaments as a child.
Another is Arsenal star Martin Odegaard (ex-Real Madrid), who visited Carlsen and then-Norwegian teammate Morten Thorsby in Heerenveen during the 2018 Tata Steel Chess Tournament.
Chess also attracted one of the best tennis players in the world. Spanish genius Carlos Alcaraz recently revealed that he uses chess as a tool to keep his mind sharp during important tournaments.
“[Chess] helps me become faster mentally and see the actions and moves I want to make,” Alcaraz said in an interview with Spanish sports news publication Marca. “In chess, like tennis, a brief lapse in concentration can ruin your game,” he added. Alvaraz is the latest addition to Chess.com’s line of chess bots.
