Magnus Carlsen Takes Lie Detector Test With David Howell

“Liar, liar, pants on fire!”

The seams of world number one GM Magnus Carlsen’s cream khakis set ablaze. He and chess commentator GM David Howell are brought together to rekindle the flame of this fun lie detector series. Last time, we saw IMs Levy Rozman and Danny Rensch raise conflicting topics other than tactical inquiries on the board.

Now, Magnus and David take their turn to play blitz and ask each other questions ranging from bizarre to brutal. “Do you ever regret walking away from the classical world championship?” David asked the former world champion. 

Do you ever regret walking away from the classical world championship? 

The needle of the polygraph machine scratched below the surface of our two chess figures. “Do you think you are one of the best chess commentators in the world?” Magnus jokingly (or not so jokingly) asked David. This truth-testing activity not only challenged their honesty, vanity, and insecurities, but also uncovered their hidden pride. 

“Magnus is trying to beat the test,” Orjan Hesjedal, polygraph examiner, discovers as Carlsen attempts to control his heart rate. However, despite years of experience in handling stressful situations under time pressure, he couldn’t fool the machine with his answer to David when asked, “You recently told Levy Rozman that Garry Kasparov is the G.O.A.T. Is that really true?” 

Magnus is trying to beat the test.

—Orjan Hesjedal, polygraph examiner

The two discuss their most embarrassing moments, whether Magnus has peaked, if David thinks he's more talented than some of the top 20 in the world, whether Magnus regularly watches any streamers, and why. Also, there was a brawl at the Gibraltar chess tournament one year?? You’ll realize that even the best chess players are not so good at lying; thus, we get a hilarious peek at their deceptively honest minds.

Can you find their tells?