How Has Chess Captured Mohamed Salah’s Mind?

In November 2023, Mohamed Salah made a rather unexpected confession during an appearance on Sky Sports: “I’m addicted to chess. Every day, literally every day,” he said.

Away from the noise of the stadium and the attention that comes with being one of the biggest names in football, Salah spends his time on Chess.com, where he takes on opponents under a username that, although obvious, doesn’t immediately give away who he is.

That has led to a few funny exchanges. “I don’t say my name," he said. "I put my name and some other numbers so some people ask: ‘Are you Mo Salah'. I say, ‘Yes’. They don’t believe it, and say, ‘You are lying’. I say, ‘Yes, I’m lying’.”

Asked whether the game can have an effect on players, he said, “I think so. It takes your mind away from football. I love watching chess and playing it, too.”

He’s pretty confident in his chess skills. “I’m good. I’m not Magnus Carlsen, but I’m good. Nobody has a chance against Magnus, but I hope we can play together one day,” he said.

As it happens, Carlsen, the Norwegian chess grandmaster, is also a football fan. During Salah’s time at Liverpool, he regularly picked the Egyptian forward for his Fantasy Premier League team.

Carlsen caught wind of Salah’s comments and responded on X with his familiar waving-hand emoji, before making it clear that he’d be happy to meet him. “Honestly, the thing I’d most like to do is meet Mo and talk to him about chess and football. I don’t need any cameras there. He seems like a great guy,” Carlsen said.

For now, Salah continues to play online, where he has reached a rating of 1,400 on Chess.com, a solid score for a casual player. And while a game against Carlsen is still on his wish list, Salah has already had a few memorable encounters over the board.

During one of Liverpool’s pre-season tours of the United States, an American fan happened to run into Salah at a Starbucks in Pittsburgh. Knowing about the footballer’s love of chess, he asked him to play a quick game. Salah won, but the fan got another shot at him when the two played a rematch online later on. This time, the fan came out on top, as revealed in the Men In Blazers podcast.