Been there and done that, Magnus Carlsen now wants to enjoy his chess

There is a certain aura about Magnus Carlsen, and it’s not only due to the fact that he is a five-time Fide world champion – not to speak of his bagful of world titles in rapid and blitz formats. It’s an X-factor which one has seen the likes of a Roger Federer or Tiger Woods command, even at a venue full of other stars at a draw ceremony.

It was very much in view at the draw of the Tata Steel Rapid and Blitz event at a city hotel on Tuesday, easily the most significant chess event in the country where he won on his last appearance in 2019. The spotlight and media glare centred a lot around the 33-year-old chess genius from Norway, so what he had not been in contention in the current World Championship cycle and in his own words: ‘don’t play a lot of classical chess these days.’

 Just ponder this: he has effortlessly held on to the world No.1 ranking since 1 June 2011 with a current tally of 2831 points despite picking and choosing his tournaments now. There are at least three players within striking distance of Carlsen – Fabiano Caruana (2805), Hikaru Nakamura (2802) and India’s Arjun Erigaisi (2800.9), while world title challenger Gukesh D (2783) fifth in the live rankings, but Carlsen is not unduly fussed about it.

‘’I think a lot of people have a chance to surpass me, but you will see only when it happens,’’ he said. After being there and done that at an age when chess players often are still peaking – Carlsen has reached a stage where he plays the mindgame for sheer enjoyment, though he hasn’t lost the competitive edge to test himself against the best of upcoming young talent. And it’s a well known fact that he had been a vocal supporter of the generation of Gukesh D and R. Praggnanandhaa.

‘’I always enjoying testing myself against youngest generation and also meet the Indian chess fans. Yes, it’s a bit chaotic here and that’s why I don’t come every year,’’ a candid Carlsen said in reply to a question from Tania Sachdeva, the sprightly anchor at the draw who was a member of the gold medallist Indian women’s team in recent Olympiad.

Much as he may find a visit to India chaotic, Carlsen is effusive in praise about the growth of his sport here and credits the legendary Vishy Anand for the revolution.  ‘’I was in Chennai some years back and played a simul (simultaneous chess) against some advanced schoolkids – and came back to see half of them are now GMs. Those who were kids back then formed the core of the side which won the Olympiad gold. Indian chess has really come a long way and thanks to Anand for it,’’  he recalled.

His relationship with Prag, a part of the legend’s Global Chess League team, was written about quite a bit last year. ‘Be like Prag,’ was his word of advice at Carlsen’s chess club in Sweden – not surprising as the precocious Chennai boy first shot into the limelight with a shock win over Carlsen as a 10-year-old back in 2016. ‘’Prag has an incredible fighting spirit and always wants to win, though he often gets into time trouble because of this,’’ he said.

With not much hunger left for classical chess, how does Carlsen cherrypick his schedule now? ‘’These days it’s very easy. I try to play tournaments with formats that I like against strong and interesting opponents,’’ he said, before adding: ‘’I’m playing freestyle chess next week against Fabiano. Then I will play a bunch of freestyle tournaments next year. Apart from that, I enjoy rapid and blitz – both rapid and over the board. That’s pretty much it for me.’’

 The sport of chess has a history of throwing up young prodigies, but Aneesh Sarkar – the Kolkata-based three-year-old who became the youngest Fide-rated played with 1550 points – grabbed the eyeballs at the gathering. Asked what the champion’s advice would be for the boy wonder, who trains at Dibyendu Barua’s academy, Carlsen said in an indulgent tone: ‘’It’s really amazing. My nephew turns four and plays chess, but he won’t be anywhere near 1500 points. My tips to Aneesh will be to just try and enjoy the game and not overthink about rankings.''