Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Interesting Facts About Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen

He is identified as the world champion of chess. However, there are some fascinating facts about Magnus that his fans are probably not aware of

With an IQ of 190, Magnus Carlsen is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is presently the World Chess Champion, World Rapid Chess Champion, and World Blitz Chess Champion. The 29-years-old chess prodigy became the number one when he was only 19 years old and grew into the second-youngest world chess champion at 22. These are some distinctions that Magnus’s fans are possibly aware of. However, some interesting facts may not be known by every fan and chess enthusiasts.

In this article, we list some lesser-known interesting factors about the current chess champion Magnus Carlsen.

Appearing on The Simpsons

The Simpsons is a famous cartoon series that has been telecasting for ages. In the 15th episode of the 28th season, a cartoon rendition of Magnus Carlsen appeared as himself in the great cartoon show.

Capitals and Countries

With an IQ of 190, Magnus was a genius since his childhood. The then young Magnus began to exhibit the mettle of his luminous mind by learning the capitals of countries. At the age of five, Carlsen knew the capitals of every country along with their exact population.

The reason behind learning the game

When Carlsen was a kid, his sister used to be superior at chess. While the two played, it was mostly Carlsen who lost the game. Hence, he began to take chess more passionately as his sole aim back then was to crush his sister in a game of chess.

Called as Maggi

Carlsen has received the nickname of ‘Maggi’ from the former World Champion Vishwanathan Anand. It’s not learned why Anand named Carlsen as ‘Maggi’ since Maggi is a famous ready-to-eat noodle in India. When Carlsen was asked about the nickname; he responded by stating, “Anand is a world champion. He can call me anything.”

Playing blind-folded

In 2013, Magnus was on his way to the World Chess Champion, India. Before reaching India, he stopped in the US and had a match against lawyers from the prestigious Harvard University. The match was no ordinary as Magnus played against 10 lawyers simultaneously and that too blind-folded.

A vegetarian

One of the greatest chess players on earth is rigorously a vegetarian and manages an extraordinarily sophisticated vegetarian diet. Since his sisters are vegetarians, Magnus got highly influenced by them and turned into a vegetarian.