Magnus Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Champion. He is from Norway and has been at the top of the rankings for more than a decade now. A young prodigy in chess, Magnus started playing chess, looking at his sister. His father was also an amateur chess player, though he has a FIDE rating. Ever since he was very young, he started participating in tournaments. Magnus was immediately recognized as the future star of chess because he was too good. When he was 11 or 12, Gary Kasparov paid him a visit to have a match. According to many experts, Gary is the best chess player of all time. When he face the 11-year-old Magnus, the match ended in a draw. Gary was not able to win against the boy, and this news made headlines.
Magnus Carlsen is from a generation that produced a lot of world-class grandmasters. The likes of Hikaru Nakamura, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Anish Giri, Teimour Radjabov, Fabiano Caruana, and so on. But Magnus has always been different and better. He is defined as a genius and a better player than the rest. There are things about him that make him totally different. Even if the players are very strong, Magnus is the only one who is a league above them. For years now, he is unbeaten in classical chess. His classical rating is the highest that any player has reached. It seems almost impossible for any other player to reach his status.
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Magnus Carlsen: Life And Career
Born on 30 November 1991, Magnus Carlsen hails from the city of Tonsberg, Norway. His father introduced him to the world of chess after he saw his sister playing. It was a thing he developed for chess, and from there on, there was no looking back. He started participating in tournaments from a very young age. He won a lot of junior titles across different countries. Soon, his father became his manager, and they started touring. His father’s support has been the biggest in his life, and for his son’s career, the father gave up his work life. Carlsen’s life became his father’s life. Coming from Norway, comparatively the family was well to do, so they were able to afford all the travels. But after Carlsen started winning, there were a lot of sponsors in line.
In 2013, Magnus won the Tata Steel Chess tournament and qualified for the Candidates. He won the Candidates in a tiebreak against Vladimir Kramnik and earned the right to challenge Vishwanathan Anand for the World Championship title. In the World Championships, Carlsen beat Vishy and became the World Champion. Since then, he has defended the title five times, and it seems unlikely that he will lose it. Apart from this, he is also a three-time World Rapid chess champion and five-time World Blitz champion. He also holds the number 1 rank since 2011, only behind the longest-serving number 1, Gary Kasparov.
Earnings And Net Worth
After being the best chess player for a long time, there are a lot of sponsors that support Magnus Carlsen. He is earned a lot of earnings from his chess tours. According to many reports, as of 2022, his net worth is around $8 million. There is not a lot of money in chess if you don’t make it to the top, but if you are Magnus Carlsen, then only the sky is the limit.
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