Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster. He is a five-time World Chess Champion, the reigning four-time World Rapid Chess Champion, the reigning six-time World Blitz Chess Champion, and the reigning Chess World Cup Champion. He has held the No. 1 position in the FIDE world chess rankings since 1 July 2011 and trails only Garry Kasparov in time spent as the highest-rated player in the world. His peak rating of 2882 is the highest in history. He also holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak at the elite level in classical chess.

A chess prodigy, Carlsen finished first in the C group of the Corus chess tournament shortly after he turned 13 and earned the title of grandmaster a few months later. At 15, he won the Norwegian Chess Championship, and at 17 he finished joint first in the top group of Corus. He surpassed a rating of 2800 at 18, the youngest at the time to do so. In 2010, at 19, he reached No. 1 in the FIDE world rankings, the youngest person ever to do so.

Carlsen became World Chess Champion in 2013 by defeating Viswanathan Anand. He retained his title against Anand the following year and won both the 2014 World Rapid Championship and World Blitz Championship, becoming the first player to hold all three titles simultaneously, a feat which he repeated in 2019 and 2022. He defended his classical world title against Sergey Karjakin in 2016, Fabiano Caruana in 2018, and Ian Nepomniachtchi in 2021. He declined to defend his title against Nepomniachtchi in 2023.

Known for his attacking style as a teenager, Carlsen has since developed into a universal player. He uses a variety of openings to make it harder for opponents to prepare against him and reduce the utility of pre-game computer analysis.

Childhood

Carlsen was born in Tønsberg, Norway, on 30 November 1990 to Sigrun Øen, a chemical engineer, and Henrik Albert Carlsen, an IT consultant. The family spent one year in Espoo, Finland, and then in Brussels, Belgium, before returning to Norway in 1998, where they lived in Lommedalen, Bærum. They later moved to Haslum. Carlsen showed an aptitude for intellectual challenges at a young age. At two years, he could solve 500-piece jigsaw puzzles; at four, he enjoyed assembling Lego sets with instructions intended for children aged 10–14.

His father, a keen amateur chess player, taught him to play at age five, although he initially showed little interest in it. He has three sisters, and in 2010 stated that one thing that first motivated him to take up chess seriously was the desire to beat his elder sister at the game.

The first chess book Carlsen read was a booklet named Find the Plan by Bent Larsen, and his first book on openings was Eduard Gufeld's The Complete Dragon. Carlsen developed his early chess skills playing by himself for hours on end—moving the pieces around, searching for combinations, and replaying games and positions his father showed him. Simen Agdestein emphasises Carlsen's exceptional memory, stating that he was able to recall the locations, populations, flags and capitals of all the countries in the world by age five. Later, he memorised the locations, populations, coats-of-arms and administrative centres of "virtually all" 356 Norwegian municipalities. He participated in his first tournament—the youngest division of the 1999 Norwegian Chess Championship—at 8 years and 7 months, and scored 6/11.

Carlsen was coached at the Norwegian College of Elite Sport by the country's top player, Grandmaster (GM) Simen Agdestein, who in turn cites Norwegian football manager Egil "Drillo" Olsen as a key inspiration for his coaching strategy. In 2000, Agdestein introduced Carlsen to Torbjørn Ringdal Hansen, a former Norwegian junior champion and later International Master (IM) and Grandmaster (GM), as Ringdal served a one-year siviltjeneste (an alternative civilian service programme) at the college.

Over the course of that year, Carlsen's rating rose from 904 in June 2000 to 1907. His breakthrough occurred in the Norwegian junior teams championship in September 2000, where he scored 3½/5 against the country's top junior players and gained a tournament performance rating (TPR) of around 2000. Apart from chess, which he studied about three to four hours a day, his favourite pastimes included playing football and reading Donald Duck comics. He also practised skiing until age ten.

From autumn 2000 to the end of 2002, Carlsen played almost 300 rated tournament games, as well as in several blitz tournaments, and participated in other minor events. In October 2002, he placed sixth in the European Under-12 Championship in Peñiscola. The following month, he tied for first place in the 2002 World Under-12 Championship in Heraklion, placing second to Ian Nepomniachtchi on tiebreak. He then obtained three IM norms in relatively quick succession: the first at the January 2003 Gausdal Troll Masters (score 7/10, 2453 PR); the second at the June 2003 Salongernas IM-tournament in Stockholm (6/9, 2470 PR); and the third at the July 2003 Politiken Cup in Copenhagen (8/11, 2503 PR). He was officially awarded the IM title on 20 August 2003.

After finishing primary school, Carlsen took a year off to participate in international chess tournaments in Europe during the autumn of 2003, then returned to complete secondary education at a sports school. During the year away from school, he placed joint-third in the European Under-14 Championship and ninth in the 2003 World Under-14 Championship.

Chess prodigy

His breakthrough came in 2000 when he played in the Norwegian junior team championship, where he gained a tournament performance rating of around 2000. Over the course of the year, his FIDE rating rose from 904 to 1907. The next two years, from 2000 to 2002, Carlsen played almost 300 rated tournament games. He placed sixth in the European Under-12 Championship in Peñiscola. He tied for first place in the 2002 World Under-12 Championship in Heraklion, placing second to Ian Nepomniachtchi in a tiebreak. Carlsen then obtained his International Master in 2003 at twelve years and nine months, with a FIDE ranking of 2503. He obtained three IM Norms in quick succession in August 2003, which were required to become an International Master.

Grandmaster

Carlsen came to greater notice in 2004, when at the age of thirteen he competed in the C group at the Chorus chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee. At the tournament, he lost only one game, received a score of 10.5 out of 13, and earned his first grandmaster norm. Notable to many observers in this tournament was Carlsen's win over Sipke Ernst, when he sacrificed pieces to reach a checkmate in twenty-nine moves.

In February 2004, Carlsen obtained his second grandmaster norm, and in a blitz chess tournament in Reykjavik, Iceland, he made more headlines as he defeated former World Champion Anatoly Karpov, which led to a match against Garry Kasparov, the then top-rated player. Carlsen would draw in their first game and lose the second. In April 2004, Carlsen earned his third and final grandmaster norm at the sixth Dubai Open Chess Championship, making him, at thirteen, the second youngest grandmaster at the time.

World champion

Following being named a grandmaster, Carlsen set out to win his first world championship. He placed second at the Dubai Open Chess Championship in April 2004 and tenth at the 2005 World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansisyk, Russia. In 2007, he became the youngest player at the time to earn a place at the Candidate Matches in Elista, Russia. At the Candidates, the top four players received a spot at the FIDE World Chess Championship the following year. But, at his first Candidates, Carlsen was defeated in the first round by Armenian Chess player Levon Aronian, who would place seventh. Carlsen then earned a victory at the Pearl Spring Chess Tournament in Nanjing, China in 2009, with 8 of a possible 10 points. In November, he won the World Blitz Championship in Moscow.

In 2010, the FIDE announced Magnus Carlsen as the top player in the world at nineteen, making him the youngest player by that point to become a number one. He received sponsorship deals from companies such as G-Star, but he eventually surprised the chess world in November 2010 by announcing he would forgo the 2011 Candidate Matches to select a challenger of then world champion Viswanathan Anand. He argued that the structure for the championship was flawed and that a champion should have to prove themselves rather than receive an automatic spot in the final round.

He returned in 2013 and participate in the Candidates Tournament in London; despite losing in the final round, Carlsen accumulated enough wins through the tournament to best Vladimir Kramnik and earn a spot to challenge Anand. In Chennai, India, during the World Championship match in November 2013, Carlsen played Anand in ten games and defeated Anand with three wins to seven draws. Carlsen became the second youngest player, after Kasparov, at the time to win the world title.

Defending his championship

In 2014, Carlsen defended his championship, this time against Anand in Sochi, Russia, with a score of 3 2ins, 7 draws, and 1 loss. In the same year, he won the World Rapid Championship during the tournament in Dubai. He won the World Rapid Championship title again in 2015 when the tournament was held in Berlin.

In 2016, during the World Championship tournament, Carlsen defended his title against Sergey Karjakin after twelve games. He defeated Karjakin by winning two games in a two-game rapid round, and the players had only twenty-five minutes on the clock. Carlsen won with the last move of the fourth game by sacrificing his queen to set up a checkmate in the next move. Again, in 2018, Carlsen defended his title at the world championship in London. He tied against American player Fabiano Caruana after twelve games but won three games in the tie-breaking rapid round.

In 2021 Carlsen not only defended his title but won the championship title for the fifth time. He defended his title against Ian Nepomniachtchi in Dubai and won four of eleve games while drawing the rest. Carlsen's first win in the series, in the sixth game, set the record for the longest game ever played in a world chess championship, lasting for more than 136 moves in a period of seven hours and forty-five minutes.

Undefeated streak and triple crown

From 2018 to 2020, Magnus Carlsen set a record for the longest undefeated streak in chess, in which he either won or drew 125 games. The streak broke the previous record of a 110-game streak set in 2005 by Sergei Tiviakov. This led into his 2021 title defense, and the streak would end in 2020 by Jan-Krzysztof Duda, his first defeat in two years.

During the time Carlsen was defending his world championship in standard chess, he won the blitz and rapid world championships as well. In 2019, he won the chess triple crown and hold the standard, rapid, and blitz world championships. He was believed, at the time he won these titles, to be the first player to hold all three FIDE titles, but the feat was previously achieved by Susan Polgar back in 1996.

Leaving the championship

In July 2022, Magnus Carlsen announced he would not defend his world championship in 2023. This shocked the competitive chess community, as Carlsen has been consistently ranked as the top chess player in the world since 2011 and is believed to be, at age thirty-one, to not only be at the top of his powers but to be able to win another championship. Speaking on his podcast, The Magnus Effect, Carlsen stated, about his decision to step away from the world championship:

The conclusion is very simple that I am not motivated to play another match. I simply feel that I don't have a lot to gain. I don't particularly like it, and although I'm sure a match would be interesting for historical reasons and all of that, I don't have any inclinations to play and I will simply not play the match.
Carlsen said during his announcement that his goal had been to win a world championship but he had as much competed to meet others' expectations of him as much as he did for his own interest, further stating the fourth and fifth world titles he won meant nothing to him, other than a job well done. However, it is not a retirement from competitive chess. Carlsen has stated he wants to continue playing to try and reach a FIDE score of 2900. This achievement has been likened to climbing Everest, especially based on the rating system.

The rating system is based on a mathematical formula that assigns each player a rating based on past results, and those ratings change based on a player's pre-match win probabilities. For Carlsen, this means every game he plays, a win only adds a limited number of points to his rating, while a draw decreases his rating. As well, training at the level needed to defend his championship is mentally and physically draining, often including a six-month pre-match training period. Carlsen, similar to other elite competitors, has found little benefit to being at the top, feeling he has more to lose in another title defense than he has to gain. And by leaving at this point in his career, Carlsen remains undefeated, while it leaves competitive chess in an interesting place with no champion to defend the championship.

Playing style

As a chess player, Carlsen has been noted for his aggressive and unpredictable style. He uses a wide variety of openings to make it harder for his opponents to prepare, especially with the increase in computer-based tools, such as computer analysis, used to help chess players. Further, he has matured, as a player, to a style noted for its control of the board. Despite various commentators offering thoughts on Magnus Carlsen's style, it has been noted Carlsen has no preference in playing style but is capable of playing whatever kind of game emerges from his opponents. As his style has matured, it is noted that he prefers to play a game that is positional, taking a superior position from the open and grinding out an endgame, whether that is in place of a draw or a win.

Another part of Carlsen's chess game is his exhaustive memory. It has been said that he is capable of remembering around 10,000 games and has been able to, from memory, replicate games from his opponents. As well, this memory gives him broad chess knowledge, which gives Carlsen his flexibility in his thinking and, therefore, his playing. However, Carlsen is not big on chess preparation; rather, he prefers to play from instinct and through an analysis of his opponent, digging into patterns in their style and, where possible, his opponent's psychology.

Magnus Carlsen is also in good physical shape, living an active lifestyle outside of chess. It has been suggested that being in shape offers Carlsen more oxygenation to keep the brain working and improve the body's resistance or offers Carlsen a clear mind and better physical resistance to a long and tiring game. In the game, this can translate to fewer mental mistakes, especially over the course of a long competition.

Notable games

• Carlsen vs. Garry Kasparov, Reykjavík Rapid (2004), Queen's Gambit Declined: Cambridge Springs Defense (D52), ½–½.[games 1] At the age of just 13 years, Carlsen had serious winning chances in a rapid game against Kasparov, who was ranked No. 1 in the world at that time.
• Carlsen vs. Veselin Topalov, M-Tel Masters (2009), Semi-Slav Defense: General (D43), 1–0.[games 2] This was Carlsen's first win against a 2800+ player.
• Carlsen vs. Boris Gelfand, Tal Memorial (2011), Slav Defense: Quiet Variation. Schallopp Defense (D12), 1–0.[games 3] The No. 1 Israeli player creates a seemingly decisive rook invasion into White's back rank, but Carlsen vanquishes the threats. Carlsen called it "one of the most interesting games I have played in recent times".
• Carlsen vs. Hikaru Nakamura, London Chess Classic (2011), Italian Game: Classical Variation. Giuoco Pianissimo (C53), 1–0.[games 4] Facing the No. 1 American player, Carlsen sacrifices the exchange to achieve a winning position in an otherwise near-equal game.
• Carlsen vs. Viswanathan Anand, Bilbao Masters (2012), Sicilian Defense: Canal Attack. Main Line (B52), 1–0.[games 5] Playing against the then-World Champion, Carlsen sacrifices a pawn to leave Black with a cramped position, which leads to Anand's resignation at move 30. Carlsen stated in 2013 that he considers this game to be one of his very best.
• Carlsen vs. Li Chao, Qatar Masters (2015), Neo-Grünfeld Defence: Goglidze Attack (D70), 1–0.[games 6] Playing against one of the leading Chinese GMs, Carlsen finds a winning attack by sacrificing his queen in a sharp position.
• Carlsen vs. Ian Nepomniachtchi, 2021 World Championship game 6 (2021), Queen's Pawn Game, Symmetrical Variation, Pseudo-Catalan, 1–0. Game 6 was a 136-move win for Carlsen that lasted 7 hours 45 minutes. As of 2023, it is the longest game in the history of the World Chess Championship, surpassing the previous record, a 124-move draw in game 5 of the World Chess Championship 1978 between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi.

Other business endeavours

Carlsen modelled for G-Star Raw's Fall/Winter 2010 advertising campaign along with American actress Liv Tyler. The campaign was shot by Dutch film director and photographer Anton Corbijn. The campaign was coordinated with the RAW World Chess Challenge in New York, an event in which Carlsen played an online team of global chess players, who voted on moves suggested by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Hikaru Nakamura and Judit Polgár. Carlsen, playing white, won in 43 moves. In February 2014, he appeared in G-Star Raw's Spring/Summer 2014 campaign along with actress and model Lily Cole.

Film director J. J. Abrams offered Carlsen a role in the movie Star Trek Into Darkness as "a chess player from the future", but Carlsen was unable to get a work permit in time for shooting. In 2012, Carlsen was featured in a 60 Minutes segment and appeared as a guest on The Colbert Report. He was also interviewed by Rainn Wilson for SoulPancake in 2013.

As of 2012, Carlsen is the only active chess professional with a full-time manager; Espen Agdestein, a FIDE Master and brother of Carlsen's former trainer Simen Agdestein, began working as an agent for Carlsen in late 2008. Agdestein's work consisted initially of finding sponsors and negotiating media contacts but, since 2011, he has taken over management tasks formerly performed by Carlsen's father Henrik. According to The New York Times, Carlsen earned US$1.2 million in 2012, the bulk of which was from sponsorships.

In August 2013, Carlsen became an ambassador for Nordic Semiconductor, and in November was selected as one of the "sexiest men of 2013" by Cosmopolitan. In 2017, Carlsen made a special guest appearance on The Simpsons in an episode where Homer's chess history is revealed. In 2020, Carlsen announced that he had signed a two-year sponsorship deal with gambling company Unibet to act as a "global ambassador". Unibet parent company Kindred Group is also a sponsor of Offerspill Chess Club. Offerspill was founded by Carlsen in 2019 after the Norwegian Chess Federation turned down Kindred's sponsorship offer. It is now Norway's largest chess club; Carlsen is its current chairman. In April 2022, the Kindred Group (through Unibet) extended its partnership with Carlsen for another two years, and also extended its sponsorship of Offerspill.

Play Magnus

In October 2013, Carlsen co-founded a company, Play Magnus AS, with Espen Agdestein and Anders Brandt. Based in Oslo, Norway, Play Magnus' first product was an iOS app, called Play Magnus, that allows the user to play a chess engine created using a database of thousands of Carlsen's recorded games from the age of five and up. Carlsen stated he wished for the app to encourage more people to play chess.

In March 2019, Play Magnus AS merged with Chess24.com, consolidating into the Play Magnus Group. On 8 October 2020, Play Magnus Group was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Magnus Chess, an entity controlled by Carlsen and his family, then owned 9.5% of Play Magnus Group.

In August 2022, Chess.com finalised an offer of acquisition for Play Magnus Group, which officially closed on 16 December 2022. As part of the acquisition, Carlsen signed as a brand ambassador for Chess.com.

Personal life

As of 2016, Carlsen identifies as a social democrat and mostly follows a vegetarian diet; two of his sisters are vegetarians.

Carlsen is an avid fan of football, with Real Madrid CF as his favourite club. In recognition of becoming world chess champion, he took the honorary kick-off in a La Liga game between Real Madrid and Real Valladolid on 30 November 2013. Carlsen also follows the Premier League and plays fantasy football. In December 2019, he reached the No. 1 spot on a Fantasy Premier League game, ahead of seven million other players, before eventually finishing the season in 10th place.

In April 2022, Carlsen played poker at the Norwegian Championships Main Event and finished 25th out of 1050 players.