Magus Carlsen, the greatest chess player of all time in all chess formats, has an estimated IQ score of (190 to 220). He has the highest IQ score among all the chess players in the world. However, Magnus Carlsen has no exact IQ Score, cause he has never been given an IQ Test.
In fact in an interview when he was asked to provide an IQ score he confirmed that he had never taken an IQ test and said
I have never taken an IQ Test, I maintain that taking an IQ Test is one of the dumbest things i can do cause I have literally nothing to gain from that, So. People think that i am pretty smart and i will let them continue to believe it.
Magnus Carlsen Childhood
Magnus Carlsen was born on 30 November 1990 in Tønsberg, Norway. Although Magnus grew up as a normal kid studying, reading Comic Books, watching Cartoons, etc, his game of chess has improved way faster compared to other chess prodigies.
At the age of 3 when Magnus was able to remember the names & flags of different countries. His father (Henrik Albert Carlsen) could see that Magnus had a good memory.
Henrik Carlsen, the father of Magnus Carlsen was a decent chess player but a crazy fan of chess. Professionally he was an IT Consultant.
At the age of 5 when Henrik Carlsen saw that Magnus was able to arrange the puzzle gifted by him, He thought Magnus might play chess because of his ability to remember things. but still, he was more interested in memorizing flags, countries, and populations rather than playing chess. As it’s mentioned in the Play Magnus App
"When I turned 5 my father tried to get me interested in chess but i instead spent my time memorizing the population, flag, and capital of all the cuntries in the world."
~ Magnus 5 year
Play Magnus App
In the Play Magnus App Where chess levels have been shown as Magnus Carlsen’s age. 5 years Magnus is Level #1 of the game and as age increases the chess level increases in the app.
Henrik Carlsen gifted Magnus Carlsen a chess set, and that’s how Magnus started playing chess at the age of 5.
Magnus started playing chess with her older sister (Ellen Øen Carlsen) and father, initially, he was not able to win any games against his father and sister.
Later in 1995, when Magnus was a little over 5 years old, his father decided to move back home from inland. During those days Magnus was more interested in playing football(soccer) and he was not showing much interest in chess.
When Magnus was 6 years old, he was a big fan of the pirate captain Sabertooth (in Norwegian he was called Kaptien Sabeltann) and liked dressing up as him. But Magnus was still not that interested in chess.
At the age of 7, Magnus started to show some interest in chess, when he saw his dad and older sister play. In his APP mentioned
" My interest in chess perked as I wached my dad and older sister play. Dare to challenge a child with a healthy case of sibling rivalry. "
~ Magnus 7 year
In 1997, when Magnus was a little over 7 years old, he started showing some interest in chess. his only goal was to somehow beat her sister at chess. However, He spent a full year enjoying the 12-month football season. while living in Waterloo, he went to Scandinavian School.
At the age of 8 when he started giving a little more attention to the chess board, He started spending hours in front of the chess board and reading his father’s chess book. also, this was the first time when Magnus beat older sister Ellen Carlsen.
The first chess book that Magnus started with was “Find The Plan by Bent Larsen” Which is now available in English as “Bent Larsen’s Good Move Guide“. Download free PDF.
This is a very good book to start with, it has a total of 72 pages which contains 4 chapters.
- Chapter 1: Find the combination
- Chapter 2: Find the plan
- Chapter 3: Find the master moves
- Chapter 4: Practical Endgames
In 1999, During a game of blitz chess. he beat his dad for the first time. He also started training with former Norwegian Junior Champion Torbjorn Ringdal Hansen. At this time he was 9 years old.
The next year at the age of 10, Magnus started to play in both junior and adult chess tournaments.
It is very rare to find someone who has learned chess at this speed. Magnus had developed a habit of fast learning from childhood. which helped him later to grow and become a chess genius.
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