Former India No. 1 brings out hilarious imitation of Carlsen’s table slam

Former India No. 1 Pentala Harikrishna has made a hilarious contribution to the collection of memes on Magnus Carlsen's table slam moment against World Champion D Gukesh.

Grandmaster Harikrishna made his brilliant move on the sidelines of the ongoing FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Chess Championships in London when a member of the FIDE social media team asked him a simple question: "Tell me you're a chess player without telling me you're a chess player."

Harikrishna's response was spontaneous as if he had been waiting for an opportunity to show his funny side. He took a step back and slammed on an adjacent table. He pretended to be shocked before patting Arjun Erigaisi on the back, standing beside him.

It was a brilliant imitation of Carlsen's antics during the recent Norway Chess event, where Gukesh pounced on a blunder to score his first career win over the World No. 1 in the classical format.

Carlsen was so furious that he slammed on the table before offering his customary handshake. He paced the room briefly before offering a gentle pat on Gukesh's back and walked out. All the while, Gukesh was in disbelief, and the two contrasting emotions have given content creators enough material for memes.

Gukesh recently said he browsed through a few such memes and found one featuring a cat quite amusing. He said he had a hearty laugh looking at some of the memes. He might find Harikrishna's version to be equally amusing.

Harikrishna was part of Team MGD1, which clinched the Rapid title in London. His team comprised Erigaisi, V Pranav and rising star Atharvaa P Tayade among others. At 39, Harikrishna is India No. 7, with an Elo of 2707.

In March 2016, Harikrishna briefly became India No. 1 for a few days when he reached a live rating of 2763 overtaking Viswanathan Anand. But Anand was back in front soon after and remained on top until August 2023 when Gukesh overook him.