Magnus Carlsen Best Games: His 20 Greatest Masterpieces

Magnus Carlsen held the World Championship title for almost ten years — from November 2013, when he defeated Viswanathan Anand in Chennai, until 2023, when he chose not to defend the title against Ian Nepomniachtchi. During that decade he successfully defended four times: against Anand in Sochi 2014, Sergey Karjakin in New York 2016, Fabiano Caruana in London 2018, and Nepomniachtchi in Dubai 2021. Only Garry Kasparov has held the title longer in the modern era.

In July 2022 Carlsen publicly announced he would not defend his title in the 2023 match. His reasons: he was no longer motivated by the classical World Championship cycle, the matches were too long and draining, and he had achieved everything he wanted to in the format. He also said he would have only been motivated to play against a young challenger like Alireza Firouzja. Despite giving up the title, he continues to compete at the highest level in rapid, blitz, and the FIDE Circuit.

Carlsen has many candidates. The most famous single moment is his queen sacrifice 50.Qh6+!! against Sergey Karjakin in the final tiebreak game of the 2016 World Championship in New York — Lubomir Kavalek called it “the most brilliant final move in any World Championship in history.” His 13-year-old masterpiece against Sipke Ernst at Wijk aan Zee 2004 is often compared to Bobby Fischer’s Game of the Century. His 136-move marathon win in Game 6 of the 2021 match against Nepomniachtchi is the longest decisive game in World Championship history.

Yes. As of 2025 Carlsen remains world number one in classical, rapid, and blitz ratings simultaneously, despite no longer holding the FIDE World Championship title. His classical rating has been above 2830 continuously since 2013, peaking at 2882 in May 2014 — the highest in chess history. Most active grandmasters and commentators still regard him as the strongest player on the planet, World Champion title or not.

The Carlsen squeeze is his signature winning method — converting positions that look completely drawn at Grandmaster level into full points through superior endgame technique. He accumulates micro-advantages: a tiny space edge, slightly better pawn structure, or marginally more active pieces, and grinds opponents move by move until they crack. Game 6 of the 2021 World Championship match (136 moves, drawn position turned into a win) is the textbook example.

Carlsen became official FIDE world number one on 1 January 2010, at age 19 — the second-youngest player ever to reach the top spot. He has held the top spot continuously since July 2011, which is over fourteen years and counting. No other player in chess history has had a longer continuous reign as world #1.

Carlsen earned the Grandmaster title at 13 years, 4 months and 27 days in April 2004, immediately after winning Corus Group C at Wijk aan Zee. He was one of the youngest Grandmasters in chess history at the time, behind only Sergey Karjakin’s record of 12 years, 7 months.

No. In five World Championship matches (2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021) Carlsen won every single one. He defeated Anand twice and beat Karjakin, Caruana and Nepomniachtchi once each. He stepped away from the title voluntarily in 2023, not because he lost it.

Carlsen reached a peak classical FIDE rating of 2882 in May 2014 — the highest classical rating in chess history. The previous record was Garry Kasparov’s 2851 from July 1999, which had stood for 15 years before Carlsen broke it.

From 31 July 2018 until 10 October 2020 Carlsen played 125 classical games without a defeat — the longest unbeaten run at the elite level in chess history. The streak was ended by Polish GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda at the Norway Chess tournament. Many of the strategic squeeze games featured in this article come from inside that streak.