Magnus Carlsen: The Wonder Boy

Magnus Carlsen is one of the greatest players in the history of chess. He has achieved it all and is still going strong. From being a Grandmaster at the age of thirteen to becoming the world no.1 just as he entered adulthood and then finally winning his first world championship in 2013, Magnus has outplayed most of his contemporaries. Here is why Magnus Carlsen has single handedly raised chess as a game globally.

#1 Grandmaster at 13

Carlsen has been playing chess since he was five years old (image courtesy chessdom.com)

Carlsen was introduced to the game when he was just five.

He however took up the game seriously only when he was eight. Till then, he studied the capitals of most of the countries of the world and had solved numerous puzzles. In no time Magnus began to dominate in the tournaments held in Norway and then proceeded to conquering Europe.

He joined the Norwegian College of Elite Sport where he was trained by GM Simen Agestein. Magnus practiced on his own for hours on end studying games and learning different openings.He then took a year off from school and travelled all around Europe in his car.In this period he played in more than 200 rated tournaments.

His parents thought that education should not be left out so Carlsen’s mother taught her four children, Magnus and his three sisters in her own fun way. Not many know that Carlsen’s parents are both engineers by profession and his father is a strong chess player himself.

In fact, Magnus took up the game because of his father and his sisters. He was constantly trying to outplay his sisters and that’s where it all began. After dominating in his age groups, he quickly took on stronger opponents and defeated them with relative ease.

He even got the chance to defeat Anatoly Karpov and drew with the one and only Garry Kasparov.

Besides chess Magnus had a keen interest towards sports and fitness and reading Donald Duck Comic Books. He played everything from tennis, football, basketball to even skiing and swimming. From an early age he developed a style that was difficult to outplay as it consisted of precise calculation and long hours of playing without relying much on opening preparation.

The Norwegian finally achieved his dream to become a grandmaster when he was only thirteen years of age. But he didn’t stop there.

#2 Numero Uno

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Carlsen went achieved a step closer towards mastery.

He had become a grandmaster when he was just thirteen but he had set his goals for something bigger and better. He climbed the rankings quite consistently from 2004 (the year he became a Grandmaster) onwards.

His best was in a tournament held in Nanjing in 2009 where he had a performance rating of more than 3000 elo. He consistently started defeating the super GM’s and came closer and closer to his goal of becoming the world no.1.

Carlsen trained with the best in chess and even had Garry Kasparov on his side for a few months. Despite his young age he proved to be the most difficult opponents in the world. He won numerous grandmaster events with such ease that the World title was now inching closer.

However, he concentrated only on becoming the world no.1 first, and became one of the most dedicated players on tour. He has such a complicated style of play that most players cannot even come close to winning.

The Norwegian is also regarded for his behaviour and attitude towards the game. He has a lot of respect for his fellow opponents. It was finally in 2010 when Magnus reached the summit. He had climbed the rankings steadily over the years and had finally climbed the peak.

Though Anand took over for a few months in 2010, it was finally Carlsen who has maintained his spot on the list ever since. Even now, despite having ruled the roost for years, he has not stopped thinking about his future, setting even higher goals for himself.

#3 Global Megastar

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When it comes to chess, there are only a few who are willing to sponsor the elite. However this is just a myth these days. It has been changed by the one and only Magnus Carlsen.

Since he entered the super-grandmaster level sponsors are flowing in.

He is reportedly paid US$1 million a year in endorsments, a huge number for a chess professional, and had also modelled for G-Star Raw with Liv Tyler for the Autumn/Winter collection in 2010. He featured in the Times 100 most influential people in the world’s list and was chosen in Cosmopolitian’s sexiest men of 2013.

Carlsen was also offered a role in one of the Star Wars movies, but couldn’t accept the offer as he didn’t get the visa to shoot in the US on time.

He has defied all the odds associated with chess professionals, and this year featured in the Porsche 911 advertisment with other stalwarts like Maria Sharapova and Muhammad Ali, was paid close to $5 million for this ad. In a first for the chess world, he also has a full time manager, Espen Agdestein.

He also has his investments in place as he started his own company PlayMagnus AS in 2013. It is an app where players can choose to play with Magnus of different ages ranging from 5-24 years of age.

Magnus is definately a global brand ambassador for chess and has been doing his job quite well, as there are many who now consider becoming professional chess players with him as an idol.

#4 World Champion

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It was in March 2013 when he faced one of the toughest tournaments of his life.

The Candidates 2013 in London proved to be one of the toughest tournaments Carlsen ever played. With only a round to go it was a do-or-die situation for him, as he had to win his last match to win the candidates and get a chance to challenge the then world champion Viswanathan Anand.

He eventually won the round and the championship on a tie-break, to win the biggest prize in chess, the World Chess Championship.

With the World Championship taking place in India, Carlsen knew that home support would be with Anand. However, he denied the crowds a lifetime chance to see their man win the world title in his hometown and destroyed Anand in a one-sided affair.

He played some solid chess over the course of the three weeks and took the world title with relative ease. He had now won mostly everything in chess. However only the rapid and blitz world titles eluded him. He broke the myth and won those two titles in 2014. He also defended his crown against Anand in 2014 and won the World Rapid title again in 2015.

Now one can only wait to see him play in the World Championships in New York in 2016.

Carlsen is an inspiration to chess players and enthusiasts around the globe. He is one of the greatest in the history of the game, and his talent undoubtedly the best in the world.