Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is one of the best soccer players in the world and he’s trying to become just as good at chess. The Egyptian said in an interview on Nov. 25 he’s addicted to chess and wants to meet Magnus Carlsen one day.
Nobody knew Salah had an itch for chess until he revealed it in an interview with Sky Sports ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League match against Manchester City. “I play chess, I am addicted to chess,” Salah said, adding he plays it every day and has around 1,400 Elo on an online chess platform. “I’m good, I’m not Magnus, but I’m good. No one has a chance with Magnus. But hopefully, we will play one day.”
With chess growing in popularity over the past years, specifically after the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more celebrities have tried their hands at it, and GMs like Magnus and Hikaru Nakamura have become well-recognized around the world.
Both Salah and Magnus have busy schedules, but it seems like the chess GOAT is open to meeting Salah and playing with him. As soon as the Egypitian’s interview went viral, Magnus interacted with him on X, formerly known as Twitter, and fans were left pretty hyped.
Should Magnus and Salah play, it wouldn’t be the first time the Norwegian GM met a soccer star. Magnus checkmated Salah’s Liverpool teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold in 17 moves in 2018 and starred alongside Cristian Pulisic in a promotional campaign for PUMA in July 2023. The question now is if Salah will do any better than Alexander-Arnold, considering how much effort he’s putting into chess.
