Losing no threat to Norwegian star
Saturday, January 16, 2010 2:54 AM
By SHELBY LYMAN
Magnus Carlsen is remarkable.
Not only is he at 19 the highest-rated player in the world, but he also brings unusual personal traits to life and the chessboard.
Most striking is the ease and matter-of-factness with which the Norwegian prospers in the fiery caldron and ego-strewn battlefield of competitive chess.
He confesses to not having the passion of his mentor and former world champion, Garry Kasparov.
When Carlsen observes — based on their practice games — that Kasparov dislikes losing, he seems to concede that, for himself, losing is a lesser matter.
Although Carlsen might be the world’s best player, he won’t directly affirm that he is dedicated to a professional chess career.
His calmness and reluctance to put pressure on himself surface frequently in interviews. He tries, he says, not to focus on becoming world champion; instead, he concentrates on simply improving his play.
Kasparov is no small factor in his patience and self-confidence. As Carlsen explains: “Not only do they have to fear me, they have to fear him as well. Announcing I am working with Kasparov can be almost as effective as working with him.”
Source: http://www.dispatch.com
He doesn’t lose often.
Neither did Kasparow.
I think there’s some frost in this scandanavian kid that makes him so cool.
Watch his reaction after losing against Kosteniuk in World Blitz Champs.
He never said he could bare losing to a woman. Remember got interested in the game to beat his sister.
And Kasparow would have changed his bad move to avoid a loss, ask Judith. 🙂
He lost the game against Kosteniuk due to a faulty touch move, and got angry with himself. A common reaction for most chess players. Some players even ruin their performance for the rest of the tournament after such an incident.
Carlsen, however, got over the unecessary loss and won the tournament with a record breaking margine ahead of the rest of the world elite.
-An example how he manages to absorb a stupid loss, and go on with next game like nothing happend.
Not really sure where Lyman got his information for this article. From reading many Carlsen interviews and articles about him, it was my understanding that upon graduating from high school last year, Carlsen definitely decided to become a chess professional.
Also, I recently read an interview in which Carlsen stated that he uses a computer for analysis but not than as a playing partner, because he would lose often to a computer and that wouldn’t help his self-confidence.