Boy wonder Carlsen thrives on relaxed, objective approach
Saturday, May 10, 2008 3:13 AM
By SHELBY LYMAN
There is a new star in the chess firmament.
At 17, chess wunderkind Magnus Carlsen of Norway is showing the mastery and consistency of basketball’s Michael Jordan and golf’s Tiger Woods.
In his past three major tournaments, Carlsen has significantly outscored Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov, two former world champions. In the same events, he has also bettered the current world-title holder, Viswanathan Anand, albeit by a narrower margin.
How can this be? How can a 17-year-old striving in today’s brutally competitive chess environment manage to achieve results that eclipse those of Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov at a comparable age?
In contrast with the two titans of the game, both known for their monastic approach, Carlsen surprisingly devotes only three hours a day to chess when he is not competing.
Interviews reveal a remarkably relaxed, ironic, self-deprecating approach, which seems in part to reflect an unflinching and rare objectivity.
Evaluating his performance after a 2006 blitz tournament in Moscow, he explained: “Normally I have a hard time getting started. I move too slowly and overlook things, but I get better toward the end.”
Carlsen’s calmness belies his competitive nature. In a game that is heavily driven by emotion and psychology, he has the steadfast and mysterious temperament of a champion.
Source: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/
cm is magic
Bobby has returned to us in the form of a boy-king!
Hail King Magnus!
May you rule in peace and complete domination!
Magnus is so cool. I’d love to meet him someday.
Though I never met him, my impression from reading this article is that he is a great man.
This kid’s a machine. Only 17 and rated around 2765… impressive.