Magnus Carlsen Height, Age, Wife, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Magnus Carlsen

• Magnus Carlsen is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the youngest person to reach No. 1 in the FIDE world rankings. Apart from being the reigning Chess World Cup Champion, Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Champion, four-time World Rapid Chess Champion, and six-time World Blitz Chess Champion. He holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak at the elite level in classical chess. Carlsen is known for using a variety of openings, making his opponents difficult to prepare against him.

• Soon after his birth in Tønsberg, Norway, his family lived in Espoo, Finland, for one year following which they moved to Brussels, Belgium. In 1998, the family returned to Norway, where they started living in Lommedalen, Bærum, and later moved to Haslum.

• According to Carlsen, when he was five and a half or six years old, his father taught him and his oldest sister, Ellen, the rules of chess for the first time; however, unlike Ellen, he didn’t show much interest in the game and stopped it soon. Carlsen says he started developing an interest in the game when he turned eight. In an interview, Carlsen talked about this and said,
  

  I took a board and recapitulated games for myself which my father showed me at the time. Why was this or that move made? I discovered the secrets of the game for myself. It was fascinating. Then, after a few months, I also read books about openings.”

  

  Magnus Carlsen’s father (left) teaching him the basic rules of chess

  For Carlsen, it was his desire to beat his sister Ellen in the game that propelled him to pursue the game. Carlsen says,

  I saw Ellen, my sister, playing. I think I wanted to beat her at it.” ^[10]ChessBase

• When Carlsen beat his sister Ellen in the game for the first time, she didn’t touch a board again for four years. ^[11]The New York Times

• Initially, Carlsen would play for hours by himself, moving the pieces around, searching for combinations, and replaying games and positions his father showed him.

• Carlsen first read a chess booklet titled Find the Plan by Bent Larsen, and on openings, he first read Eduard Gufeld’s The Complete Dragon.

• In 1999, 8 years and 7 months old Carlsen participated in his first tournament, the Norwegian Chess Championship, where he scored 6/11.

• Carlsen’s father is an ambitious club player whom he defeated just before his ninth birthday, in a game of lightning chess, for the first time. ^[12]ChessBase

• While attending the Norwegian College of Elite Sport, Carlsen was coached by Grandmaster (GM) Simen Agdestein who introduced Carlsen to Torbjørn Ringdal Hansen, a former Norwegian junior champion, in 2000; Ringdal later became International Master (IM) and Grandmaster (GM).

• Agdestein once elaborated on Carlsen’s exceptional memory and said that by the age of five, he had memorised the locations, populations, flags, and capitals of all the countries in the world, and he could also recall the locations, populations, coats-of-arms, and administrative centres of “virtually all” 356 Norwegian municipalities. ^[13]Financial Times Reportedly, by the age of two, he could recite all car brands. ^[14]The Sunday Morning Herald
  

  Magnus Carlsen in his childhood

• In June 2000, his rating rose from 904 to 1907, and in September 2000, he scored 3½/5 against the country’s top junior players, gaining a tournament performance rating (TPR) of around 2000.

• During his amateur years, he played almost 300 rated tournament games, between the autumn of 2000 and the end of 2002, including several blitz tournaments and other minor events.
  

  Magnus Carlsen (right), at the age of 11, playing in an amateur chess tournament

• In 2003, Carlsen obtained three IM norms, and on 20 August 2003, he was officially awarded the IM title.

• After completing his primary schooling, Carlsen took a break from his studies and participated in international chess tournaments in Europe during the autumn of 2003 during which he was placed joint-third in the European Under-14 Championship, and ninth in the 2003 World Under-14 Championship.

• During the one-year-long break from his studies, Carlsen’s father took a break from his managerial post at Exxon and took the family on a 10,000 km-long road trip around Europe to broaden the children’s horizons. ^[15]Financial Times Carlesn was never interested in studies, and he enjoyed the trip a lot. While talking about the trip, Carlsen says,
  

  They travelled around the world with me and my sisters, and on the way they taught us. That was fantastic, much more effective than sitting in school. I didn’t miss school at all.” ^[16]ChessBase

• In 2004, 13-year-old Carlsen won the Corus chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, his first international breakthrough, and it earned him his first GM norm. Soon, Microsoft became his sponsor. ^[17]ChessBase
  

  Magnus Carlsen after winning the Corus chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee in 2004

• In February 2004, he earned his second GM norm at the Moscow Aeroflot Open, and in April 2004, he earned his third and final GM norm in the sixth Dubai Open Chess Championship, becoming the second-youngest GM in history at the time (after Sergey Karjakin, who earned the title at 12 years and 7 months). ^[18]ChessBase

• In June 2004, he became the youngest player to participate in the FIDE World Chess Championship, held in Tripoli; however, American Chess Grandmaster Levon Aronian knocked him out of the tournament in round one. ^[19]ChessBase

• In 2005, when he qualified for the B group, he was titled “the Mozart of chess” in an article published in The Washington Post. ^[20]Chess Notes by Edward Winter In the same year, he shared first place with his mentor Simen Agdestein; however, Agdestein eventually won the championship title with a victory in the sixth rapid game.

• In December 2005, he participated in the Chess World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, where he finished in tenth place, making him the youngest player to be an official World Championship Candidate. ^[21]ChessBase

• In 2006, Carlsen shared first place with Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu and Vladimir Malakhov in the international ‘Bosna’ tournament in Sarajevo. Although it was not a clear first, it is regarded as Carlsen’s first “A” elite tournament win. ^[22]ChessBase

• In September 2006, Carlsen secured his first Norwegian championship win after he won both rapid chess games against his former teacher Simen Agdestein. ^[23]ChessBase

• In August 2007, he defeated his father, Henrik Carlsen, in the Arctic Chess Challenge in Tromsø. ^[24]ChessBase

• In early 2009, Garry Kasparov became his personal trainer. Norwegian newspapers made their partnership public in September 2009. ^[25]ChessBase In March 2009, it was reported that Carlsen had split from Kasparov, and they would cease their regular training sessions. In 2011, Carlsen talked about Kasparov’s mentorship and said,
  

  Thanks to Kasparov. I began to understand a whole class of positions better. … Kasparov gave me a great deal of practical help.”

  

  Magnus Carlsen with Garry Kasparov (left)

• In October 2009, after he scored 8.0/10 at the Pearl Spring tournament, chess statistician Jeff Sonas called it the best performance of any kind by a teenager. ^[26]ChessBase

• In 2010, Indian Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand won the World Chess Championship, and it was reported that Carlsen had helped him prepare for the championship. Reportedly, Carlsen had also helped Anand prepare for the World Chess Championships in 2007 and 2008. ^[27]ChessBase

• In August 2010, Carlsen defeated Viswanathan Anand in the Arctic Securities Chess Stars rapid chess tournament. ^[28]ChessBase

• In October 2010, after a series of setbacks, his activities outside chess, such as modelling for G-Star Raw, were held responsible for his underperformance; however, Carlsen never found any direct connection between the two. ^[29]VG

• In December 2012, Carlsen won the London Chess Classic following which his rating was increased from 2848 to 2861, breaking Kasparov’s 13-year record of 2851. ^[30]The Week in Chess

• On 22 November 2013, Carlsen became the new World Chess Champion after defeating Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2013 in Chennai, India; Carlsen won the match by 6½–3½ points.
  

  Magnus Carlsen of Norway, right, greeted Viswanathan Anand of India before their final game on 22 November 2013 in Chennai, India

• In 2014, Carlsen defended his World Chess Champion by defeating Anand by 6½–4½ points. ^[31]ChessBase

• In April 2016, he won the fourth edition of the Norway Chess Tournament; it was his first Norway Chess victory. ^[32]ChessBase

• In October 2016, Carlsen became the first winner of the Chess.com Grandmaster Blitz Battle Championship after he defeated Nakamura by 14½ to 10½ points in a 3-hour-long blitz battle. ^[33]ChessBase

• In the 2016 World Chess Championship, held in New York City, Carlsen recorded a 3–1 victory over Sergey Karjakin, retaining his World Champion title.
  

  Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin at the 2016 World Chess Championship

• In July 2017, Carlsen won the Leuven leg of the Grand Chess Tour with an overall score of 25½/36 in the blitz portion; his performance rating in the blitz portion of the tournament was 3018. Garry Kasparov called this performance “phenomenal.” Leonard William Barden, an English chess master and journalist, compared this performance to Fischer’s 19/22 score at the 1970 World Blitz Championship. ^[34]The Guardian

• In the 2018 World Chess Championship in London, Carlsen registered a 3-0 win over Fabiano Caruana in rapid tiebreak games, retaining his World Champion title. ^[35]The Guardian
  

  Magnus Carlsen after winning the 2018 World Chess Championship

• When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, Carlsen, in collaboration with Chess24, organised an online tournament, the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, which was termed “the first professional online chess tournament. Carlsen defeated Hikaru Nakamura by 2½–1½ in the final to win the tournament. ^[36]Chess.com

• In January 2021, Carlsen lost the 83rd Tata Steel Chess Tournament to Andrey Esipenko, a young Russian grandmaster. This was the first time a teenager had defeated him since 2011. ^[37]The Week in Chess

• In the 2021 World Chess Championship, he defeated challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi, retaining his world champion title.
  

  Magnus Carlsen after winning the 2021 World Chess Championship

• In July 2022, Carlsen said that he enjoyed playing chess tournaments more than championships.

• On International Chess Day in 2022, Carlsen announced his decision not to defend his title in the 2023 World Championship. In April 2023, Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, who secured second place in the Candidates tournament, contended in the Nepomniachtchi – Ding World Championship Match (2023). On 30 April 2023, Ding defeated Nepomniachtchi, becoming the 17th world champion, and ending Carlsen’s reign. ^[38]Chess.com

• According to Espen Agdestein, Carlsen’s manager, although Carlsen is rich, he follows a simple lifestyle. Agdestein says,
  

  He has never bought an expensive thing in his life.” ^[39]Financial Times

• While talking about Carlsen’s playing techniques, noted Russian Grandmaster Garry Kasparov once said that Carlsen relies more on the accumulation of tiny advantages than the attacking pyrotechnics, making his opponents feel like slow asphyxiation as he methodically snuffs out their hopes. In an interview, Judit Polgar, one of the greatest chess players of all time, talked about Carlsen’s merciless technique and said,
  

  When I played him, it felt like I was drowning.”

  In 2012, when asked how he played so well, Carlsen replied,

  I don’t know …the game somehow comes naturally.” ^[40]Financial Times
  

• According to Carlsen, whenever he feels gloomy before a game, he listens to a song by Lil Jon. ^[41]ChessBase

• In 2010, Carlsen modelled for G-Star RAW, a Dutch designer clothing company, along with American actress Liv Tyler. For the brand’s Spring/Summer 2014 campaign, he appeared along with actress and model Lily Cole.
  

  Magnus Carlsen modelled for G-Star RAW along with American actress Liv Tyler in 2010

• Film director J. J. Abrams once offered Carlsen the role of “a chess player from the future” in the film Star Trek Into Darkness; however, Carlsen could not make himself available for shooting as he didn’t get a work permit.

• In February 2012, he was featured in CBS’ famous 60 Minutes program.

• In April 2012, Carlsen appeared on The Colbert Report, an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert.

• In February 2013, Rainn Wilson, an American and podcaster, interviewed Carlsen for SoulPancake.

• In August 2013, Nordic Semiconductor, a Norwegian fabless technology company, made Carlsen its ambassador.

• Cosmopolitan, an American quarterly fashion and entertainment magazine, selected Carlsen as one of the “sexiest men of 2013.”

• On 30 November 2013, after becoming world chess champion, Carlsen had the privilege of kick-off in a La Liga game between Real Madrid and Real Valladolid; Real Madrid is his favourite football club. As an avid fan of football, Carlsen follows the Premier League and plays fantasy football, and he even reached the No. 1 spot on a Fantasy Premier League game in December 2019, surpassing seven million other players.

• In 2017, he starred as himself in the season 28 episode “The Cad and the Hat” of The Simpsons, an American animated sitcom.
  

  Magnus Carlsen’s Instagram post, announcing his appearance in The Simpsons

• In October 2013, Carlsen, along with Espen Agdestein and Anders Brandt, founded a company, Play Magnus AS, in Oslo, Norway, to encourage more people to play chess. ^[42]The Telegraph In March 2019, Play Magnus AS merged with Chess24.com, an internet chess server. In October 2020, Play Magnus Group was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

• In 2020, Carlsen announced his collaboration with gambling company Unibet as its “global ambassador” for two years. ^[43]ChessBase In April 2022, the partnership was extended for another two years.

• In December 2022, Carlsen became a brand ambassador for Chess.com as part of the acquisition offer by Chess.com for Play Magnus Group. ^[44]Chess.com

• In April 2022, among 1050 poker players, Carlsen finished 25th at the Norwegian Championships Main Event.