Magnus Carlsen is one of the youngest grandmasters in the world. The young man has several Chess Oscars on his account. The young athlete succeeded in the seemingly impossible: he has the highest Elo rating for the entire period of his existence - 2882 points. Magnus reached this figure in the spring of 2014, breaking the record held for 13 years.

The full name of the chess genius is Sven Magnus Een Carlsen. The baby was born in November 1990 in the town of Tønsberg, which is located in the Norwegian province of Vestfold. In addition to his son, three daughters were growing up in the family: the eldest Hellen and the two youngest - Ingrid and Signa.

The boy turned out to be a gift for his father - an oil company engineer Henrik Carlsen. He is an avid chess player who has achieved a solid result in this sport: an Elo rating of 2100 points. With the birth of his son, Henrik had a chance to raise himself a worthy partner in his favorite game. What the father started immediately.

The boy showed outstanding mental abilities. At 4 years old, Magnus knew all 436 names of municipal cities in Norway. Even the child unmistakably named the capitals of the countries of the world and their flags.

Already at the age of 5, Magnus was seated at a black and white board. And after 3 years, the guy has achieved impressive results. For a successful blitz game on the Internet, Microsoft sent the Carlsen family on tour for a year.

Magnus was ahead of his peers in development. This was visible to the naked eye. Therefore, the guy had a hard time at school. Children did not accept a child unlike them and expressed their dislike with rudeness and ridicule.

Chess

Since 2000, 10-year-old Magnus Carlsen has been trained by international master Torbjörn Ringdal Hansen. This is a graduate of the Norwegian champion and grandmaster Simen Agdestein. It is noteworthy that the mentor advised the student to improve the playing technique textbooks by Soviet authors, including books by Mark Dvoretsky and Mikhail Shereshevsky. But after 2 years, young Magnus took from Hansen everything he could offer him. Therefore, Agdestein himself took up the preparation of a talented teenager.

At the age of 13, Magnus Carlsen has managed to go from a young prodigy to a chess superstar. The teenager becomes the youngest grandmaster, finishing 2nd at the World Championships in Dubai. It happened in April 2004.

In Reykjavik, Magnus defeated the 12th world champion, and drew with the second champion - Garry Kasparov. From this moment the brilliant chess biography of Magnus Carlsen begins. Victories follow one another, striking the chess world. In 2005, the guy entered the top ten strongest players at the World Championship, which was held in Khanty-Mansiysk, and managed to confirm the title of the strongest chess player on the planet. At the same time - the youngest.

In 2009 the Norwegian prodigy was coached by Kasparov. First secretly, and then openly. Training took place from March to September. Thanks to the Russian mentor, Magnus Carlsen's games are becoming even more virtuoso. As Kasparov admitted, he was impressed by the abilities of the 19-year-old Norwegian. He demonstrated talent with the help of intuition alone, without additional miscalculations. He feels the harmony of the chess game the way a virtuoso musician with perfect pitch feels it. It is not for nothing that the fans call Magnus Carlsen "chess Mozart".

In the same 2009, Magnus Carlsen visited a tournament in China, gaining 8 out of 10 possible points. This performance is considered the best among all those that followed. The Norwegian manages to achieve the highest Elo rating in history, leaving behind his mentors, including Kasparov.

In 2011, Carlsen managed to defeat the main opponent at that time -. Two years later, the young grandmaster became one of the most influential people on the planet. On the list next to this player are presidents and the richest people on the planet.

In the same 2013, the Norwegian chess player became the 13th world champion in this kind of intellectual sports.

It was considered a great honor to play a game with him.

The young man put a checkmate to Gates in 9 moves, spending 11 seconds on the game. Naturally, the young man easily beat Zuckerberg.

The Norwegian is considered a universal player, but at the same time, the middlegame and endgame are distinguished, in which the chess player is especially strong. Many rivals and mentors speak about the technique and style of the young man's playing only in superlatives. Karjakin says the Norwegian chess player "plays almost perfectly." Dutch grandmaster Luc van Wely claims that Magnus Carlsen is unique in that “where others see nothing in a position, he just starts playing”. At the same time, he subtly feels the psychology of the opponent.

This ability of the Norwegian is even legendary. Soviet and later Swiss chess player Viktor Korchnoi said that Carlsen's successes "have no direct relation to chess - Magnus is simply hypnotizing his opponent." Observant chess fans argue that the Norwegian's manner of play can be called "lazy grace."

But there are also skeptics. So grandmaster Yuri Razuvaev, characterizing the Norwegian star, believed that "he is the most ordinary tactician, but his positional talent is at the level of Petrosian or Karpov."

In January 2016, the renowned chess player took 1st place at the famous Wijk aan Zee tournament in the Netherlands.

The greatest attention of Russians and fans of the game from all over the world was focused on the Norwegian star in 2016 in connection with the guy's fight with strong Russian rival Sergey Karjakin. Karjakin managed to "beat" Carlsen's record, becoming the youngest grandmaster in the world - at the age of 12.

The match for the world title was held in New York from 11 to 30 November 2016. It consisted of 12 parties. It is noteworthy that this match was called the "youngest" match, because the opponents were then 25 and 26 years old. The prize fund has reached $ 1 million. The winner received 60% of this considerable amount, and the loser received the remaining 40. Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin were considered the strongest chess players in the world for 2016.

After 12 games were played, the score was 6: 6. As a result, we had a tie-break with a shorter time control. Then Carlsen won by 3: 1, retaining the title of world champion.

In the same year, one Internet portal reviewed 8 chess openings of Magnus Carlsen, thanks to which the young man manages to remain at the top of the chess Olympus. These include the "Spanish Party, Berlin Defense", "Sicilian Defense", "New Indian Defense", "Queen's Gambit Denied" and others.

Personal life

Besides chess, the Norwegian has many other hobbies. Magnus plays tennis, football and basketball very well. He is a virtuoso skiing enthusiast and adores comics.

A significant source of income for Magnus Carlsen is the guy's work as a model. The young grandmaster advertises clothes of the famous Dutch company G-Star RAW. Magnus's colleagues - and Gemma Arteron. The chess player's advertising activities bring the guy more than a million dollars a year.

Many beauties hunt for the heart of a chess star. With a height of 185 cm, the chess star is a prominent guy. But the private life of Magnus Carlsen is still uncertain. This young man with a heavy look at The Telegraph's question about his personal life replied that he had not thought about starting a family yet. And until the age of 25, the young man never fell in love. In the same conversation, the chess player noted that hobbies, of course, did arise, but not falling in love.

In 2017, one beauty managed to win the heart of the king of the chessboard. The young man confirmed that he is in a relationship with a girl named Sinn Christine Larsen. Magnus changed his status to “

Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen defended his world chess title for the second time tonight, beating Russian Sergei Karjakin in a tie-break. “SE” has collected ten bright facts about the reigning champion.

BIRTHDAY PRESENT

Magnus was born on November 30, 1990, so he turned 26 on the day of his last World Championship match against Sergei Karjakin. The fight for the chess crown was intense: after 12 main games of the match with classical time control, the score remained equal - 6: 6. There was also a draw after the first two tie-break games - only in the third and fourth games the winner was identified.

It was very difficult. If we talk about matches for the chess crown, then, of course, it was the most difficult match. I would compare it to the Candidates Tournament in 2013, which I won, - said Magnus at the final press conference.

For the victory, Carlsen will receive 550 thousand dollars, 5 percent of which will be retained by FIDE and the organizing company as a fine for leaving the press conference after losing in the eighth game. Karjakin will receive a fee of 450 thousand dollars.

CHESS MOZART

Carlsen became a grandmaster at the age of 13 years 4 months and 27 days, which is the third result in the world after Sergei Karjakin and the Indian Parimaryan Negi, who received the title of chess, being five days younger than the Norwegian. At the age of 15, Carlsen becomes the youngest contender for the chess crown in history at a tournament in Khanty-Mansiysk. At 16, he is the youngest player to break the 2700-point Elo rating, which is accepted by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) as the most objective indicator of a chess player's skill.

Later, he becomes the youngest grandmaster to break the 2800-point bar. In 2013, the Norwegian became the owner of the highest Elo score in the entire history of the rating - 2872 points. At 19 years old, Magnus is the youngest chess player to top the FIDE rating. Carlsen is the first absolute world champion in the history of chess in three categories (classical chess, rapid and blitz). In the Western press, Magnus was compared to Fischer and Tal, and the Washington Post called Carlsen "the chess Mozart."

PUPIL KASPAROV

In 2009, the Norwegian edition VG publishes the news - the former number one chess player Garry Kasparov secretly worked as Carlsen's personal trainer for several months. At that time, the Norwegian occupied the fourth line of the FIDE rating, and the task, announced later by Kasparov, was to achieve Magnus the first position. During a year of joint work Kasparov and Carlsen held two preparatory sessions in the spring and two-week training camp in Croatia in the summer of 2009. In addition, the chess players studied a lot via Skype. According to Carlsen, communication with Kasparov helped him to better understand many positions.

I trained the Norwegian for a year, in 2009, - Kasparov wrote later in The New Times. - And I was already amazed at how accurately - at the level of intuition, without any additional miscalculations - he is able to assess the position on the chessboard and proceed further as accurately as possible. My style is completely different: it required a colossal concentration of energy and work at the board, required a deep calculation of many options in order to find the only correct move in every position on the board. Carlsen belongs to another championship school, the one represented by Jose Capablanca and Anatoly Karpov: they were able to feel harmony on the chessboard and resembled virtuoso musicians with perfect pitch.

MOST INFLUENCING TITANIUM

In 2013, Magnus Carlsen was named by Time magazine in the "100 Most Influential People in the World" list in the Titans category. He was accompanied by such personalities as rapper Jay-Z, billionaire and inventor Elon Musk and basketball player LeBron James.

"His intuitive style of play maintains the mystique of chess at a time when every fan of increasingly sophisticated computer processors thinks the game is getting easier. Carlsen is as charismatic and independent as he is talented. And if he can revive the world's interest in the royal game, then soon we will live in the Age of Carlsen, "Garry Kasparov wrote as a commentary on the nomination. In November of the same year, the Norwegian met with the reigning world champion Indian Viswanathan Anand and won the chess crown for the first time, which he still holds today.

UNPRECEDENTED ATTENTION

The audience's excitement for the championship match Carlsen - Karjakin grew from game to game and reached record levels. In Norway, some games were watched live on TV by up to half a million people, and this despite the fact that the match for the world chess champion coincided with the start of the biathlon and ski seasons. According to the President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the Internet audience of the 12th game of the match in the world amounted to more than three million people.

Representatives of 217 countries and territories are watching each game of the Carlsen - Karjakin match on the Internet, which is an absolute record. More than three million people visit the site where the match is broadcast to follow the games, ”Ilyumzhinov said.

According to analysts, the total online audience of the match was 7 million viewers. More than 30 thousand publications have been published around the world on the chess confrontation between Carlsen and Karjakin.

HYPNOTIST OR PRAGMATIC COMPUTER

Carlsen is often compared to a supercomputer. “He wins positions against leading chess players in which they usually agree to a draw,” Grandmaster Evgeny Bereev told Ogonyok magazine in 2010. “He has a phenomenal technique and, in addition, seems to have a complete absence of a nervous system. But Carlsen considers variations very well Magnus Carlsen is a chess machine for achieving results. "

There is, however, another opinion: Carlsen is a hypnotist. “There are several people in the chess world with incredible hypnotic abilities,” wrote the Swiss grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi in his book. “I believe that Enrique Mecking is in a group of three people who did not always achieve success through chess. These are Mikhail Tal, Magnus Carlsen and Enrique Mecking.

MAT BILL GATES IN 12 SECONDS

In January 2014, on the air of the Scandinavian TV channel NRK during the Skalan program, world chess champion Magnus Carlsen held an exhibition match against one of the richest people in the world, Bill Gates. For all moves, Carlsen got 30 seconds, and Gates - 2 minutes. Nevertheless, nine moves were enough for the Norwegian to checkmate the businessman, on which he spent only 12 seconds. The meeting with Gates was not accidental for Carlsen. Eleven years earlier, the largest computer company became interested in the young talent and began to provide him with sponsorship. With the help of the computer mogul, Carlsen led his first annual tour of the world.

CARLSEN AND "REAL"

Magnus has a passion for football and is a loyal Real Madrid fan. In 2013, the management of the Spanish club invited the young grandmaster to strike the first symbolic kick in the match against Real Madrid from Valladolid, which Carlsen gladly took advantage of. The following year, after the Norwegian defended his world chess title, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez sent Magnus a second invitation. The Scandinavian chess player is one of the few people who have been honored to strike the symbolic first blow in the Royal Club matches twice. It is interesting that Sergei Karjakin also loves football and is a fan of Spartak Moscow.

DIFFICULT RUSSIAN BASKETBALL

Carlsen does not neglect his physical form. He loves not only to watch football, but also to play it. He also regularly visits the gym and enjoys skiing. “I also like tennis and squash, as well as basketball,” the grandmaster told Chesspro. “Yes, I'm not very good at basketball, but I like this game. There is a lot of wrestling, martial arts, and a lot of fun. True, this year I tried to play basketball against the Russian guys - and it didn't make me happy. They play much stronger! " By the way, Karjakin also plays football and basketball, and took tennis lessons from the famous tennis player Anna Chakvetadze.

PHOTO MODEL

Carlsen successfully combines his chess career with the role of a photo model. In 2010, together with American film actress and model Tyler Liv, he took part in an advertising campaign for the autumn / winter clothing collection, and in 2014, together with Lily Cole, in a spring / summer fashion campaign from a Dutch fashion company. In addition, the Norwegian is the face of a chess app for smartphones, which is guided by the level of play of Carlsen in determining the level of difficulty of the game. These and other advertising contracts allow Magnus to earn over a million dollars a year.

Publication time: 09/24/2011 21:09 | Last update: 09/24/2011 09:15 PM

Judging by the information published in the new book "Smarte trekk. Magnus Carlsen" by journalist Hallgeir Opedal and the responses in the Norwegian press to the presentation of this work, the author of which followed the career of the young star for a year, the parting of Magnus Carlsen with coach Garry Kasparov was not so cloudless as they tried to present the parties in the "communique" published at the time.

In the six-month cooperation between Carlsen and Kasparov, difficulties were brewing with communication, as the young Norwegian, who was accustomed to working alone, sometimes found Kasparov's care and activity excessive.

The turning point was Carlsen's loss to Vladimir Kramnik at the Wei aan Zee tournament in January 2010, when Magnus, who had already taken the first place in the rating, lost to one of the most principled rivals. Let us remind you that the game took place in an extremely difficult struggle. Carlsen, who played white, missed the advantage on the 18th move and, in the end, was left with nothing.

Before the game Kasparov managed to cheat the Norwegian, who wrote on his Facebook page that he would crush Kramnik like a nut. After the defeat, Magnus was ridiculed on the Internet. He was terribly angry and decided that until the end of the tournament he would make decisions himself, without Kasparov's participation. Carlsen also allegedly removed four thousand "friends" from his Facebook feed.

A few weeks after the end of the tournament, in which he still managed to win, Carlsen decided to stop working with Kasparov, who, in turn, took this decision extremely painfully.

With the passage of time after the professional breakup, Carlsen's relations with Kasparov returned to normal.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Bb4 + 6. Bd2 a5 7. Nc3 OO 8.a3 Be7 9.Qa4 c6 10. Qxc4 b5 11.Qb3 Ba6 12. Bg5 Nbd7 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14.Qc2 b4 15. Na4 Rc8 16.OO c5 17.d5 exd5 18. Bh3 Bb5 19.axb4 axb4 20. Rfd1 d4 21. Bf5 Ne5 22. Bxh7 + Kg7 23. Nxe5 fxe5 24. Bf5 Rc6 25. Qe4 Rh8 26. Qxe5 + Bf6 27. Qe4 Re8 28. Qg4 + Kf8 29. Be4 c4 30. Bxc6 Bxc6 31. Qh5 Re5 32. Qh6 + Ke7 33. e4 d3 34. Qe3 Bxe4 35. Nb6 Bb7 36. Qf4 Qxb6 37. Qxc4 Re2 Rf1 0-1

In the eighth round of the Biel tournament, the first meeting of the leaders, Carlsen-Morozevich, ended. In the Viennese variation of the Queen's Gambit, the Norwegian gained an extremely insignificant advantage in the opening, and he failed to achieve anything significant further.

Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave won a prize from the organizers of the Wijk aan Zee tournament for the best game of the fourth round. Together with Aleksey Shirov, they played out the current variant of the Grunfeld Defense, which they met, in particular, in the first game of last year's Topalov - Anand world championship match.

To the sound of air conditioners, Alexei Shirov and Levon Aronian talked about their game, about the history of the variation used in it and about Marshall's attack in general. Listen to audio.

The duel between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi turned out to be somewhat more tense than that. The Russian admitted that his opponent managed to surprise him by choosing not the most ambitious line with 3.Bb5 + in the Sicilian defense. “But the move is not without poison,” Yang said.

In Hainan, China, the match between Anatoly Karpov and Hou Yifan continues. Let us remind you that yesterday the twelfth world champion defeated the young rival with black. Today's second game was dictated by the Chinese chess player, but Karpov managed to maintain an unpleasant position.

The meeting between the world champion Vishy Anand and the leader of the rating Magnus Carlsen in the first round of the Grand Slam final, which started in Sao Paulo, which was expected with great interest, ended in a rather colorless draw.

According to Henrik Carlsen, his son has something in common with Ronaldo

In Manhattan, the 55th is now nearing the finish line for the Russian Karjakin. On Friday morning, the result of the 10th game will be known. So, there are still two left - and that's it! Who will try on the chess crown?

Mom is the best counselor.

Played with myself and was happy

Our Karjakin had a brother when he was 17 years old. As a child, only a cat could withstand his 7-hour analysis of sketches, so the boy often played with himself and cried bitterly when one half of him lost because he stupidly yawned at a figure.

Truth? Oh, poor thing! With Magnus, it was the other way around. He also played with himself, since he butchered the sisters quite quickly, but if one half of him was losing, he was glad that the other won, as he turned out a clever combination and he could learn something from it. Playing with himself, he was always happy.

Ten world chess champions had citizenship of the USSR or Russia, sometimes this monopoly was diluted by the Cuban Capablanca, the American Fischer, the Indian Anand ... What is the secret of success, as it is called, the "Norwegian phenomenon"?

I am especially pleased that my son has succeeded in chess, and not in traditional winter sports, because many people in vain believe that, except for skiing, the Norwegians are no longer capable of anything.

I don’t know where Magnus got his talent for chess. When I just started teaching him at the age of 5, he was interested, but he did not show great success. I did not insist on anything and did not push him to further growth.

Only when he was 8 years old did he start attending a chess school at a sports club, which was opened by a grandmaster. Magnus showed good potential and was invited to play and train there several times a month.

Athletes usually think early about what they will do when they retire, as their age is short. Chess players, although they also experience physical exertion, is another matter. Have you ever discussed with Magnus what else he could do for a living, or chess - whatever interests him?

If he is interested in something, then he is very passionate about the process. Today his whole life is chess, but in the future I do not exclude that other activities will appear that will capture him, but, most likely, chess will still forever remain his main activity. He has productive relationships with sponsors, in his free time he is a successful model, advertises a variety of products - and clothes, and watches, and perfume, he is filmed for glossy magazines ...

What is nicer - to win some court tournament or get on the cover of Vogue, like Cristiano Ronaldo, for whom he is a fan? The Real Madrid forward once admitted on his page in the social network that in this case the latter is more important for him.

Of course, it is more pleasant for Magnus to win a game, even in the yard, than to be on the cover of a fashion magazine. Here he is not like Ronaldo.

- Does he have fans who follow him around the world, tear him up for selfies, as soon as he shows up somewhere?

Yes, here he has something similar to Ronaldo, but, fortunately, on a smaller scale. For several years now, he has been experiencing the attention of fans, and he is glad that someone is interested. He wants to use his position to promote chess, especially among children. Chess is an inspiring, motivating game. She trains the skills necessary for life - long-term memory, quick decision-making, friendly interaction with another person at the board, discipline.

- How does he feel, for several years in a row playing with opponents who are weaker than him?(Since 2013, Carlsen is the owner of the highest Elo rating in the entire history of his existence, breaking Kasparov's record, held by him for 13 years; our Karjakin is in ninth place in this chess table of ranks. - Auth.)

The most difficult thing was getting to the top, it was very pleasant to stay on it.

If you drink coffee all the time, there will be no result.

How does Magnus keep fit to stay on top? How many hours does he sleep during a match? What sport is practicing these days? Is he on a diet? Does the 12th World Champion Karpov drink several cups of coffee?

He loves to sleep. Not less than 8-10 hours. He has no diet or any special preferences in food, except for orange juice diluted with water or with ice. Karpov is right about something: if you do not have a coffee habit, like my boy, then this will give additional energy. If you drink coffee all the time, there will be no result. He is interested in football, table tennis, tennis. His last passion is basketball, he not only plays it, but also watches all the NBA games.

- Does he play as a sparring partner only with grandmasters or with a computer too?

He hates computers! I mean, as a partner for the game. He loves people as rivals and often hangs out on Internet sites, sorting out relationships over a virtual board with completely unfamiliar partners. So if you are playing on one of the hundreds of free chess sites with an anonymous name, be careful - maybe this is my son on the other side of the screen.

- Does he play chess all the time, even on the days of planned rest from them?

I'm afraid that if he doesn't play, he thinks about them all the time. Chess is always in his head, no matter what he does.

- You and him don't have the feeling that the rest of your life is passing by like this? Magnus is a young guy.

He's not complaining. Between tournaments he meets with friends, has fun with them. Without ceasing to generate chess positions in your mind.

- Can a chess player of Carlsen's level have time for friendly gatherings?

Yes, Magnus has many friends. He is friends with about 30-40 chess players aged 20-30.

- Who is his best friend?

He has three close friends.

- Are they here in New York now?

Yes, it is important for Magnus to be surrounded by friends and family. Mom flew in to cheer for him for the third game, but already flew away. Sister Ingrid will be here for another week, and then other sisters will replace her.

- How cute. Fans call him Kid and Viking, but how are you?

Hehe, we are only Viking, we like it better.

The manager of our applicant Kirill Zangalis presented you with the book "Kid and Carlson" in Russian. Did you manage to tighten our tongue on it before the fight with the Russian?

We haven't finished the book yet, but Magnus knows a little Russian.

- What phrases can he say?

- (Answers in Russian with a strong accent, but confidently.) Good afternoon, grandma, please!

- You also speak Russian! What do you think about the Soviet and Russian chess school?

You have had many champions, which always made a good impression on us.

- Karjakin's favorite chess player is Alekhine. Does Magnus have a favorite chess player in the entire history of the game?

I don’t think so. He always says he wants to learn from all the masters. Magnus' big advantage is that he always tries to be objective, not emotional.

- Maybe he prefers some style more - for example, American or Soviet?

That's a good question, why haven't I asked them before? Please ask Magnus if possible, I'm interested in myself.

(I asked the question)

“I have ten thousand games in my head, played by grandmasters in different eras,” Magnus Carlsen shocked MK with his answer. - If you restore the final position of one of them, then I will tell you who played it and in what city and year it was. One of my favorites is the first classic game in the Candidates Tournament between Anand and Kamsky, in Indian Sanginagar, 1994, which ended in a draw. I also find inspiration in many of Kramnik's decisions. Many of his games should be included in chess textbooks, and he himself should learn from them, analyzing them along the way, they are so beautiful).

- Henrik, when Magnus first became world champion, what did he tell you?

He came up to me and began to mutter something dejectedly about what he had done in some games during the match, mistakes and what he was worried about this.

- And what did you answer him?

That he is a champion. Can finally relax and have fun. Today - it can no longer, in New York there is a new struggle. But, looking at him, I enjoy myself - his servant and his fan.

Magnus Carlsen is a man with the capabilities of a machine. Childhood and adolescence of an outstanding grandmaster. Modeling career and public life. Business and fortune. Family and interests.

Sven Magnus Ian Carlsen is an outstanding grandmaster, the first absolute world champion in 3 categories in the history of chess games, winner of 5 chess Oscars from 2009 to 2013, a millionaire, a fashion model and one of the smartest people on the planet.

Magnus Carlsen's biography is as rich as it is unusual. Interest in his figure does not dry out. Some call him a fanatical autist, immersed in the chess world so much that he does not care much about his surroundings. Others see him as a charismatic and talented young man, whose range of interests is by no means limited to games. And there are those who characterize him as a real business shark and a clever calculating businessman who was able to make a fortune in his name.

Magnus Carlsen in the photo poses with the beautiful Liv Tyler, and spends his free time reading comics and playing football. So who is he, the great strategist of this generation?

The first steps of a grandmaster

The chess genius was born in November 1990 in the Norwegian town of Tønsberg in the family of engineers Sigrun and Henrik Carlsen. In addition to him, the parents already had a daughter, Hellen. Later, 2 more girls appeared in the family - Ingrid and Signa. My father was a pretty strong chess player and participated in local tournaments. His Elo rating was approximately 2100 points. Needless to say, the dad's abilities were largely passed on to his son, only the latter was able to surpass his first teacher many times over.

As a child, Magnus Carlsen was interested in intellectual games, which his parents could not fail to notice. The seeds of natural talent found fertile soil, and at the age of 5 the future genius began to comprehend the basics of chess theory under the guidance of his father. The results were not long in coming, and from the age of 8 young Carlsen consciously chose chess as his path: he began to study special literature, practiced a lot through blitz games on the Internet and took part in competitions.

He won his first tournament in 1999 with the youngest division of the Norwegian national chess team. Even then, they began to predict a significant future for the new star of the chess world.

Having learned how old Magnus Carlsen is and appreciated his abilities, in 2000 Thorbjørn Ringdal Hansen, a Norwegian grandmaster, whose mentor was Simen Agdestein himself, took up the work with him in 2000. On his initiative, Magnus got acquainted with the books of the great Soviet chess players M. Dvoretsky and M. Shereshevsky, which allowed him to achieve great success in improving his own playing technique.

The lessons with Hansen lasted 2 years. During this period 2000-2002. Magnus has taken part in many tournaments and reached 300 points in the Elo rating.

• In 2002, at the International Youth Chess Championship held in Greece under the auspices of FIDE, he took 2nd place. In the same year he received his first title - FIDE Master.
• Since 2003, Agdestein himself began to train Carlsen.
• In 2003, after taking part in a tournament held in the Danish city of Gousdal, he won the title of International Performance Master and became the youngest chess player in Northern Europe to fulfill the IM norm.
• At the age of 13, Magnus received an offer from Microsoft to go on tour. The influential sponsor was not refused, and Carlsen, together with his family, went to conquer the chess Olympus.
• In the same 2003, he took part in the World Championship held in the Dutch city of Wijk aan Zee, where he fulfilled his first grandmaster norm. Then Magnus scored 10.5 points out of a maximum of 13.

In the championship, Carlsen was unable to bypass only one opponent - Dusko Pavasovich, who had the highest rating in the group. Considering the results obtained, the defeat was not so significant and after the end of the tournament Lubomir Kavalek, two-time champion of Czechoslovakia and the United States, called Carlsen a “chess Mozart”.

The subsequent 2004 was very eventful for the future master.

• At the blitz tournament he managed to bypass the world ex-champion A. Karpov and achieve a draw in the chess match with G. Kasparov. In the next round, he still defeated a venerable opponent.
• In April 2004, the Championship took place in Dubai, as a result of which Carlsen took 2nd place and fulfilled the second norm of a grandmaster. At that time, he became the youngest grandmaster in the entire world history of chess.

In the summer of 2005, he played with Viswanathan Anda, and at the Norwegian championship the young chess king fought with his teacher Simen Agdestein. The game lasted 4 days, during which the opponents beat each other in turn, but Carlsen did not manage to surpass his mentor. The victory remained with Agdestein.

At the end of 2005, Magnus took part in the World Cup held in Khanty-Mansiysk and became one of the ten strongest chess players in the world, justifying the expectations placed on him by the chess community. In the same year, the documentary Prince of Chess, dedicated to Carlsen, was released in Norway.

In 2006 Magnus decisively moves towards his goal and impresses with his brilliant performance in the Norwegian Championship, but in the last round he fails to withstand the intellectual onslaught of his opponent Estenstad Burge. Elo rating of 15-year-old Carlsen by that time had already reached 2625 points. He was the youngest player to cross the 2600 mark. Despite a loss to Burge prevented Magnus from becoming Norway's youngest champion, he still won the master's title in the playoffs by beating Agdestein.

The further way to the top of the gaming Olympus led Magnus to the prestigious tournament in Linares, held in 2007. At chess Wimbledon, Karslen's opponents were such giants as Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anda, Peter Svidler, Alexander Morozevich and Levon Aronian. The outstanding Norwegian took 2nd place.

Of course, the young master did not intend to stop there. And in the late summer of 2007, he had a great game at the Biel tournament, where, with a brilliant victory, he became the youngest player in category 18 to do so. This year, his Elo rating has already reached 2,700 - an unprecedented case. And again Magnus becomes the youngest player who managed to achieve such an impressive result, despite his young age.

At the end of 2007, Carlsen took part in the World Cup and reached the semifinals, but he did not manage to bypass Gata Kamsky.

The milestone of youth is passed

Analyzing the games of Magnus Carlsen, Kasparov was amazed at how intuitive the young chess player was. Where others applied titanic mental efforts in calculating their moves, he could assess the position with impressive accuracy and calmness and implement his strategy as accurately as possible. He definitely had a talent for feeling chess harmony. Magnus Carlsen looks more like a machine than a person in his mindset.

In 2008, his Elo rating was over 2800 points. At the Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee, he shared the first place with and went down in the history of chess games as the first player who, at the age of 18, managed to achieve such a high result in a championship of this level.

2009 was no less significant. The media leaked information that the coach of Magnus Carlsen was none other than Garry Kasparov. Indeed, for almost the entire year he worked with a young genius and the results of such mentoring were evident. His protégé won the Moscow Blitz Tournament, after which he won the London Games. He was able to withstand the intellectual battle with V. Kramnik and receive his first Chess Oscar.

And in 2010, FIDE declared him the best player that chess world history has ever known. At that time, Elo Carlsen's rating surpassed 2800 points. Before him, only one player, Kasparov, had such a result. It is logical that the lessons with the chess guru were not wasted for Magnus, but after the young master achieved such unprecedented success, his lessons with Kasparov stopped.

Already at the end of 2010, Carlsen himself tried out as a mentor and began to advise Viswanathan Anda for participation in the World Championship. In the same year, Magnus received his second chess Oscar, beating the same Andu.

Carlsen's further career is developing exponentially, although not as successfully as he was predicted. The path to success is thorny and unpredictable.

• Throughout 2011, Magnus takes part in major chess tournaments, many of which he fails to win, but he continues to be among the undisputed leaders, not much behind his opponents.
• In early 2012, Carlsen was ranked 2nd in Van aan Zee. The summer games are held with varying success, but December brings him a stunning victory in the London tournament. It was then that he was able to achieve a phenomenal world record - his rating reached 2861 points. Nobody has done this before.

Summing up the difficult 2012 year, Magnus Carlsen wrote on Twitter that he was pleased with his results. Despite the fact that he did not manage to win all the competitions, this year brought him 3 big victories in major tournaments, a silver medal in Van aan Zee and the first position in the world report card.

In the period 2013-2016. Magnus still continues to go towards his goal, alternately entering into chess battles with venerable opponents and by 2016 becomes the world champion in 3 categories. His fight with Sergei Karjakin caused a great stir. You could watch how Magnus Carlsen spends his time in the break room during the breaks between games with Karjakin. The whole world watched the chess battles of the outstanding grandmasters of our time. And although the Russian master had every chance to beat the talented Norwegian, the latter still prevailed.

The other side of the coin

Many people call Carlsen the champion of the new formation. He completely destroyed a lot of stereotypes in society regarding chess players, because the circle of his interests is by no means limited to the game. With such a business acumen and ability to do business, Magnus Carlsen - a Jew, not a Norwegian - makes fun of his acquaintances.

According to those close to him, Magnus's outstanding intellectual abilities were the result of his childhood problems. It was not easy for a child whose IQ is significantly higher than that of his peers to find friends. Not without the ridicule that his classmates released at him. It was often said that Magnus Carlsen was autistic. Aghstein also noticed in his time that social adaptation was difficult for him. However, time has put everything in its place and today a charismatic chess player cannot be called an outcast. He is a favorite of the public and a “tasty morsel” for the fair sex. The master himself says that a rigid framework is not for him and he is creative in nature. She prefers to sleep 12 hours a day and lead a bohemian lifestyle, spending free time with family and friends.

The chess king pays great attention to sports. Among his favorite sports are tennis, basketball, skiing and ski jumping.

Carlsen loves comics. He is a frequent guest in the studios of various talk shows, but does not advertise his personal life. Access to it for money-grubbing sensations is closed, due to which the interest of the latter only increases.

Magnus Carlsen and his girlfriend are a mystery to everyone, no one has seen them together. In one of the interviews, he was asked a question about his life partner, to which he replied that he had not yet thought about creating a family and, frankly, had never really fallen in love in his life. The yellow press could not ignore this fact, and in the media there was an unequivocal hint that Magnus Carlsen was gay. However, such statements bother him little. The chess genius simply ignores them.

How much does a chess genius make?

Today he is the owner of MagnusChess, which accounts for the lion's share of his income. In addition to the prize money and sponsorship funds, he receives considerable royalties for his collaboration with the famous Dutch clothing brand G-Star. Who would have thought that an intellectual could try on the role of a model. For the first time Magnus Karslen appeared as a model on the pages of magazines in 2010. For 6 years his partners in photo shoots were Liv Tyler, Lily Cole and Gemma Artenton.

In parallel with his modeling career, he has many other contracts: he is the face of a mobile application for a chess game of the Scandinavian company Nordic Semiconductor, collaborates with software manufacturers, etc. Thus, his annual income is about $ 1,000,000.

How much Magnus Carlsen earned as a result of his chess career interests many. According to rough estimates, the amount ranges from € 10,000,000.

IQ Magnus Carlsen not only made him one of the richest people, but also put him on a par with the smartest figures of our time, such as Stephen Hawking, Terence Tao and Evangelo Katsiulis. Perhaps this fact would not have been so significant if not for age. To achieve such success by the age of 26 is a kind of phenomenon.

Not without rumors

Critics differ on the young chess player's capabilities. No one even thinks to argue about natural talent, however, some believe that along with remarkable intelligence, the grandmaster also possesses hypnotic abilities.

If you watch the chess games of Magnus Carlsen in the video, you can see how insightful and deep his eyes are. His phenomenal technique and unrivaled calmness allow him to win positions in which many grandmasters would agree to a draw. For the same reason, some, without exaggeration, call it a chess machine that works exclusively for the result.

Magnus Carlsen does not play against the computer. According to the master himself, he is more attracted to fights with living people. Opponents point out that playing with the Norwegian genius is like entering into a duel with a mechanism: impersonal, cold and calculating.

Today the family of Magnus Carlsen consists of parents and younger sisters. They live in Oslo and spend most of their free time together. According to the chess player's father, his son adores Ingrid and Signa, and with friends he has fun in his own house.

Magnus Carlsen's condition made him one of the most influential people of our time, and his intellect put him in a row with the smartest people on the planet. Young age, along with outstanding successes, cause delight and bewilderment, and uncertainty on the personal front creates a constant intrigue around his personality. How long will the chess king hold his position, and what his next achievement will be, time will tell. Magnus is silent about whether his wife will appear. According to the grandmaster, currently his life is completely occupied with chess, sports and friends.