Magnus Carlsen explains similarities between chess and football, Pep Guardiola was massively impressed

Five-time chess world champion Magnus Carlsen sat down with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola to discuss tactics, their mentality and other subjects in a fascinating chat.

Carlsen, who will go down as one of the all-time greats, joined fellow PUMA ambassador Guardiola to rewatch some of their best moments.

The Norwegian memorably defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in the longest ever World Chess Championship match in history, which lasted for 136 moves and over 7 hours.

And he expertly broke down the match to an impressed Guardiola, who looked in awe as Carlsen drew parallels between the tactics of football and chess, such as when to be patient, when to go for the win and attack.

“The important thing is to control the middle. If you control the middle, you control the pitch or the board," Carlsen said.

“Another thing is that often in chess you attack on one side, force the opponent to overload and then you switch and you have an advantage on the other side,” added Carlsen. “In terms of space, it’s remarkably similar.”

As mentioned above, Guardiola looked impressed by Carlsen's analysis.

“Wow. That’s nice. He is right,” the City boss said. “The attack is dependent on the movement of the opponent so you have to pay attention to what the opponent does in every single movement and react to that.

“He has two hours to make the next movement, we have a second to react or take a decision."

Guardiola, meanwhile, discussed some of his best ever team goals as Manchester City manager, including the 46-pass goal against Nottingham Forest this season.

As well as analysing some of their greatest plays, both Guardiola and Carlsen emphasised the importance of patience, strategy and adapting to the opponent's actions.

"I think the way you have to take defenders away with the attack depends on the movement of the opponent," Guardiola said.

"You must pay attention to what the opponent does in every single movement and react to that. Magnus has two hours to make the next movement. We have a second to react or take a decision."

Discussion points also included the mental aspects of high-pressure situations and adaptability. You can watch the full video from Manchester City's YouTube channel above.