Carlsen, Magnus, 19-yrs-old, rated # 1 in world

[NikolaiI]

I wanted to share something I found out yesterday, which was totally amazing to me.

I looked on the FIDE ratings list to see who the top chess players were - I was curious because I hadn't payed as much attention as I should have, after Kasparov left - and I discovered something completely surprising. Magnus Carlsen is now rated number 1 in the world, with a rating of 2810.


I had heard of Magnus Carlsen before, of course, as had many people, because he became the youngest grandmaster in history at age 13. But I didn't follow his career. But now he is the youngest grandmaster to be rated # 1 in the world, being only 19!!



That's what is amazing, that someone who is only 19 years old is rated # 1. I just wanted to share that. I really hope he will stay in chess and give us some brilliant games to study.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_Carlsen
http://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml?list=men

http://iulianceausescu.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/carlsen04.jpg

[LitNetIsGreat]

Thanks for sharing that. Last thing I knew Anand was top and unbeatable, but now I see he has slipped down to third.

[NikolaiI]

It seems Anand was #1 for most of 2007 (April to December) and half of 2008 (April to September), but then slipped to #5 and hasn't been #1 since. Topalov's been #1 straight from October 2008 onwards, until in January Carlsen usurped him.

[littlewoman]

Not that into chess but interesting all the same.
XOXOX

[SleepyWitch]

same here, I don't know the first thing about chess, but it's always interesting to see what some people can achieve at a very young age.
Do all those chess championships actually get recorded for other players to study? How is that done? Is it filmed or written down?

[NikolaiI]

Yes, they do, SleepyWitch; not just the grandmasters' games but every tournament at club level also. The players will write down the moves on a scoresheet that looks something like this:

http://www.ajschess.com/lifemasteraj/byrne-fisch_1__scoresheet01.gif

Both players write down the game's moves, move by move. And then they can be used for personal study, or printed in magazines or books or now, the internet.

Although with top-level chess, the games are always online as they are being played, so you can follow as it is happening.

[Blanket Heist]

Wonder if chess players get any good endorsement deals.

[NikolaiI]

I suppose the top players do, but chess players in general don't make much money. Some Grandmasters or International Masters will make money from selling books, but they don't get greatly wealthy I think.

They do get sponsered by different people and they make money from tournaments. But to get as good as they are they have to spend tens and tens of thousands of hours studying (not playing).

[Dinkleberry2010]

The chess championship matches are filmed and notated and written down.

Besides becoming well-off from playing chess and being World Champion for a number of years, Kasparov made a lot of money from commercials he made in the U.S. He actually made a Pepsi commercial when he was World Chess Champion.

[LitNetIsGreat]

The chess championship matches are filmed and notated and written down.

Besides becoming well-off from playing chess and being World Champion for a number of years, Kasparov made a lot of money from commercials he made in the U.S. He actually made a Pepsi commercial when he was World Chess Champion.

Yes but those who make any real money from chess are extremely few. I mean even existing by playing chess is hard enough, I know a few British Grandmasters had to pack it in because they simply couldn't make it pay. I don't think that ultimately chess player do it for the money.

[NikolaiI]

I wonder if he will be World Champion one day.

[NikolaiI]

I just found out at least one reason why he shot up to # 1... his personal coach is Kasparov. :)

[tailor STATELY]

Interesting news.

My passion for chess has waned over the years. I've never been more than competent at the game (lettered playing the lower boards in inter-HS competitions); I do dabble with an iGoogle widget daily (Daily Chess Puzzle at: http://www.shredderchess.com ) that barely keeps me mentally chess active.

I hope he doesn't burn out (as did another prodigy Paul Morphy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Morphy)); and wears his mantle well, keeping the 'grand' in grand master and all that.

Money and chess have always been fickle friends. Kasparov made some decent money playing against the world's best chess computers, but that's about all that I can recall.


his personal coach is Kasparov. - Well there ya go. Is Garic (sp)/Gary still competing I wondered rhetorically just before I googled for a wiki. Ah, here it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Kasparov

[Emil Miller]

Amazing achievment for a 19 year old but then chess champions are born not made. Anyone who has played competition chess knows how nerve wracking it can be and at the highest level these players are supermen with nerves of steel. Apart from a few notable exceptions, they don't make much money from their endeavours because the game is entirely cerebral whereas most other competitive games have a physical element which appeals to a wider audience. However, money would always be a secondary consideration, if not a downright distraction, as their lives revolve almost entirely around the 64 squares on the board.