The people behind the game
Magnus Carlsen
Holds the highest classical rating ever achieved, 2882. He chose not to defend the title in 2023.
- Born
- 1990
- Country connections
- Norway
At the board
The games. The ideas.
Explore classic encounters and championship battles. Play every move, or jump straight to the moments that tell the story.
2013 · World championship · Game 9
The race to the king
Game 9 of the 2013 championship is a race between Anand’s kingside attack and Carlsen’s queenside passed pawn.
Read the position
Every move sets the scene.
Use the controls to explore the full game, or select an annotated moment below. Each explanation describes the position immediately after its highlighted move.
Complete move list 28 moves
The journey
A remarkable path.
Carlsen defeated Anand in 2013 and successfully defended the classical crown four times. He declined to defend it in 2023. His peak published FIDE classical rating of 2882 is a historical record, rather than his current rating. [1]
From the photographic archive Explore the championship record →The championship record
Time with the crown.
- 2013–2023Open world championship
Reigns are periods of title ownership, not a count of championship victories. Open-ended reigns reflect the record checked on 18 October 2026.
From the archive
A life in photographs.
Sources & credits
Biographical details and title records checked . Country connections describe the player’s career and background, rather than a live federation listing.
Portrait: Miroslav.vajdic · CC BY 4.0. Displayed in monochrome and cropped.
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