On December 26, Magnus Carlsen arrived three minutes late for the start of the first round at the FIDE World Rapid Championship. Tournament officials and players waited for Magnus to begin the games. Hikaru Nakamura commented on Magnus being late during his stream on Kick.

Hikaru Nakamura

Hikaru Nakamura

World No.2, streamer

“They must start the clock no matter what. For everybody else they actually do start the clock, but for Magnus they never do it, they always wait and then go from there.

I mean, it’s not acceptable, but this is why I’ve said this a million times before, for Magnus FIDE will literally do anything. Anybody else, for example, if Fabiano or myself will show up late to the game they aren’t going to wait to start the clock.”

In recent years, Magnus Carlsen has been late to games at various tournaments on multiple occasions, and clips of him running late get many views on social media. Magnus won his first game at the FIDE World Rapid Championship 2025 against GM Lorenzo Lodici (2590).