Carlsen, Magnus
Carlsen, Magnus
(Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen), 1990–, Norwegian chess player. He became a grandmaster in 2004 at age 13, becoming the youngest player to achieve this honor, and in 2006 he won his first Norwegian championship. In 2009 Carlsen bested a field of internationally renowned grandmasters to win the Nanjing Pearl Spring tournament, a Grand Slam event that some enthusiasts regard as one of the great contests in chess history. In Jan., 2010, at age 19, he was ranked as the world's number one chess player, the youngest player in the history of the game to be so ranked. Carlsen's play has been characterized as largely positional (or defensive), with similarities to Anatoly KarpovKarpov, Anatoly, 1951–, Russian chess master. In 1970 he became the world's youngest international grand master. Karpov won (1975) the world championship by default when Bobby Fischer, the titleholder, refused to agree to terms for a match.
..... Click the link for more information. and José CapablancaCapablanca, José Raúl
, 1888–1942, Cuban chess player, b. Havana. Champion of Cuba at the age of 12, he won the world's championship from Emanuel Lasker in 1921, retaining the title until he was defeated by Alexander Alekhine in 1927.
..... Click the link for more information. . In 2013, he defeated defending champion Viswanathan AnandAnand, Viswanathan,
1969–, Indian chess player. India's youngest national champion at the age of 16, he won the world junior championship and earned the title of grandmaster in 1987.
..... Click the link for more information. to win the International Chess Federation (FIDE) world championship, and has thrice defended (2014, 2016, 2018) that title.
Bibliography
See S. Agdestein, Wonderboy (2004); F. P. Miller et al., ed., Magnus Carlsen (2010); Ø. Asbjornsen, dir., The Prince of Chess (documentary film, 2005).