Magnus Carlsen opens up on his domination of chess, says other players aren’t ‘living and breathing’ the sport like him

Chess superstar Magnus Carlsen had recently appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, in which he had spoken on a number of topics including the infamous 2022 cheating scandal that ended up reigniting his feud with American Grandmaster Hans Niemann . The Norwegian GM also spoke on a number of other topics, including the art of staying on top of the world rankings for more than a decade and being miles ahead of every other player for the better part of his career.

Carlsen has occupied the No 1 spot in the FIDE ratings continuously since 2011 and also holds the record for the highest peak FIDE rating of all time – 2882. The 34-year-old is also a five-time world champion and willingly chose to not defend his title in 2023 after admitting to a declining interest in the Classical format.

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‘I think about chess all the time’: Carlsen

When asked about the secret to his domination of the sport for a decade-and-a-half, Carlsen explained that the other players aren’t quite “living and breathing” the game like he continues to do.

“The difference between me and other kids is that they would go to chess practice. They would maybe even do their homework. But they weren’t living and breathing the game in the way that I was,” Carlsen told American podcaster and former television host Joe Rogan.

“I think about (chess) all the time. I’m thinking about the game while I’m sitting on this chair. I’m still analysing a game that I played today. It never goes completely out of my mind.

“I think a lot of very good chess players do that,” he admitted. “But for me, it’s different. The game is always there, always present,” he added.

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Carlsen had recently participated in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York, where he had courted controversy for showing up in a pair of jeans as well as for sharing the blitz title with Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi.

More recently, he had participated in the opening event of the inaugural Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Weissenhaus, where he finished third after a shock defeat against German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer, the eventual champion.