Magnus Carlsen Needs New Material

Magnus Carlsen lost a game in Qatar and shoved a cameraman on his way out.

I'd say this is surprising but I've been in this industry long enough to know that this is a rerun. He’s been doing it almost all major events.

The man's been world champion for most of recorded history. He's earned the right to be theatrical. That's not my complaint.

My complaint is that it's the same theatre every time.

Lose game. Storm off. Push someone or something. Look disgusted. Chess Twitter froths. The problem is the chess media keeps covering the bit like it's breaking news.

Meanwhile, Hikaru's doing react streams dressed as a banana. Levy's built an empire on controlled screaming. Hans survived a lawsuit AND the most legendary meme in sporting history and came back more powerful. Things are happening. People are evolving.

And we're still writing about Magnus pushing someone like it's 2015.

Chess needs new storylines. The funniest possible outcome? Hans Niemann becoming World Champion.

Now that would be worth covering.