Magnus Carlsen

“I get more upset at losing at other things than chess. I always get upset when I lose at Monopoly.”

“People ask what my goal is. I don't have a goal.”

“One of the things that first attracted me to chess is that it brings you into contact with intelligent, civilized people - men of the stature of Garry Kasparov, the former world champion, who was my part-time coach.”

“Right now I'm really happy with how things are going with my chess career, so I'm not thinking of doing anything else.”

“My father, a fine chess player himself, has been a massive influence throughout my life.”

“If you want to get to the top, there's always the risk that it will isolate you from other people.”

“I started by just sitting by the chessboard exploring things. I didn't even have books at first, and I just played by myself. I learnt a lot from that, and I feel that it is a big reason why I now have a good intuitive understanding of chess.”

“I honestly don't read that much. Obviously I read chess books - in terms of favorites, Kasparov's 'My Great Predecessors' is pretty good.”

“It's just not my nature to go around idolizing people.”

“I spend hours playing chess because I find it so much fun. The day it stops being fun is the day I give up.”

“Unfortunately I'm still not a fashion expert.”

“Once you're a chess player, you spend a lot of time thinking about the game and you can't get it completely out of your head.”

“Maybe if I didn't have the talent in chess I'd find the talent in something else. The only thing I know is that I have talent in chess, and I'm satisfied with that.”

“Chess only appeals to quite a small minority. It does not have the cachet of a mainstream popular sport.”

“I've never been much of a computer guy at least in terms of playing with computers. Actually until I was about 11 I didn't use a computer for preparing for games at all. I was playing a bit online, was using the chess club mainly. Now, obviously, the computer is an important tool for me preparing for my games.”

“Without the element of enjoyment, it is not worth trying to excel at anything.”

“It's easy for me to get along with chess players. Even though we are all very different, we have chess in common.”

“It's nice to be financially secure. Apart from that, I really don't care too much about money.”

“I'm not really into rap.”

“I got the travel bug when I was quite young. My parents took me and my sisters out of school and we travelled all over Europe. It was an eye-opening experience and, although I love Norway, I also enjoy visiting new countries. I don't get homesick.”