Featured Image Credit: YouTube/King Sacrifice
Topics: Bill Gates, Sport
Joe Harker
Bill Gates may be one of the most successful people in the world, but he ended up being beaten by a chess grandmaster in just 12 seconds.
While he may know what he's talking about when it comes to all sorts of things, if your life depends on finding someone to give a chess grandmaster a good game then it's probably best to find someone else.
Back in 2014 he was up against chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in a friendly competition in London and got absolutely mullered, being checkmated after his opponent needed just 12 seconds to make his moves.
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The Microsoft mogul was given a couple of advantages, getting to move first as he controlled the white pieces and being given far more time on the clock.
Gates was given two minutes on the clock to make his moves, whereas Carlsen only had 30 seconds to play his pieces and yet walked away the winner having not even used half of that time.
Making the first move, Gates sent the Pawn in front of his King two spaces forwards and from that point the game was on.
Both players then deployed a Knight before Carlsen sent out a Pawn of his own, creating a diagonal line of pieces all across the board.
Pondering his choices, Gates then laid the seeds for his downfall by deploying one of his Bishops, leaving the right hand side of his board open and his King exposed.
Carlsen deployed his second Knight before Gates was the first player to take a piece, nabbing Carlsen's deployed Pawn with one of his own.
However, he immediately lost the Pawn that had drawn first blood to Carlsen's Queen, allowing the grandmaster to bring his most powerful piece into play.
The Microsoft founder then made the blunder which ultimately cost him the game, castling his King on his exposed right hand side.
Rather than giving his King the protection it sorely needed from the attack of a grandmaster like Carlsen, this move instead effectively trapped his most important piece behind a flimsy wall of Pawns with little room to manoeuvre.
He then sent one of the Pawns out where it ultimately got captured, allowing Carlsen to spring a trap with his Queen and one of his Knights.
With Gates' King boxed in behind his own pieces, Carlsen moved his Queen right next to the white King and made sure to cover her spot with a Knight, rendering Gates unable to take the piece threatening his King.
With just 12 seconds worth of moves Carlsen had secured checkmate, with the impressed Gates remarking of his defeat 'that was quick', having only used 50 seconds of his allotted time.
Although he was easily defeated, it's hard to think we'd do any better than Gates against a grandmaster of the game.