Meet Chess World's Young New Champ

Magnus Carlsen, 22, seen as a game-changer, literally
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 22, 2013 11:38 AM CST
Meet Chess World's New Young Champ
Norway’s Magnus Carlsen plays against reigning world chess champion Viswanathan Anand in Chennai, India, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013.   (AP Photo/Arun Sankar K.)

The world of chess just got a jolt. In what the Times of India calls "the most one-sided world championship match in modern history," Norway's Magnus Carlsen, 22, beat reigning champ Viswanathan Anand, 43, today to become World Chess Champion. In doing so, he has ushered in what Joe Weisenthal at Business Insider calls a "totally new post-modern era of human chess." In short, it means "being as cool as a computer while your opponent does things that are, well, human."

On that note, he cites a report at Kottke.org on how Carlsen is an expert at what's known as "nettlesomeness," or forcing opponents into mistakes. Carlsen not only makes creative moves that fluster his challengers, he often gets up and walks around during matches. None other than Garry Kasparov, who coached Carlsen for a spell, calls him a "type of Harry Potter" who will "leave a deep mark on the game," reports Reuters. (More chess stories.)

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