Carlsen is not going to India to hypnotise Anand, but to play good chess - Manager

At the Sinquefield Chess Cup 2013 in Saint Louis: Nakamura managed to draw both his games with Magnus Carlsen, but wasn’t it chess?

This is pure chess: Magnus Carlsen is not going to India to hypnotise Viswanathan Anand, says Espen Agdestein, manager of the world’s highest-rated chess player.

Actually, Hikaru Nakamura started the rumours by wearing sunglasses to games with Magnus Carlsen a few weeks back at the Sinquefield Chess Cup in Saint Louis. Several websites from Times to the US Chess Fed site had spoken about chess hypnotism then – all in good fun, we suppose. At the Sinquefield Chess Cup, commentators Jennifer Shahade and Yasser Seirawan turned up in dark glasses the next day as well.

Possibly, those chess articles came out when the World Chess Championship fever for the big match between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand had not really caught on yet.

On Friday morning, Indian newspaper Times of India carried the chess article titled: Can wily Carlsen stare Viswanathan Anand down?

First the article hit the chess Twitteratti, and soon enough, Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet even obtained a clarification from none other than Magnus Carlsen manager, Espen Agdestein!

Agdestein said the chess hypnosis theory is by Korchnoi and he alone knows about it. Magnus Carlsen is going to India to play good chess, not to hypnotise the World Chess Champion is Agdestein’s clear answer.

At present, Magnus Carlsen is training with his team for the big chess title at a secret location. His training includes physical sports which Carlsen is known to be fond of. Agdestein said the team was well prepared including ready for the specific hot Indian weather that would “greet” Carlsen in Chennai, considering that Carlsen is a true blue Norwegian. Carlsen’s team includes his chef, doctor and bodyguard apart from others.

Agdestein said the chess prodigy is training at a place where the weather is similar to what he would experience in Chennai so that he can gather his energies and be ready to acclimatise quickly.