Magnus Carlsen

To many, GM Magnus Carlsen is the best to ever play the game, although GMs Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fischer remain in the conversation. At any rate, the clear and remarkable point is that before turning 30 years old, Carlsen had already earned a spot at the top, and he has continued to dominate into his 30s.

The 13-year-old Norwegian prodigy drew Kasparov and defeated GM Anatoly Karpov at the same event in 2004, one month before he became the second-youngest GM in history (and still eighth-youngest as of 2021). In 2009, he became the youngest player to break the 2800-rating threshold (a record only broken by GM Alireza Firouzja in 2021).

Then Carlsen transitioned from young world-class player to all-time great. He captured the world number-one ranking in 2011 and still hasn’t let go of it as of May 2023. He won the world title in 2013 and has successfully defended it four times (2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021). Additionally, he has won multiple world titles in rapid and blitz time controls, achieved the highest rating ever, and racked up several elite tournament wins, including six Norway Chess victories and eight in Wijk aan Zee.

The amazing part is it seems like there’s much more ahead for Carlsen. In October 2020 Carlsen's 125-game undefeated streak came to an end (he scored 42 wins and 83 draws during this streak), setting yet another world record. 

In an era of chess that’s more competitive than ever, he’s far ahead of the opposition. This despite voluntarily relinquishing the world championship in 2023, the first player to do so since Fischer. Carlsen further established his continued dominance by winning the 2023 Champions Chess Tour. He is also a four-time Speed Chess Champion (2016, 2017, 2023, 2024) in five tries.

Youth (1995 To 2004)
The Second-Youngest GM In History (2004 To 2009)
The Youngest 2800 In History (2009 To 2012)
The 16th Undisputed World Champion (2013)
Achieving 2882 And World Titles In All Time Controls (2014 To 2022)
Post World Championship (2023 To Present)
Youth and Early Chess Career (1995 To 2004)
Carlsen learned how to play chess when he was five years old. However, he didn’t show much interest at first. He instead amazed other people by completing activities that demonstrated his general intellectual aptitude at an early age.

At two years of age, Carlsen could solve 50-piece jigsaw puzzles. He also played with Lego sets intended for children 10 to 14 years old. When Henrik Carlsen, his father, introduced him to chess, the five-year-old was busy memorizing the areas, population numbers, flags and capitals of every country in the world. Later Carlsen completed a similar task—memorizing areas, population numbers, coat-of-arms and administrative centers—for nearly all Norwegian municipalities (there are 422 municipalities today).

Carlsen's impressive memory helped as he became more interested in chess. Initially, he simply wanted to beat his oldest sister. But soon he was replaying games that his father had showed him, practicing combinations while playing against himself and reading chess books. His first book was Find the Plan from GM Bent Larsen, the six-time Danish champion and the strongest-ever Scandinavian player—before Carlsen.

Early in his chess career, Carlsen was coached by Norway’s top player, the seven-time national champion GM Simen Agdestein, who with former Norwegian junior champion Torbjorn Ringdal Hansen helped Carlsen hone his talent quickly. In one year (2000), his rating increased more than 1000 points, from 904 to 1907.

It didn’t take long for Carlsen to rack up impressive performances and tournament wins. In July 2000, the nine-year-old won the youngest age group at the Norwegian championship—for players under the age of 11—with a score of 10/11. Shortly thereafter, he took part in a couple of events and scored a performance rating of about 1900 in one.

Then his breakthrough performance came, according to Carlsen and his family. At the Norwegian championship for junior teams in September 2000, he scored 3.5 out of 5 against the country’s top players. Still just nine years old, Carlsen achieved a rating performance of about 2000 in the event.