How did a boy from Norway become world chess champion at 22? This guide follows Magnus Carlsen step by step: how he learned chess, how he became a grandmaster at 13, and the 2013 match in Chennai that made him champion. You can replay his three winning games from that match on the boards below, with the exact moves where the match turned.
9 min readPublished November 2026By Surajit Paul3 boards
Magnus Carlsen was born on 30 November 1990 in Norway. His father Henrik taught him the moves when he was about five, but Magnus only became really interested a few years later, when he started playing against his older sister and wanted to beat her.
He then did what most strong players do: he played a lot and read a lot. He studied chess books for hours, replayed old games, and played in many tournaments in Norway. His trainer was the Norwegian grandmaster Simen Agdestein. Later, in 2009, Garry Kasparov worked with him for about a year.
The lesson for us: there was no secret. He started young, played many games and replayed many great games. You can do the same with our famous games trainer.
How Magnus Carlsen became a grandmaster at 13
In 2004 Carlsen earned the grandmaster title at the age of 13, one of the youngest ever at that time. The same year, at a rapid event in Reykjavik, he drew a game against Garry Kasparov, the world number one. Newspapers started calling him the Mozart of chess.
In January 2010 Carlsen became number one on the FIDE rating list at the age of 19, the youngest ever at that time. He kept winning top tournaments, and in 2013 he won the Candidates tournament in London on tie-break. That gave him the right to play the world champion, Viswanathan Anand.
The match was played in November 2013 in Chennai, India, Anand's home city. It was planned as 12 games. The first four games were drawn. Then Carlsen won three games in his own style: long, quiet endings where he slowly squeezed his opponent. Replay them below and look for the move where Stockfish suddenly turns the evaluation.
GAME 5Game 5: Carlsen squeezes a draw-like ending
Carlsen (White) vs AnandQueens off early, a long endingTurning point: 51...Ke6?
Carlsen takes a tiny edge into an ending and keeps pressing for 58 moves. Press Play, or jump to the end and step back to move 51.
Trap PGN (copy or open in the Analyser)
1. c4 { Game 5, Chennai 2013. Carlsen has White. The match is level after four draws. } 1... e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 c5 7. a3 Ba5 8. Nf3 Nf6 9. Be3 Nc6 10. Qd3 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Ng4 12. O-O-O Nxe3 13. fxe3 Bc7 14. Nxc6 { The queens soon come off. A quiet ending: exactly the kind of game Carlsen loves to grind. } 14... bxc6 15. Qxd8+ Bxd8 16. Be2 Ke7 17. Bf3 Bd7 18. Ne4 Bb6 19. c5 f5 20. cxb6 fxe4 21. b7 Rab8 22. Bxe4 Rxb7 23. Rhf1 Rb5 24. Rf4 g5 25. Rf3 h5 26. Rdf1 Be8 27. Bc2 Rc5 28. Rf6 h4 29. e4 a5 30. Kd2 Rb5 31. b3 Bh5 32. Kc3 Rc5+ 33. Kb2 Rd8 34. R1f2 Rd4 35. Rh6 Bd1 36. Bb1 Rb5 37. Kc3 c5 38. Rb2 e5 39. Rg6 a4 40. Rxg5 Rxb3+ 41. Rxb3 Bxb3 42. Rxe5+ Kd6 43. Rh5 Rd1 44. e5+ Kd5 45. Bh7 Rc1+ { Stockfish's first small warning: White is now a little better (+0.8). } 46. Kb2 Rg1 47. Bg8+ Kc6 48. Rh6+ Kd7 49. Bxb3 axb3 50. Kxb3 Rxg2 51. Rxh4 Ke6 $2 { The losing move. Stockfish jumps from +0.1 to +3.4: White's a-pawn is now too fast. } 52. a4 Kxe5 53. a5 Kd6 54. Rh7 Kd5 55. a6 c4+ 56. Kc3 Ra2 57. a7 Kc5 58. h4 { Black resigned. Carlsen leads the match 3-2 after a 58-move squeeze. } 1-0
What to learn: In rook endings the active king and fast passed pawns decide. Carlsen kept his king close to his pawns.
GAME 9Game 9: Anand attacks, then 28.Nf1??
Anand (White) vs Carlsen, Nimzo-Indian 4.f3Wild attack on both sidesTurning point: 28.Nf1??
Anand must win and goes all-in on the kingside. Carlsen makes a new queen first, and one wrong knight move ends the game. Press Play.
Trap PGN (copy or open in the Analyser)
1. d4 { Game 9. Anand must win with White. He chooses the sharp 4.f3 Nimzo-Indian and attacks on the kingside. } 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. e3 c4 9. Ne2 Nc6 10. g4 O-O 11. Bg2 Na5 12. O-O Nb3 13. Ra2 b5 14. Ng3 a5 15. g5 Ne8 16. e4 Nxc1 17. Qxc1 Ra6 18. e5 Nc7 19. f4 b4 20. axb4 axb4 21. Rxa6 Nxa6 22. f5 b3 23. Qf4 Nc7 24. f6 { White throws everything at the black king. } 24... g6 25. Qh4 Ne8 26. Qh6 b2 27. Rf4 b1=Q+ { Black makes a new queen with check. Now White must be very careful. } 28. Nf1 $4 { The last mistake of the match. Stockfish jumps from -0.1 to -2.6: after ...Qe1 the knight on f1 is pinned and the attack is over. } 28... Qe1 { Anand resigned. Carlsen leads 6-3 and needs only a draw in game 10. } 0-1
What to learn: Under pressure the calm player wins. Carlsen did not panic when Anand attacked his king.
Game 10 was a draw, and on 22 November 2013 Magnus Carlsen became the 16th undisputed world chess champion.
Watch: Stockfish against a Magnus Carlsen bot
On our channel Stockfish plays a Magnus Carlsen bot. Watch it, then replay the real 2013 world championship games below.
Stockfish 18 RECENTLY Played Magnus Carlsen Where He Sacrificed His Bishop in The Opening | Chess
What happened after 2013
Carlsen defended his title against Anand again in 2014, against Sergey Karjakin in 2016, against Fabiano Caruana in 2018 and against Ian Nepomniachtchi in 2021. In 2023 he chose not to defend it again, but he stayed world number one. His peak rating, 2882 in 2014, is the highest in history.
He qualified by winning the 2013 Candidates tournament in London, then beat the champion Viswanathan Anand in a match in Chennai in November 2013. He won games 5, 6 and 9 and drew the rest.
How old was Magnus Carlsen when he became world champion?
He was 22. He won the title in November 2013, one week before his 23rd birthday.
How did Magnus Carlsen become a grandmaster so young?
He started playing seriously at about eight, played many tournaments, studied books and old games for hours, and earned the grandmaster title in 2004 at the age of 13.
Who taught Magnus Carlsen chess?
His father Henrik taught him the moves. His first big trainer was grandmaster Simen Agdestein, and Garry Kasparov helped him in 2009.
How many times was Magnus Carlsen world champion?
He won the classical world championship match five times: 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2021.
What was the score of Carlsen vs Anand 2013?
Carlsen won 6.5-3.5 with three wins and seven draws. The match ended after game 10 because Anand could no longer catch up.
Play the way Carlsen does
Grind out a long ending against a bot and see if you can squeeze a win like game 5.
