Who Is Magnus Carlsen’s Wife?
The chess world is celebrating the wedding of GM Magnus Carlsen and Ella Victoria Malone on January 4, 2025. We all know Carlsen, but we know little about his wife. Who is she? Does she play chess? Here’s what you need to know:
- Who Is Ella Victoria Malone?
- Does She Play Chess?
- How Long Has Carlsen Been In A Relationship With His Bride?
- How Old Is She?
- What Was Special About The Wedding Date?
- Where Did Ella Victoria Go To School?
- What Is Her Nationality?
- How Supportive Is Ella Victoria of Carlsen’s Career?
- How Else Is She Involved in Carlsen's Career?
- Did Carlsen Wear Jeans At The Wedding?
- Did Carlsen Play In Bullet Brawl On His Wedding Day?
- Will They Live In Norway?
Who Is Ella Victoria Malone?
Let’s meet the former Ella Victoria Malone, who is now Ella Victoria Carlsen. She has Norwegian and American ancestry and was seen with Carlsen more frequently at tournaments throughout 2024.
Does She Play Chess?
Yes—and she plays on Chess.com. Her typical format is a 15+10 rapid game, and she has delivered checkmates with a queen, a rook, a bishop, and a knight. (Have you been that successful?)
How Long Has Carlsen Been In A Relationship With His Bride?
Although Carlsen and Malone had been together for some time, they were seen publicly together for the first time in February 2024 during the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge in Germany. They later appeared together at other tournaments in 2024, including Champions Chess Tour Finals in Oslo and the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York City, both in December.
How Old Is She?
Born in 1998, she is 26. (Carlsen is 34.)
What Was Special About The Wedding Date?
The wedding occurred just days after Carlsen won the World Blitz Chess Championship (a title shared with GM Ian Nepomniachtchi).
Where Did Ella Victoria Go To School?
She attended Uranienborg School in the Frogner area of Oslo. It is a combined primary and lower secondary school that can accommodate 870 students. Later she studied at several schools in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada.
What Is Her Nationality?
She was born to a Norwegian mother and an American father, making her both American and Norwegian. She grew up mostly in Singapore, where she is a permanent resident and resided before the wedding.
How Supportive Is Ella Victoria of Carlsen’s Career?
While speaking to TV 2 during the Speed Chess Championship in September, Carlsen said: “It’s very nice to have her with me. She is understanding and supportive. That’s nice and it’s good to have some distractions in case I don’t perform well.”
She is understanding and supportive.
—Magnus Carlsen about his bride
How Else Is She Involved In Carlsen’s Career?
In an interview with The Strait Times, Carlsen said that Ella Victoria helps to manage his schedule with his father.
Did Carlsen Wear Jeans At The Wedding?
No. Perhaps his bride has a stricter dress code than FIDE or he learned that jeans may not be appropriate at some events such as the second day of the World Rapid Championship when he received a $200 fine for wearing jeans. For the wedding ceremony, Carlsen was decked out in a stylish tuxedo with a white shirt and black bowtie.
Did Carlsen Play In Bullet Brawl On His Wedding Day?
No, perhaps on his wedding night, chess was a low priority... except for the seven 3+0 blitz games he played quickly with GM Daniel Naroditsky. Although he did not participate in the Bullet Brawl on January 4, he did make a surprise appearance in the event held the week before and scored 21.5/25 after joining late.
Is Carlsen Planning To Have Children?
Yes. See the next quotation.
Will They Live In Norway?
In an interview with The Guardian in October 2024, Carlsen said: “I will not live in Norway full-time because I do not want my future wife and children to also have to live under that pressure.” Meanwhile, she said that she is trying to convince Carlsen to buy a place in Singapore and added, “I prefer this; this is my home.”
I do not want my future wife and children to also have to live under that pressure.
—Magnus Carlsen about his wife and children
For news about the wedding ceremony, see the Chess.com report, “Chess King Magnus Carlsen Marries His Queen Ella Victoria.“
Ray Linville’s high point as a chess player occurred when he swiped the queen of GM Hikaru Nakamura in a 60-second bullet game in 2021. This game was reported in a “My Best Move” column of the Chess Life magazine, published by the U.S. Chess Federation.
At Chess.com, he has been an editor (part-time) since 2019 and has edited news articles and tournament reports—including those of the Candidates and World Championship Tournaments and other major events—by titled players and noted chess writers as well as Game of the Day annotations by leading grandmasters. He has also been a contributing writer of chess terms, e-books, and general interest articles for ChessKid.com.
He enjoys “top blogger” status at Chess.com. His blog has won the award for Best Chess Blog from the Chess Journalists of America for several years. In addition, he has also been the recipient of first-place CJA awards for feature article, humorous contribution, online review, and educational lesson as well as honorable mention in the categories of personal narrative and historical article.