He's on a very select list of number ones.
For me this sort of discussion is still premature, he's only 22. Let's see how he gets on at the candidates. True greatness is performing when it matters, and I think that is the world championship cycle.
Magnus = Great
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Agree. What a tournament!
A new era is coming.He needs to be more aggressive.No draws,no loses 
Agree
When he beats Anand in a match then i'll probably say he's the greatest.
The_Gavinator777 wrote:
For being so young and so talented he could easily become one of the all-time greats. I wonder how he'll be looked upon by his later years.
The Matt Daemon of chess or probably Mark Whalberg perhaps?
"Best player of all time..."
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Please...let's be realistic here. He is obviously the best chess player on the planet currently for sure, but nowhere near the best of all time. To put Magnus in the same company as Kasparov, Karpov, and Fischer right now is to be disingenuous to the accomplishments of these greats. I am certain that he has the "it" to be one of the best of all time, but he has to go out and prove it first...let's not be to quick in making him a god when he has not even won a WCC yet.
I think as a fact that Magnus is not really that great, I guarantee if I had his brain I could play equally as well. ha. there's chess nuts then there's chess nuts. plea
The comments are getting silly. Here's a cool documentary on 13yr old Magnus:
Magnus will be the next star of Rise of the Planet Apes 2 or The Bourne Identichesstity.
Estragon wrote:
konhidras wrote:
When he beats Anand in a match then i'll probably say he's the greatest.
Yes, he needs to win and defend the title a while to secure that status.
But when was the last time Anand finished ahead of Carlsen in a tournament? Unlike previous contenders, Carlsen has spent most of his career as an elite GM playing exclusively in Super-GM tournaments. While Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, and Anand competed in many or most of the Super-GM events they could, the fields they faced just haven't been of the strength top-to-bottom of those Carlsen has contested.
Before Karpov, there just weren't such events except every several years. So prior standouts did not have the opportunity. But Carlsen has, and he has delivered. His tournament record alone puts him among the all-time greats already.
Think how good he will be by the time he has to shave every day!
But Anand, until beaten in a match, is still and will always be the best and the King of chess players of this generation. Not Kasparov.. and yes not even Carlsen. Until Carlsen wrests the crown from the king could we all say he (Carlsen) is undoubtedly the best hands down. But not now. No...until he beats Anand.Amen
Has he beaten ChessNetwork? No. he hasnt played him yet.
Carlsen- Matt Damon look-alike of chess.
Come on. Fischer is widely regarded as best player ever (or at least as one of the best). So were Lasker or Capablanca. Fischer and Capablanca never defended their WCC-titles. Fischer refused to play under the conditions against Karpov! (Maybe he was right ...) Capablanca lost against Alekhine ...
But never the less Fischer and Capablanca played well in tournaments. Lasker was even the best tournament player for 30 years. I don't see why Magnus Carlsen should not be regarded now as one of the alltime greats. There were other great players which have never won WCC. For example Bent Larsen or Paul Keres (only to mention 2 of them)!
Carlsen is the highest rated yes!. But not the best there is at the moment. Anand is undoubtedly the best until beaten in a match. Besides in match play Anand has beaten Carlsen 3-1
Next Opponent for Vishy Anand will be Peter Svidler, who won the Candidates. So next possibility for Carlsen could be 2016 ... xD
I'm not convinced by the WCC alone! :P
Today they play only 12 long games and 4 30 minutes games with some seconds addition per move. For me that's not worth a WCC.
I'd like to see FIDE go back to 24 games and the World Champion keeps his titel at 12-12. I also liked the 3 years cycle.
samadams1980 wrote:
I think a lot of the pro-Magnus anti-Anand sentiment has a lot to do with Magnus being a Nordic Caucasian and Anand not so.
Cheers, Becky
There is no pro-Magnus or anti-Anand for me. I've met both of them personally. I like them both. They have more in common than you might think. Both are very friendly when you speak with them.
On the board both wish to make the best out of their positions. (That's probably what all chess players have in common.) Anand is very fast in calculating. I won't be only for Anand or for Carlsen ... :-)
Agree or disagree? :)