World chess champ turned FPL’s No1 participant as he turned “obsessed”

Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen once confessed that his “obsession” with Fantasy Premier League nearly rivalled his love for chess as he topped the global rankings.

With millions of football fans battling it out to put together a top-performing team in the heavily strategic and unpredictable game, it’s little wonder FPL has become a fascination for many. Back in December 2019 the five-time world chess champion even managed to scale the dizzy heights of the fantasy football leaderboard, leaving some seven million other players trailing in his wake.

In a 2020 interview with The Athletic, the 33-year-old enthused about his fondness for the game, going so far as to amend his bio on social media platform, X, proclaiming his brief lead in the standings. Since its maiden season in 2002, the fantasy league has snowballed in popularity, now touting over 10 million participants for the 2023/24 campaign.

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Whilst Carlsen’s fervour for the league is mirrored by legions of other players, the reigning world number one in chess claimed that clinching the title in the FPL “would trump everything except becoming world champion in classical chess.”

Carlsen claimed his unexpected love affair with Fantasy Premier League (FPL), started from watching ‘The League’, a US TV series about friends competing in a fantasy NFL league. Despite initially not being drawn to the NFL, Carlsen and his mates switched their focus to footie, specifically the Premier League, reports the Mirror.

Carlsen confessed that he wasn’t much into the Premier League before FPL, preferring La Liga and the Champions League instead. “I didn’t watch that much Premier League before and I’ve never really been a fan of one particular team,” he shared, “But now I’m watching more, reading more, looking at more stats.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Carlsen in the world of FPL, as he admitted it took him a while to master the game, concentrating first on outsmarting his pals in their head-to-head battles. But soon enough, the competitive spirit of the league gripped him, turning what was just a game into an “obsession”.

“It was exciting. Initially, I was mainly making decisions in order to beat my next opponent in our head-to-head league,” Carlsen said. “Frankly, it took me a couple of seasons to actually follow the overall rankings. But ever since then, I’ve just become more and more interested. It’s become an obsession.”

So what is it about the game that can stir an intellectial powerhouse like Carlsen? The Norwegian reckons it’s the “stats and diagrams” that get him hooked, not to mention the thrill of crafting his own destiny by dedicating time and brainpower to beefing up his squad.

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“I try to watch as many games as I can,” he said. “I look at stats and diagrams. I swap advice with friends. Then, throughout the week, I will be on the lookout for news. By spending some time on it and having a decent enough mind, I give myself more of a chance of being lucky than a lot of other people.” he added.

This football fanatic, who also supports Real Madrid, has been known to mix it up with the game’s elite, even facing off against chess buff and Liverpool defender Trent-Alexander Arnold in 2018 and winning, of course. But in a move that may have some football fans scratching their heads, Carlsen explained that he is so wrapped up in FPL that he’d rather cheer on one of his fantasy team players in a regular match than park himself in front of the telly for a Champions League final.

“Take a regular Premier League game where my captain is playing; I look forward to that more than the Champions League final,” he said. “I have to say that. I am that much of a degenerate when it comes to fantasy football.”

If you’re an FPL enthusiast like Carlsen, you’ll need to have your squad sorted and be entered into all leagues you wish to compete in by 6.30pm on Friday, August 16. After this time, no changes can be made to your team as Manchester United and Fulham kick off their Premier League campaign at 8pm.

However, adjustments for gameweek two can be made once the fixture has started.