In-Depth Magnus Carlsen Interview

Last week at the Churchill Club in Silicon Valley, California, the world champion Magnus Carlsen was interviewed before an audience by Paypal Founder and chess enthusiast, Peter Thiel.

If you want to hear the champion speak at length and you have about an hour to spare, then I can warmly recommend it! The interview starts at around 8:50 minutes.

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“I think for me, the most important thing was the passion to learn, to have fun — obviously to win, but most of all to learn...I would constantly be sitting at my board reading some chess books, playing online, playing in tournaments whenever I could. And I think to become really good in chess, you really need that."

"I find playing against computers very depressing...I don’t like losing".

"I do get nervous sometimes, especially if I feel that I’m not so well prepared, like not being...prepared for an exam. But otherwise, during games, I don't really get that nervous".

"It's never really been my style, according to my philosophy, to idolize players, to try to copy them. I just try to learn and get the best from the great masters, contemporary and from the past".