After a warm welcome from the Norwegian Consulate the evening before, Magnus and his team arrived at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday, 10 May, ready to face 15 lucky players in a clock-simul. Conference room 8 was filled and Play Magnus was there to watch it all go down. http://bit.ly/PlayMagnuslive
Each of the 15 players were given 30 minutes, while Magnus played all 15 boards simultaneously. This meant the World Champ needed to remember all the positions AND control all the clocks.
Midway through, eight out of 15 challengers had been retired. With 7 challengers to go, Magnus looked to be in trouble, reflecting that, “some of the games are still kind of tough”. But after 48 minutes Magnus managed to defeat them all one by one.
Revolutionizing an old sport
Collaborating with the UN was just one of the ways we’re using chess as a fun tool to make the world a smarter place; particularly focusing on the benefits that chess has for youth and education. Together with the UN, we wanted to spread the word about how chess can improve academic and cognitive skills, making it an extremely valuable tool for younger generations.
The United Nations Youth Envoy (@UNYouthEnvoy), Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake, also attended the event and took the stage to help promote quality education through chess.
The event was full of enthusiasm, success and positivity! Thanks to all participants and we can be part of more events like this in the future.
Missed the event? Watch it live on our Facebook page at http://bit.ly/PlayMagnuslive.
Or watch a 1-minute recap video made by the UN:
The Play Magnus Team