Magnus Carlsen gets awarded with first ever NFT trophy in online chess tournament

Magnus Carlsen, a Norwegian chess grandmaster, won the first ever Non Fungible Token (NFT) trophy on October 5 after winning an online international chess tournament. The Champion Chess Tournament 2021 was a 10-month chess tournament that lasted 90 days and took place between November 22, 2020 and October 4, 2021. Its goal was to find the world’s best online fast player. After Meltwater was chosen as the title partner of Champion Chess Tour 2021, the tournament was renamed Meltwater Champions Chess Tour (MCCT). Meltwater is a media and social analytics firm based in California. Many NFT trophies and collectibles were made in order to keep the memories of the final game alive forever.

On the ethereum blockchain, the Champ Chess competition produced two identical iterations of the Champion’s NFT trophy. After winning the tournament, Carlsen had the NFTs digitally autographed. The second NFT trophy was auctioned off for $6.88 Ether (ETH) worth $24,700 to a chess aficionado. Carlsen expressed excitement at the prospect of meeting and playing chess with an avid fan during the Champions Chess Tour Final the next season. Carlsen told Cointelegraph that he wants to see online chess tournaments like Champ Chess expand and evolve.

He went on to say that NFTs have helped the chess community commemorate significant events and honoured individuals who have worked hard to advance the game. The tournament was the most-watched chess event ever, according to the Champ Chess Tour website, with over 100 million views. Carlsen yelled with delight, saying that winning the first of its kind competition despite numerous challenges from opponents meant a great deal to him.
The tournament included the world’s best chess players competing for a $1.6 million prize pool. Teimour Radjabov, an Azerbaijani grandmaster, finished second, and Levon Aronia, an Armenian chess grandmaster, finished third.