Five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen shocked the public in July 💵 2024 when he announced that he wouldn't be defending the title he had held for a decade. And while Ian 💵 Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren were at St. Regis Hotel in Kazakhstan last month battling to take his place as supreme 💵 leader of the chess world, Carlsen was getting ready for a trip to the sunny Mediterranean coast.

Carlsen is one of 💵 less than a hundred players remaining out of a field over 1,098 entries in the EPT Monte Carlo €5,300 Main 💵 Event as part of 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®, proving that his analytical genius is 💵 far from limited to a 64-square grid.

In his first interview since giving up his World Chess Champion Title, Carlsen sat 💵 down with PokerNews and PokerStars for an exclusive look at what the future holds for the 32-year-old Norwegian chess prodigy.

Returning 💵 to Monte Carlo