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23-Year-Old Chess Grandmaster Whips Bill Gates In 71 Seconds

Posted by timothy on from the how-long-would-you-last? dept.

MojoKid writes "There's no disputing that Bill Gates is blessed with a brilliant mind. Sure, he dropped out of Harvard College, but he got accepted into the elite institution of higher learning in the first place. Leading into his college career, Gates scored 1,590 out of 1,600 on the SAT. The rest is history — he went on to co-found Microsoft, built a net worth that's in the billions ($76.8 billion at last count), and now spends his time on his philanthropic efforts. Regardless, it took 23-year-old Magnus Carlsen, a "grandmaster" Chess player since the age of 13 and new world Chess champion, just 71 seconds to defeat Gates in a friendly game of Chess on a Norwegian television show. It takes longer to heat up a cup of water in the microwave."

9 of 449 comments (clear)

  1. Runtime... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
    ... Regardless, it took 23-year-old Magnus Carlsen, a "grandmaster" Chess player since the age of 13 and new world Chess champion, just 71 seconds to defeat Gates in a friendly game of Chess on a Norwegian television show. It takes longer to heat up a cup of water in the microwave."

    And about as long as it takes Windows to blue-screen...

    1. Re:Runtime... by Rhinobird · · Score: 3, Funny

      Oh, come on. That is such an old cliche. I mean, it's taken them 30 years, but Windows, now, doesn't crash for at LEAST 2 minutes...the time it takes to boot.

      --
      If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
    2. Re:Runtime... by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well, you have to hand it to MS, they are consistent. No matter how fast your machine may get, they will adjust their OS to take the same time to boot up...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  2. Re:Bill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    He should have brought a Chess computer.

    But i bet Bill would have won at minesweeper and solitaire.

  3. He was only whipped? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off the head of Bill Gates and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some software comes with too high a price. I would look up into his lifeless eyes and wave, like this. Can you and your Utilities arrange that for me, Mr Norton?

  4. Re:Bill by marcello_dl · · Score: 3, Funny

    > He should have brought a Chess computer.

    Well, he was confident he could bribe the opponent's king into making a burning platform speech saying the only way out is to scrap all strategies and ask Gates directions, but the pawns did not buy it.

    --
    ---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
  5. How many Libraries of Congress is that? by J'raxis · · Score: 4, Funny

    Regardless, it took 23-year-old Magnus Carlsen, a "grandmaster" Chess player since the age of 13 and new world Chess champion, just 71 seconds to defeat Gates in a friendly game of Chess on a Norwegian television show. It takes longer to heat up a cup of water in the microwave.

    Thanks for that helpful comparison---without it, I would have had no clue how long 71 seconds actually is.

    --
    Liberty in your lifetime
  6. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  7. Re:Bill by phmadore · · Score: 5, Funny

    And he SURE PLAYS SOME MEAN PINBALL.

    (vote up if you get this reference)