Can You Beat Nakamura In Carlsen Trivia? Take The Quiz And Find Out
On this day, 33 years ago, a champion was born. Between then and now, GM Magnus Carlsen grew into the greatest player of all time, and one of the most recognizable chess faces in the world. From chess magazines to football matches, Carlsen has been everywhere. But after seeing him so much, how well do you really know Carlsen?
We invited another one of the world's most famous chess players, GM Hikaru Nakamura, to participate in a Carlsen trivia. Nakamura got 16 points out of the 21 (counting some half-points along the way). Can you do better than him?
Fill out the questionnaire below to see if you can beat Nakamura's score, or scroll to the end of the article to see the answers:
Click here to check the answers
What is Magnus Carlsen's birthday?
Carlsen was born on November 30, 1990.
Where was Magnus Carlsen born?
The future world champion was born in Tonsberg, Norway.
At what age did Magnus Carlsen become a grandmaster?
Carlsen became a grandmaster at 13 years and 148 days in 2004, at the time breaking the record and becoming the youngest grandmaster in the world.
How many siblings does Magnus have?
Carlsen has three sisters: Ellen, the oldest; Ingrid, the second; and Signe, the youngest.
What happened first, Magnus winning the Norwegian Chess Championship or Hikaru winning the U.S. Chess Championship?
Nakamura won the U.S. Championship first in 2005 (the event was held in 2004). Carlsen finished with a shared first in the 2004 Norwegian Chess Championship but couldn't win the title after losing in the playoffs. It would take Carlsen another year to actually win the Norwegian Chess Championship in late 2005.
What is Magnus' favorite opening move in over-the-board games?
Carlsen's favorite over-the-board opening is 1.e4 (played 762 times at time of Nakamura's video interview recording), followed by 1.d4 (played 555 times).
On Chess.com specifically, under his MagnusCarlsen account, what is Magnus' favorite opening move?
On Chess.com, Carlsen also prefers 1.e4 (played 1,061 times when Nakamura's interview was recorded and 1,087 at the time of writing).
Who did Magnus play in his first game in the 2004 FIDE World Championship?
Carlsen's first world championship appearance was in the 2004 FIDE World Championship in Tripoli, Libya, during the split world championship era (FIDE and the Professional Chess Association ran two separate championships). Carlsen's first opponent was GM Levon Aronian, who beat him in the tiebreaks. The match between Carlsen and GM Viswanathan Anand was not until nine years later!
What do Eugeny Bareev, Gata Kamsky, Bu Xiangzhi, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda all have in common?
They all beat Carlsen in FIDE World Cup events.
How many Candidates Tournaments has Magnus Carlsen qualified for?
Carlsen qualified for four Candidates Tournaments: in 2007, 2011, 2013, and 2024.
How many tries did it take for Magnus Carlsen to win the main event of Norway Chess (not the blitz event)?
Carlsen needed to play in Norway Chess four times to win his first title. He played in 2013, 2014, and 2015 before winning in 2016.
Who did Magnus Carlsen beat to claim the highest peak rating of all time (in the live ratings list)?
Carlsen beat Nakamura on April 21, 2014, at the Vugar Gashimov Memorial event in Shamkir, Azerbaijan, to claim his peak live rating of 2889.
What happened first: Nakamura playing a classical game against Magnus, or Carlsen winning the Norwegian Chess Championship?
Nakamura's first classical game against Carlsen happened first.
Magnus recently co-authored a chess book. Who did he co-authored it with, and what is the title?
Carlsen co-authored the book Grind Like a Grandmaster with GM David Howell, also available on Chessable.
One of Magnus' first sponsors was a clothing company. What was that company?
One of Carlsen's first sponsors was the clothing company G-Star Raw in 2010.
Which of these has Magnus Carlsen won five of: classical World Championships, Blitz World Championships, or Rapid World Championships?
Carlsen won five classical World Chess Championships: in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021.
What is the name of Magnus Carlsen's Twitch channel, and can you pronounce it?
Carlsen's Twitch handle is maskenissen, which actually means "masked Santa." Only Carlsen can pronounce it—at least I can't.
Who did Magnus Carlsen beat with 1.f3 at the 2022 Champions Chess Tour?
Carlsen defeated Duda with 1.f3 during the Oslo Esports Cup 1, one of the 2022 Champions Chess Tour tournaments.
Which TV show did Magnus Carlsen appear in in 2017?
Carlsen appeared as himself in the 28th season of The Simpsons in an episode called "The Cad and the Hat."
Catch me tonight on @TheSimpsons as I help Homer Simpson with one of his biggest challenges yet - 8/7c on @FOXTV #TheSimpsons #PlayMagnus
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) February 19, 2017
In addition to chess, Magnus Carlsen has been ranked the number-one player in the world for one other thing. What is that thing?
Carlsen was ranked the world's number-one Fantasy Premier League player in December 2019.
During the classic "match" Carlsen-Fressinet, 2013, what was Magnus Carlsen's famous quote?
Carlsen trash-talked GM Laurent Fressinet, one of his assistants at the time, with the famous phrase "too weak, too slow" during one of their blitz training sessions right before checkmating him.
Pedro Pinhata is the Writing Lead for Chess.com. He writes articles, feature announcements, event pages, and more. He has been playing chess since 2019 and lives in Brazil.
