Magnus Carlsen: Beyond #1
APRIL 24 — Chess can be war. If it was war, then Norwegian grandmaster and presently the highest-ranked chess player in the world, Magnus Carlsen, has just invaded and grabbed more territory than ever.
Already a legend, Carlsen pulled off something mega jaw-dropping at the 2025 Grenke Freestyle Chess Open (held in the city of Karlsruhe, Germany): A perfect 9/9 score, winning every single game.
That's like Brazil or Germany winning every match they played on the way to victory at the World Cup — no draws, no play-offs, no extra-time sudden-death, no penalties, nada.
Just defeating every opponent, every challenger. That's not just winning; it's domination so absolute it is like Carlsen is playing a different game altogether.
Because, duh (!), at Grenke, Carlsen wasn't up against nobodies. He was up against top grandmasters like Awonder Liang and Parham Maghsoodloo, players who can make most of us feel like we're playing congkak.
The final opponent Carlsen defeated was Vincent Keymer, one of the world's strongest players and among the top 20 in ratings.
People were wondering if Keymer could stop the Carlsen train — alas, there was nobody slowing down this Norwegian engine.
Carlsen mowed them down, game after game. As he put it himself, 'It's incredible. I have never done that in classical chess, or in any format —and it's not gonna happen again!'
That's probably not arrogance; that's a guy who knows he just climbed a new Everest nobody else has.
Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen arrives at the 9th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony in Los Angeles April 15, 2023. — Reuters pic
What also makes this streak mega-wild is the context. Freestyle chess, or Chess960, involves randomising the starting position of pieces, throwing opening theory out the window.
No memorising lines or leaning on computer prep here — just raw chess intellect, piece-crunching, analysis, etc.
Carlsen thrives in this chaos, where creativity and instinct reign. His ability to adapt, to see patterns where others see a mess, is why he's been the world's No. 1 since 2011.
This wasn't just a garden-variety tournament win (Carlsen's 128th of his career!); it was a statement that, even at 34, he's still the king of the board.
With freestyle chess, it's all about unpredictability, chaos and fun. One could say that Carlsen, by cementing his supremacy in the game, is also shaping the future of chess, reminding us why we fell in love with this 32-pieces-on-64-squares-board entertainment in the first place.
As Carlsen said, freestyle chess brings back the 'childish joy' of playing; you can feel that passion in every move he makes.
Let's also speculate on what kind of mental and psychological firepower it takes to pull off such a seven-game winning streak. I mean, sure there's "hard work" and "talent" involved, of course, but is there something else?
I reckon that, first, you've got to have a brain that's wired a bit differently from the rest.
Chess at the grandmaster level isn't about memorising moves — it's pattern recognition on steroids. Carlsen's mind likely processes the board like a living algorithm, seeing dozens of moves ahead while simultaneously reading his opponent's intentions.
A bit like an expert taxi-driver who just knows where certain streets are, how fast each traffic light will change, the likelihood of on-coming cars, the possibility of it raining and causing a jam, and keeping all this in mind while navigating through heavy traffic and maintaining a conversation with his customer.
Because winning seven straight games means Carlsen isn't just solving the puzzle of each position but doing it faster and more accurately than world-class opponents.
This isn't merely intelligence; it's a kind of hyper-awareness, where every piece, every square, every possibility is tracked in real-time.
Imagine juggling while solving a Rubik's Cube and defusing a bomb?
And let's not forget that crazy inexplicable factor called creativity.
Freestyle chess means the average chess player is naked without prep. Seven wins means Carlsen is inventing solutions on the fly, turning chaos into art.
This is where genius borders on magic — his ability to find beauty in a random position, to craft a plan where others see noise. This is some vision slash sorcery the world isn't used to seeing.
In short, Carlsen's victory at Grenke requires a mind that's part supercomputer, part predator, part artist, with the stamina of a marathoner and the swagger of a rock star. Damn, it almost feels unfair.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Golf-Australia's Lee targets LPGA Hall of Fame induction after third major title
FILE PHOTO: Jun 22, 2025; Frisco, Texas, USA; Minjee Lee poses with the winner's trophy following the final round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images/File Photo (Reuters) -Australia's Minjee Lee, who clinched her third major title when she won the Women's PGA Championship on Sunday, said her ultimate goal was to complete a career grand slam by winning all five women's majors and entering the LPGA Hall of Fame. Lee, who finished three strokes ahead of Auston Kim and Chanettee Wannasaen to win the $1.8 million tournament, previously won the Evian Championship in 2021 and the U.S. Women's Open in 2022. 'I mean, that is my ultimate goal," the 29-year-old said about completing the career grand slam. 'I really wanted to be in the Hall of Fame, that's why I started golf, and that's why I wanted to be on the LPGA Tour to win a bunch of tournaments and try and get into it," Lee added. Lee mentioned New Zealand's Olympic gold medallist Lydia Ko, who has also won three major championships and was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame last year. "Seeing Lydia do it, I think it just, I'd really like to get there, but we'll see how we go after this week," she said. Lee is the fourth Australian golfer with three or more major titles, after Karrie Webb, Peter Thomson and Jan Stephenson. (Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
'Harimau should pounce on rare Nations Cup opportunity'
KUALA LUMPUR: The Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup offers a rare opportunity for Harimau Malaya to play world class teams outside Southeast Asia, said Datuk Jamal Nasir. Former international Jamal said this means Malaysia will not have to play the same old faces again in the region. And the national side get to prove themselves against more physical and tactically advanced nations. "Going to the Cafa Nations Cup is good exposure for our team because there are higher-ranked teams there. These are Arab nations, and we've had little exposure to them and we always lose. So now we have a chance to prove that we are better," he said. Jamal pointed out that playing against the World Cup-qualified sides will give Malaysia a better sense of where they stand and what needs to be improved. "It will help a lot because we are playing against World Cup teams and we get to see whether our standard is coming up. We can head in that direction if we perform well during this tournament," he said. Jamal credited Regent of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim and Fifa council member Tan Sri Hamidin Amin for using their networks to get Malaysia into the Nations Cup. He also supports the national team's move to "play less against Asean teams" and focus more on matches outside the region. "It's not that we belittle Asean teams, but we must move forward. Playing Arab nations is the best decision, and I credit those responsible. "If we perform well in these Arab tournaments, I'm confident Malaysia will improve even further and can take on bigger teams after this. I believe we can qualify for the final round of the Asian Cup," he said. Meanwhile, it is learnt that there will be a joint restructuring of the country's youth football development programme in July by the Youth and Sports Ministry, FAM, the Education and Higher Education Ministries. Jamal welcomed the move, saying it aligns with national ambitions and his hope to see Malaysia reach the highest level in global football.
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Iran face possible 2026 World Cup ban
LONDON: Iran could be barred from the 2026 FIFA World Cup following escalating tensions and rising fears of war with one of the tournament's host nations — the United States. Iran became the sixth Asian team to qualify for the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada next year. But with recent airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities drawing global attention, fears of a full-scale military conflict are mounting, and Team Melli's place in the tournament now hangs in the balance. A suspension is a real possibility, with FIFA having a precedent of barring countries involved in war or international conflict. Russia, for example, remain suspended from all FIFA competitions following their invasion of Ukraine. In the 1990s, both FIFA and UEFA banned Yugoslavia due to the Balkan wars. Given the rising tensions, it appears increasingly unlikely that Iran's players will be allowed to set foot on American soil. Even if Iran are cleared to play, they could be forced to play without their supporters as the country remains under strict US travel restrictions. These restrictions, introduced by Donald Trump in March, also apply to more than 40 countries including Afghanistan, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Any travel exemptions would likely apply only to players and officials, leaving fans locked out of the tournament.
