Magnus Carlsen, the wantaway king of classical chess, still keeps the world interested

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Magnus Carlsen ahead of the last round at Norway Chess. (Roza Czarnota via Norway Chess)

A long queue of fans has been waiting about an hour on Friday to get into the playing hall at Finansparken Bjergsted in Stavanger. They’re waiting outside, because today the playing hall is at full capacity at the moment with not even standing room at the back available. 12 of the world’s best players — both in terms of rankings and in terms of achievements — are playing the final round at the Norway Chess tournament. But clearly the milling fans are here for a piece of the world’s best player of this generation, Magnus Carlsen.

When Carlsen arrives at the playing arena, just two minutes before the start of his game against Arjun Erigaisi, there is a commotion on the 20- metre stretch between his car and the entrance of the Finansparken Bjergsted. Commotions on the streets are uncommon in Norway. But having a chess player of Carlsen’s calibre emerging from a population of five million is even more uncommon. Carlsen, who has developed a racewalker’s purposeful gait over the years, is 120 seconds away from being late for a game that will decide who will win what could be the last classical tournament of Carlsen’s career. But Carlsen is in no hurry. Not today. He smiles for every photograph seeker. He scribbles on every chess board young fans hold in front of him. Behind him, arrives Gukesh Dommaraju, the 19-year-old occupier of the world champion’s throne that Carlsen wilfully abdicated two years ago after falling out of love with the process of preparing — and then playing — the toughest challenge in the sport. Gukesh power-walks into the playing hall past the extended chess boards and cellphone cameras pointed at him without making a single eye contact. His eyes are trained on the task ahead: beating Fabiano Caruana in the final game and snatching the Norway Chess title from under the Norwegian’s nose.

It was a game between the two earlier this week that made the rest of the world sit up and take notice, especially after Carlsen had slammed his fist on the chess board after losing to Gukesh for the first time in his career. The loss against Gukesh, Carlsen said on Thursday after surging into tournament standings lead, would dull the lustre of another title at Norway Chess. Right after the loss to Gukesh, Carlsen had indicated that he would take a long hard look at playing classical chess in the future. The Norway Chess, which has been intricately linked with the rise of Carlsen for the past 13 years, is currently the only classical chess event he plays in. But soon even that could be over.

Which explains why chess fans have arrived from everywhere — even from as far away as Bengaluru — to catch a glimpse of Carlsen. There’s a camera crew on hand too, shooting a documentary. But for the man in the middle of the melee, the title win would be a victory with a blemish.

Here’s #MagnusCarlsen making an appearance for final round at #NorwayChess. Obliging autograph hunters, and selfie seekers even though there’s 2 mins left for game time https://t.co/2bnlH7k3pa pic.twitter.com/y28oQ9ItoC

— Amit Kamath (@jestalt) June 6, 2025

“It could have meant a lot to me if I had finished off the game against Gukesh and then played a really good tournament. Now regardless of what happens it would kind of like stumbling into a win. There is a very good chance that I don’t win the tournament, but it honestly wouldn’t make that big of a difference to me. The dream of playing a really good tournament burst with that game (against Gukesh). Of course I want to win, but it’s not that important,” Carlsen told Chess24 after beating Caruana.

“I know that I can play (well). There is no doubt about that. I just wanted a score that reflects the fact that I think I’m still significantly better at chess and since I couldn’t achieve that then potentially winning the tournament would not would not mean as much,” he shrugged with his trademark nonchalance that borders on cocky arrogance.

“He’s the same cocky young man (he was many years ago). I can say cocky young man, because he’s not really (cocky or arrogant). I used to joke that in our family, arrogance is not negative,” says Magnus’ father Henrik, who has been the closest confidant to the world no 1 over the past three decades. “If you have earned it, it’s okay. When Magnus is being slightly arrogant, it’s because he’s earned it. He’s not trying to put on a show or anything. He has a certain level of confidence. That can come across as arrogance.”

Henrik says that these days his son doesn’t really prepare for tournaments like he used to. He prefers playing to preparing, which is why he loves Freestyle Chess. It’s not uncommon to spot Carlsen and his long-time trainer Peter Heine Nielsen leaving the players’ hotel in the mornings with a set of golf clubs to spend hours on the fairway. He’s done that before both games against Gukesh at Norway Chess, he’s done that before the final round as well. He’s also very involved in other sports, a few years back he was at the top in the world in the football Fantasy Premier League rankings. At breakfast, he can be spotted enjoying an NBA game.

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Ask Henrik what his son currently enjoys about chess, and the senior Carlsen says: “He’s a chess fan. He loves chess, playing it, the history of chess, and the environment. He has his legacy from chess. He makes his money from chess. Even though it’s still kind of a hobby, which turned out to be lucrative and something he could live off. Chess is basically everything to him as an identity. He’s also grateful to chess.”

To those wondering if Carlsen will walk away from the sport completely, Henrik has some solace to offer: “You can see he goes online to play, even during a tournament like this. Sometimes he will go at night and play Titled Tuesday or similar, because he’s a chess player. That’s his passion and hobby, whatever you like. Everything. Chess is his life, basically. So he’s not done yet.”