Qatar Chess Association general secretary Mohamed al-Medaihki (second from right) makes the inaugural move as Norwegian world No.1 Magnus Carlsen (left) and Georgia’s Nino Batsiashvili look on during the Qatar Masters Open Chess at Aspire Zone yesterday. Carlsen and Batsiashvili played out a draw. PICTURES: Jayaram


By Yash Mudgal/Doha


He is dubbed as the ‘Mozart of Chess’ and ‘Rock Star of Chess’.
For chess fans he is the highest-rated and quite possibly the strongest player ever to have played the game.
In fact, Magnus Carlsen is very much the face of chess at the age of 25.
At 19, Carlsen became the youngest-ever world No.1. At 21, he became the strongest chess player in history, beating Kasparov’s own ‘ratings’ record (Carlsen’s peak rating is 2882, the highest in history). And at 22, he did indeed become world champion in 2013 defeating India’s Viswanathan Anand.
He successfully defended his title last year against the Indian and will defend it next year. But right now he is playing the Qatar Master Open Chess, which begins at Aspire Zone, yesterday.
Carlsen is not your typical chess player.
In the past decade, Carlsen has gone from being a prodigy to a superstar, one who has earned millions in sponsorship and prize-money. He has done modelling for G-Star Raw, the designer clothing brand, along with actresses Liv Tyler and Lily Cole, and was even named by Cosmopolitan magazine as one of the ‘sexiest men of 2013’. Time magazine named Carlsen as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in the same year.
Ask the man himself whether this is his era, and he is coy.
“I don’t know. It’s never easy… I am trying to keep improving to stay at the top as long as possible,” Carlsen said at the opening ceremony of the Qatar Masters on Saturday evening.
Carlsen was known for his attacking style as a teenager but has since developed into a more universal player. He does not focus on opening preparation as much as other top players and plays a variety of openings, making it harder for opponents to prepare against him.
He admitted he is an unconventional player but justifies his style by saying: “I have a great knowledge of the game… I mean I have studied the game for many, many years already… I think before you break the rule you have to learn the rule.”
Talking about preparation, he was recently asked about the rising use of computers in chess in a Twitter chat run by CNN.
“Computers are here to stay, obviously. But I consider myself, at least stylistically, part of the old generation. I feel that I have more in common with the players who are 35 to 40 now, then the ones who are a few years younger than I am,” he had said.
“I think computers have evened out the playing field but it is not very good for the creativity in chess. Computers have definitely pushed the theory along, which is interesting from a purely scientific viewpoint. But from a sportsman’s viewpoint, and also from an artist’s viewpoint, it’s not helped.”
The Norwegian also have his reasons to justify his participation in an open tournament, which is considered a risky one for a top ranked player.
“I think this tournament is something special. It’s a very strongly contested one. It’s not only me here from the top. Giri and Kramnik are world No 2 and 3 and they are also here. I think it’s very difficult to win an open tournament like this… it’s a different kind of challenge for me.
“I am very happy to be here in the country that takes sports very seriously. Last time when I was here for a training camp, I saw that there were very good facilities for chess and other sports also,” said Carlsen, who is going to welcome the New Year in Doha with his family.  
“My whole family is here. My mother, my father and three sisters are with me in Doha. It will be a nice holiday for them,” he said.
He also has word of advice for a budding chess player. “It’s important to start early and have fun. Have good trainers and just keep playing the tournament as much as possible,” he said.