Few individuals or teams have dominated a sport the way Magnus Carlsen has ruled chess for the better part of the last two decades. The Norwegian Grandmaster had risen to stardom while still in his teens in the 2000s and has been the undisputed No 1 in the FIDE ratings in the world since 2011, besides holding the record for the highest ever peak rating (2882).

He is also a five-time world champion in the Classical format, and would have had a sixth and possibly even a seven had he not voluntarily decided against defending his title in 2023. Carlsen’s also racking up world titles in other formats for fun, having won his 21st title with his
triumph in the inaugural FIDE Freestyle World Championship earlier this month.

Miles ahead of his competitors

It doesn’t matter what era he’s been part of – he had famously defeated the legendary Anatoly Karpov at the age of 13 in 2004 and would defeat Indian icon Viswanathan Anand twice in as many World Championship showdowns a decade later. And even in his mid-30s, Carlsen is miles ahead of everyone else, including reigning world champion D Gukesh.

So what is it that sets Carlsen apart from everyone else? When asked about the difference between himself and a top-100 player, the world No 1 was humble enough to state that he was only a “little better at everything”.

“Very hard to say. Against most people, around top-100, I am a little bit better at everything. I evaluate a little bit better, I calculate a little bit better. Some people, they will get a little bit intimidated playing against me, so they might not play as aggressively as they should and I can use that to my advantage sometimes,” Carlsen said in an interview on Take Take Take.

“It’s overall net positive. Not all positive, because sometimes people will not take as many chances,” he added.

What separates a top 100 player and @MagnusCarlsen? pic.twitter.com/xORFJDLTgb

— Take Take Take (@TakeTakeTakeApp) February 27, 2026

After becoming the inaugural FIDE Freestyle Chess world champion, Carlsen will be setting his sights on Norway Chess, his home event and the only Classical event that he remains a regular participant in, in June as well as defending his title at the Esports World Cup in August.

The 35-year-old is also
set to appear in an upcoming Netflix documentary titled Untold: Chess Mates that explores the fallout of the 2022 cheating scandal and its aftermath.