Magnus Carlsen isn't what you'd expect from a chess grandmaster, the reigning chess world champion and the number one ranked player in the world with the highest rating of all time. Nope, he's pretty much your normal 23 year old — riding jet skis and working out — while still being incredibly brilliant.
With his tactical mind, Carlsen took to Reddit on Wednesday to partake in the ultimate battle of wits against some of the Internet’s best in an AMA.
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Chess enthusiasts asked him questions about his game and the man behind the world champ title — What his most memorable defeat and victory was? What he'd being doing if he didn't play chess? He told fans that his favorite chess match of all time was Viswanathan Anand vs. Gata Kamsky in semi-final match of the 1994 Candidates Tournament and that, out of every chess player in history, he'd like to play former World Champions Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer — regarded as the greatest chess player of all time by many — and José Raúl Capablanca.
But in between questions about his opinions on the sport and how it can become more spectator-friendly, he let loose and had some fun fielding fairly normal questions with such oddball responses from the likes of a chess grandmaster.
The full thread of questions and answers can be found here, but below are some highlights of the 23 year old just being himself:
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