Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsenis a Norwegian chess grandmaster, and the current World Chess Champion...
NationalityNorwegian
ProfessionChess Player
Date of Birth30 November 1990
CityTonsberg, Norway
CountryNorway
okay opponent people plays
Some people think that if their opponent plays a beautiful game, it's okay to lose. I don't. You have to be merciless.
people
It's just not my nature to go around idolizing people.
school play people
I was lucky enough to attend schools where they were understanding about when I needed to go abroad to play chess. Of course, socially it is important to go to school and interact with people your own age.
goal people asks
People ask what my goal is. I don't have a goal.
people risk want
If you want to get to the top, there's always the risk that it will isolate you from other people.
intelligent men people
One of the things that first attracted me to chess is that it brings you into contact with intelligent, civilized people - men of the stature of Garry Kasparov, the former world champion, who was my part-time coach.
rap
I'm not really into rap.
player chess different
It's easy for me to get along with chess players. Even though we are all very different, we have chess in common.
player norway being-the-best
My former coach, Simen Agdestein, used to be the best player in Norway.
success winning chess
Not winning a tournament is not an option for me, unless it's no longer theoretically possible - then of course winning becomes impossible. But up to that point, not winning is just not an option.
winning men thinking
I can’t count the times I have lagged seemingly hopelessly far behind, and nobody except myself thinks I can win. But I have pulled myself in from desperate [situations]. When you are behind there are two strategies - counter-attack or all men to the defences. I’m good at finding the right balance between those.
might chess normal
I am not some sort of freak. I might be very good at chess but I'm just a normal person.
games important psychological
I really enjoy the experience of playing humans. The psychological game is so much more important.
nice care too-much
It's nice to be financially secure. Apart from that, I really don't care too much about money.