Magnus Carlsen

Introduced to chess at the age of five, at 13, Carlsen became the second youngest Grandmaster ever

November saw the curtain coming down on the reign of two of India’s great sportsmen—one through retirement, the other, defeat. While Sachin Tendulkar’s swansong was accompanied by a nationwide outpouring of emotion, the crushing defeat of Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship against Norway’s Magnus Carlsen brought gloom to Indian chess supporters. Dubbed the ‘Mozart of Chess’, Carlsen, 22, became the 16th player to be crowned world champion and earned Rs 9.9 crore in prize money.

Norway doesn’t have a significant chess culture. Even Carlsen showed little interest in the game when his father, Henrik, introduced him to it at the age of five. Initially, he played only to outsmart Ellen, the eldest of his three sisters, who went on to represent Norway twice in the European chess championship. But before long, Magnus took to the game like bear to honey, becoming, at 13, the second youngest Grandmaster ever. At 16, he quit his studies to concentrate on the game.

Carlsen had climbed to the top of the FIDE rankings long before he became the world champion. World No 1 since July 2011, it was only a matter of time before he faced off with Anand in the world championship. The two matched shoulder-to-shoulder before Carlsen managed a breakthrough in the fifth game. The contest ended with the final score at 6.5-3.5. Anand failed to tame Carlsen even once.

Carlsen is known for his middle-game and ability to keep cool under pressure. The great Garry Kasparov said of him, “He gets his positions and never lets go of the bulldog bite.”

Carlsen is expected to unwind for the next two months and fulfil sponsor commitments. He will be back in action at the Zurich Challenger in January where he will renew rivalries with a host of contemporaries, including Anand.

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