Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is taking his act in an online chessboard when he goes up against a 10-year-old app version of Norwegian chess champion Magnus Carlsen in the Magnus Carlsen Celebrity Charity Challenge.
Pacquiao, a big fan of chess, is the latest among the big names participating in the event that will be broadcast during the Finals event of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
The Tour broadcast will be on Oct. 1.
So far, no celebrity taking the challenge has beaten Carlsen on his “Play Magnus app”, with the longest match lasting 49 moves.
Pacquiao will receive $5,000 to donate to his chosen charity for participating. A victory for him will give him an extra $50,000.
Pacquiao will be raising funds for his own charity, the Manny Pacquiao Foundation, which focuses on helping the less fortunate.
“I can’t wait to see how the legendary Manny Pacquiao does against a 10-year-old me on the Play Magnus app,” Carlsen, a four-time world champion, said in a statement.
“I wasn’t world champion back then, but I was already playing decently so it’s going to be hard!”
Pacquiao is excited for the challenge.
“This is something that doesn’t happen every day and I will be placed in a different arena this time around,” he said in a statement.
Other celebrities participating in the event are Kristofer Hivju, Rainn Wilson, Joe Mantegna, Sal Khan, Liv Boeree, Sam Bankman-Fried, Maximilian Gunther, and Cuba Gooding Jr.