Berlin - BERLIN (AP) - Norwegian master Magnus Carlsen plays a chess game against 140,000 players worldwide, which could overturn expectations by ending in a draw in the next few days.

The online competition, known as "Magnus Carlsen and the World", began on April 4 on Chess.com, the world's largest chess website, and is the first online freestyle game ever to feature world champions.

While Chess.com predicts Carlsen will win with a big profit, opposition from his team world could force Carlsen's king three times.

"Currently, we're doing a raffle toward the permanent check," Carlson said in a statement Friday. "I feel like I'm a little good, and in the early days of the opening, maybe I didn't play with precision. Honestly, they haven't given me a chance since then. So now, I think it's just going toward a draw."

He added: "In general, the 'world' plays very, very good chess from the beginning. Maybe not to choose most aggressive options, but to keep more attitudes with regular chess - this isn't always the best strategy, but this time it works great," he added.

As a freestyle match, the Bishop, Cavaliers, Rookies, Queens and Kings shuffle randomly on the board while the pawns remain in their usual position. Freestyle chess is popular because it allows players to be more creative and avoid memory.

The team world votes for every step, and both sides have 24-hour matches to play their role. Carlson is playing the White Smash.

"For most parts of the world, this is the first time they say they played chess game with Magnus Carlsen," Chess.com senior reporter Mike Klein told the Associated Press. "I think the 'world' will be a little like pink, so to say: 'I'm a draw with Magnus Carlsen.'"

When the Norwegians were downtime in some of the World Championships, Klein played twice in the blitz game at the hotel bar and lost to Carlson.

"He beat me twice effortlessly, so I'll be happy to sign the appeal of these games," Klein said.

Carlsen is a 13-year-old master who enjoys the celebrity status of other chess players.

The 34-year-old became the world's highest-ranked player in 2011 and won five world titles. He received the highest ever chess rating of 2882 in 2014 and has been the undisputed world number one for more than a decade.

Last year, he quit the game headlines in New York for refusing to undress and wear it. Later, he accepted a $200 fine and officials agreed to relax their dress code.

Carlsen auctioned jeans for the charity and donated the winning $36,100 to Big Brothers America, a national youth charity that has been tasked through local chapters of 5,000 communities nationwide.

This is the third online game of "With the World".

In 1999, Russian master Garry Kasparov played with more than 50,000 people on the Microsoft Network.

Some of the highest ranked players helped guide the world’s moves, but Kasparov won four months later and called it “the greatest game in chess history.”

Klein was a chess teacher at summer camp at the time. “We start class every day by checking Kasparov’s next move, talking about it, and spending a few minutes each morning deciding what we are going to answer.”

Last year, Indian master Viswanathan Anand won a "World" match with nearly 70,000 players on Chess.com.

Carlson's goal is to break Anand's 70,000 player Mark and double it.