World chess champion Carlsen tops fantasy football rankings – but for how long?

World chess champion Magnus Carlsen may soon have another title to add to his collection – this time in fantasy football.

That’s because the man who has dominated the 64-square board as world champion since 2013 has moved top of the overall Fantasy Premier League table ahead of more than seven million competitors.

Having captained Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah against Watford for 32 points, Carlsen’s total of 74 points over gameweek 17 was enough to take him into first place – but he probably won’t be there long.

That’s because the player in second place, Nick Tanner, is only one point behind Carlsen and will have up to three players taking to the field during Crystal Palace’s Monday game against Brighton.

With two points awarded for a 60-minute appearance, the 29-year-old’s gameweek lead is hanging by a thread.

Carlsen updated his Twitter bio at the weekend to reflect his tenuous lead, changing it to: “World Chess Champion. The highest ranked chess player in the world. Current (live) #1 Fantasy Premier League player”.

He also addressed his fantasy football performance on social media, citing analytics company Opta as one of the factors behind his success.

“Since a lot of people are asking about my #FPL strategy, mine is the not so groundbreaking one of part stats and part gut feeling,” the Norwegian tweeted. “Part @Opta-mist and part optimist.”

Carlsen is currently competing in the Premier League’s official FPL competition for the sixth successive season, his previous best finish (2397th) coming in 2017/18.

Carlsen’s current squad boasts premium midfielders such as Sadio Mane and Son Heung-min, while he is one of the many millions who are backing Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy.