What would you like to ask Magnus Carlsen?

do you think in the past chess grandmasters have wasted their life playing chess? they had much potential, yes?

He answered this queston the day after he won the WCC in an interview he gave to IndiaTimes<dot>com...

"I fear nobody", Magnus Carlsen says

Magnus Carlsen is on top of the world. He has won the World Championship and even as he soaks in his moment of glory, he is plotting his next kill.  

There's supreme confidence in whatever he is doing at the moment and the Norwegian champ doesn't mind naming his next opponent for the World Championship. 

"It can be Vladimir Kramnik or Levon Aronian, but I fear nobody," he said after an afternoon siesta at the hotel where he became champion a day before.

It took a long night to soak in the win. "He spoke to the Norwegian prime minister on Skype before all of us headed for dinner to the Indian restaurant in the hotel. Even after the match, he was talking to me about the game. He went to bed early in the morning, around 5am," his manager Espen Agdestein said. 

Carlsen's country is going gaga over his win and the champion made it clear that he has no plans of leaving his homeland and settle down in tax heaven Monaco. 

"No. I have thought about it, but that's far away," it was a relief for the Norwegian media, to whom he was talking on Saturday. 

How does it feel a day after realizing a childhood dream? "Ah... well...It's OK," he said, shrugging, in his usual nonchalant style. 

There were references to the Championship match and the 22-year-old didn't mind elaborating on the reasons behind his triumph. 

"What separates me with others is that I fight till the end. I don't think I'm more aggressive than the others. People crack under pressure ...In fact, I was confident I would win after the fourth game (when the tally was 0-0 )," there was an air of arrogance. 

But the best was yet to come. Carlsen, who has always been critical of the World Championship format because of its 'bias' for the defender, said: "It's good for the game that the best player is also the world champion. I feel that for a while I'm the highest rated player and won a few tournaments but the world title was missing." 

Carlsen, last year, had opted out of the World Championship cycle protesting against the rule, which forces players to come through the grind of Candidates to challenge the defending champion. 

The 'Mozart of chess' tag also came up for discussion and the boy hero didn't sound too enthused about it. 

"I can't be compared to any artist as such. I don't mind being compared to anyone who is a successful at what they do," it was the young achiever talking. 

Carlsen's itinerary for the coming year has also been broadly chalked out. 

"He will be going to London next month, followed by Las Vegas in the second week of January to fulfill some sponsor commitments. He will also play the Zurich Challenge, where he might play Anand again... Carlsen is also keen on expressing his support for the Chess in Schools programme in US," his manager made it clear it's going to be a packed schedule for the new grand master of world chess.

Firstly congratulations on achieving phase 1 of your dream. The question is what is phase 2?

Does he find chess like a sport, a game or culture. I guess it depends on the level of performance, but this makes a rather subjective definition.

+1

I agree with you, by this way we will get better answers !

"I fear nobody," Magnus Carlsen says.

Well, I'm a nobody, so it's good to know he fears me.

How much hours do you think someone with rating lower than 2200 should study chess per day and at which phases of the game (opening, tactics, endgame, strategy, pawn structure etc) should he focus on ?

In the video from your training camp we saw Jon Ludvig Hammer put a study on the board for you to solve (G.Nadareishvili, 1950 - very nice study by the way). Was that a real element of your training, or was your training mostly about openings?   

When the 4 kids beat you at simul, you felt annoyed?

Questions to the Champion Magnus Carlsen.

1. Do you consider collaboration with Garry Kasparov back in 2009 beneficial for you? If so, what particular aspects would you emphasize on?

2. Would you support Mr. Kasparov in his run for FIDE presidency? If not, who would you like to see as a FIDE president?

3. What do you think needs to be done to increase chess "popularity" among prospective [rich] sponsor companies?

What do you think of when you are at the board ? does it feel like crushing your rival ?

What are you wearing.  Inquiring Minds Want to Know.

Sorry again to come back and ask more: 1. Is it true u have >10,000 games by heart. I also witnessed the 24 blind fold games in ireland against the lawyers. 2. Tell us about ur life style efficiency like getting very enough sleep, the sports, and hanging out with frnds all around and how u handle fame as it gotten way bigger than it was. Curious about ur would be IQ test even if u have not taken one. Thanks :P

You said that you learnt from kasparov to find your way in complex positions. What was it exactly that you learnt from him?

Mr. Carlsen, let's say quantum computing solved chess within your lifetime. Would the game lose any interest for you?

In your chess career, did you experience any moment of doubt whether playing chess is what you want to do in your life? If yes, what was your way to overcome it?

Hey, Magnus, can I ask you somethin'?

What was your favourite sport as a kid?

What was your physical training/ conditioning in preparation for the match?

New goal?