World Chess Championship Challenger Magnus Carlsen to model for G-Star Second Time: Spring, Summer 2014

Clothing giant G-Star has taken on chess world's poster boy Magnus Carlsen for the second time - a first for the company! A press release states Magnus Carlsen will model for G-Star RAW for their Spring and Summer 2014 collection. 

The World Chess Championship Challenger first modeled for G-Star in 2010 with a highly popular and successful campaign alongside international model Liv Tyler. 

Magnus Carlsen's new images for the G-Star 2014 campaign of the chess player will be out in February, according to the press release.

"This is spectacular. Magnus is called a "campaign model" for 2014. This is the first time they have taken on a model twice," Magnus Carlsen's manager Espen Agdestein was quoted as saying. 

A G-Star site update states: Magnus Carlsen returns for his second collaboration with G-Star in the new campaign, again he represents the young insurgent of chess. Famous for his confident and unpredictable style of play, he embodies the spirit of unconventional thinking. 

Magnus will play in the World Chess Championship against the title-holder Viswanathan Anand in Chennai, India from 7th - 28th November 2013. 

* MagnusChess - the company

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Chess World No. 1's Company MagnusChess hopes to make over $3 million in 2013

MagnusChess - the company - hopes to register a gross turnover of between 15 and 20 million NOK (Norwegian Kroner) in 2013. That's about $2.5 million to $3.2 million. (The current currency rate is 1 Norwegian Krone equals 0.16 US Dollar.)

Since 2007, the World No. 1 chess player's company has had a turnover of 27 million NOK ($4.5 million) and a profit before tax of 15 million NOK ($2.5 million) according to Dagens Næringsliv (Norwegian for Today's Business). 

Chess world's 22-year-old talented prodigy had, at the end of 2012, built up a solid equity of nearly 12 million NOK ($1.97 million), according to DN. 

Commonly known as DN, Dagens Næringsliv is a Norwegian tabloid specialising in business reporting and is pegged as the fourth largest newspaper in Norway.

On his part, the planet's top-rated chess player has said he does not care so very much for money. He leaves the management to his manager Espen Agdestein and father Henrik. 

Carlsen told DN, "I am very grateful that I can live on something (chess) I think is so fun. Beyond that I'm not thinking so much about it."

Magnus Carlsen owns 85 percent of the company MagnusChess. The remaining 15 per cent is owned by his father Henrik. His father confirmed to DN that the recent developments were "nice" and they hoped for a revenue increase in 2013. Norwegian sponsors are sure to use the world's best chess player for endorsements and more, states DN.

Success at the forthcoming World Chess Championship could further up the earnings for MagnusChess, DN had reported, in its print edition right after Magnus Carlsen signed a new sponsorship agreement with Nordic Semiconductor last month.

DN estimates that a victory over Viswanathan Anand, at the forthcoming World Chess Championship, could fetch the World No. 1 nine million NOK ($1.48 million) in prize money, plus six million NOK ($987000) in bonuses from sponsors (including also Arctic Securities, SIMONSEN Advokatfirma, V-G) and other sources. 

Earlier, when Carlsen had signed a deal with clothing giant G-Star in 2010, Henrik Carlsen had told newspaper Aftenposten that the sponsorship deal was “the whole difference” between the two years as his son had not earned more in prize money during 2010. The company’s pretax result was NOK 4.87 million (over $900,000 then), which took into account NOK 3.72 million (over $690,000 then) as fees for Magnus Carlsen’s teacher, the legendary Russian Garry Kasparov.

The company saw an increase in income from NOK 3.5 million (nearly USD $650,000) in 2009 to NOK 8.4 million (over USD $1.5 million) in 2010 due to a deal with clothing manufacturer G-star.

However, Carlsen lost about 10 million NOK ($1.85 million) when he withdrew from the qualifiers for the 2012 world chess championship in protest at the FIDE rules. -- Zainab Raza Undulusi

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The Road to Chennai 2013 – Success at the Top: Magnus Carlsen's Dad Continues Blog Series

A few weeks back, World No 1 Magnus Carlsen's father Henrik Carlsen had updated the Arctic Securities Blog with the first part of the series. it was titled 'The road to Chennai - Early Development'. Here is the second part: 'The Road to Chennai 2013 - Success at the Top'. We posted the first part here.

Magnus Carlsen's Blog

The Road to Chennai 2013 – Success at the Top

Towards the end of 2008 we discussed a cooperation with Garry Kasparov, and Espen Agdestein, who had already helped us secure the sponsor FAST the year before, agreed to work as a sponsor agent to help finance the cooperation. Espen has been the manager of Magnus from 2011. 

Financial firm Arctic Securities and Simonsen Vogt Wiig lawyers have now been main sponsors of Magnus for four years already. They share with Magnus the emphasis on focused dedication, attention to details and uncompromised quality. 

Espen and Magnus have continued to make sure that new sponsors represent high standards, and later Norway’s main newspaper VG, software company Parallels and recently high tech company Nordic Semiconductor have joined as main sponsors. 

For Magnus interactions with his main sponsors have provided valuable experience and perspectives balancing life as a professional chess player. 

Magnus appreciated the 13 months cooperation with Kasparov, “the one who invented a lot of the modern concepts of chess”. He came close to winning both in Linares and Sofia 2009, and suddenly everything worked out perfectly in Nanjing 2009 resulting in clear first with 8/10 and an above 3000 rating performance. 

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 A sponsoring agreement has been agreed between Arctic Securities and Magnus Carlsen. Magnus became an International Grandmaster at the age of 13, the youngest at the time. In October 2009, during the Nanjing Pearl Spring tournament, he became the fifth chess player in the history to achieve an Elo-rating over 2800 – by far the youngest to do so. That year he also became The World Blitz Chess Champion. On January the 1st of 2010 the new FIDE list was published and at the age of 19 Magnus became the youngest ever chess player to be ranked World Number One. Carlsen is the best representative for top excellence within both analysis and implementation.

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Later that autumn he won the Blitz World Championship with nearly 75% score, and the London Chess Classics. In general, Magnus has preferred to prepare on his own during tournaments. He has worked with other strong GM’s on many occasions, and Ian Nepomniachtchi was also his second during the successful London Chess Classics 2012. 

After the Kasparov cooperation in practice ended early 2010, Magnus scored 7.5/10 in Bazna in June despite less focus on preparation. Maybe the games lost during the 2010 Olympiad and subsequent Bilbao Masters served as a wake-up call. For the last three years his tournament rating performances have all been well above 2800 bringing his rating to an all-time-high of 2872 in February 2013, and securing yearly Chess Oscars from 2009 onwards. 

Among his tournament victories are Tata Steel Chess (former Corus) and London Chess Classics three times, and Bilbao, Nanjing, Bazna and Biel two times. Over the years he has played a few matches. In rapid chess I remember vividly the 5-3 victory against Peter Leko in 2008. Magnus was under pressure in several games, and in one of them he had to find about 20 only-moves with 10 seconds increments to draw. 

In classical chess he participated three times in the World Cup in his youth with shared 3rd in 2007 as his last and best result. In the Candidates earlier that year in Elista in Kalmykia, at 16, he lost a tense and even match against Levon Aronian after equalising three times in the classical stage (3-3) and rapid phase (2-2), before succumbing in the final blitz games. 

Due to changes to the rules in mid-cycle, Magnus withdrew from the Grand Prix in November 2008, and he did not participate in World Championship qualifications until 2013. In March this year he qualified for the match against V. Anand starting November 9th in Chennai, by winning the Candidate Tournament in London on tie-break after a tense finish. 

Peter Heine Nielsen was helping him in London, in addition to a team of other strong grandmasters contributing from home. Kenneth Gvein and Metronet have helped professionalizing Magnus' digital appearance. Online activities will only become more important in the future. 

Thanks go also to Basefarm for providing important hosting support. Somewhat unusual for a chess player, Magnus became a campaign model for G-Star Raw clothes in 2010/2011. It was flattering that they wanted to renew the cooperation for 2014, as announced last week. Magnus’s last tournament before the World Championship match was the Sinquefield Cup in St.Louis in September and he won quite convincingly with 4.5/6. 

Last but not least, we would like to thank all the unnamed, but not forgotten, tournament organisers, organisations, chess colleagues, seconds, spectators, fans and friends that have been supportive and contributed with practical help, encouragement, enthusiasm or otherwise on the long road to Chennai 2013. 

Thank you! 

For Team Carlsen, 
Henrik C., 

November 3rd, 2013

2013-11-03 20:20:04

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I Expect Viswanathan Anand to be in Top Form: Magnus Carlsen

OSLO, Aug 8 (By Gwladys Fouche/Reuters) - World chess number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway is relaxed ahead of his challenge later this year for the world champion crown against reigning titleholder Viswanathan Anand of India.

Slouched on a couch and fiddling with the zipper of his purple hoodie, the chess wonderboy is confident he will win the one title that has eluded him when he meets Anand in Chennai, India, on November 6-26.

"It has been a while since I went into a game with losing as an option," the 22-year-old, dubbed the "Mozart of chess" because like Mozart he was a virtuoso from a young age, told Reuters in an interview.

Carlsen became the world's number one at age 19, the youngest player ever to do so. A grandmaster since he was 13, he has the highest rating in the history of the game, ahead of chess great Garry Kasparov's 1999 record.

The world number-one ranking is determined by a mathematical system that uses match results to determine an individual's playing strength - much like the ATP ranking for tennis.

Kasparov, who coached Carlsen, has described him as a once-in-a-generation talent.

And genius player he may be, but like most young men, he also is concerned about his social life, about going out and having fun.

He usually gets up around midday and works short hours. "I
can't concentrate for more than three hours. So I might work for
maybe one and half hours a day. But it will still work in my
head afterwards," he said.

 

On Facebook he describes himself as an athlete. In person he
wears washed-out, torn jeans and trainers. He once modeled for
Dutch fashion brand G-Star Raw with U.S. actress Liv Tyler.

Asked whether it was easy for him to meet women in Norway,
Carlsen said: "It is. It helps to be well known."

TORMENTING OPPONENTS

As a player, Carlsen is deemed to be equally strong no matter what challenges come his way on the chess board.

His mental prowess and physical fitness afford him the stamina to torment his opponents for hours until they finally make a mistake. Carlsen rarely makes any tangible errors.

Unlike Kasparov, famous for his strong and aggressive opening play, Carlsen strives to get a playable position from the opening with many pieces left on the board - confident that he can outplay his opponent in the middle-game or endgame. In the later stages of the game, his play is almost flawless.

 

Carlsen will need all of his skills against Anand in Chennai and is already in training. He is surrounding himself with three to four players to play against - he won't say whom - as well as a support group, including his father, to motivate him.

In July he played tennis and beach volleyball with former professional athletes, as part of a training camp he set up at a resort in southern Norway.

"This will give me an advantage because at the end of amatch, you are very tired. If you feel good and strong, youconcentrate better," he said.

Later this month Carlsen will tour Chennai to familiarise himself with its sights and sounds. He also will play some tournaments, unlike Anand, who says he will solely focus on training.

Carlsen is considered a favourite to win: he beat the Indian in June in their last encounter. But he does not underestimate his rival.

"It will depend on which Anand I get on the day. Will it bethe great Anand of 2008? Or will it be the terrible one?
"I expect him to be on top form. An Anand in top form hassharp tactics, great strength and a great understanding of the game."

(Additional reporting by Oskar von Bahr in Budapest; Editing by

Michael Roddy) -- Copyright © 2013, Reuters/Photos: Carlsen FB page posts on training at the Kragerø Resort.)

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World Chess Championship 2013: Magnus Carlsen Team to Include Norwegian-Speaking Bodyguard

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen will be accompanied by his Norwegian-speaking bodyguard to the World Chess Championship 2013 versus Viswanathan Anand in Chennai. The chess prodigy is going to play for the biggest title in chess this November, reports NTB, the Norwegian News Service. (Left: A poster for Magnus Carlsen's Match against the world (which he duly won) as part of his sponsorship deal with G-Star.)

The chess prodigy's manager, Espen Agdestein was quoted as saying that they trust that the organisers would provide the 22-year-old best facilities, but they would like to have people who speak Norwegian in key positions around Carlsen during the World Chess Championship against Viswanathan Anand. 

For an event like the World Chess Championship, "it is completely natural. The organisers are responsible for the personnel and it is the organisers' responsibility to ensure that Magnus can move freely. But it's okay to have a Norwegian-speaking bodyguard so that Magnus is comfortable," says Espen Agdestein.

There is going to be enormous enthusiasm for the World Chess Championship and sometimes fans and photographers can be overbearing. -- Chess Magazine Black & White

Read Also: Carlsen's Private Doctor

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World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen is Times Young Person of the Year 2013

The Times has named World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen as the Times Young Person of the Year 2013. The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785. 

Ruth Gledhill, in an intro to the article, writes: He is active on Facebook and Twitter, loves football and jumped into a pool in his dinner suit to celebrate winning the world championship. This is the impossibly cool Magnus Carlsen who, at just 23. is achieving film-star style kudos with his brilliance.

"Carlsen is currently the world No. 1 player at chess and the reigning world champion. Next spring and summer he stars with Lily Cole, the model and unconventional beauty, in the 2014 campaign by G-Star Raw, the urban-clothing designer brand.

You can access the full article behind a pay wall at the Times website. 

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Chess has become Cool: Nigel Short Summary of Anand, Carlsen Chennai World Chess Championship

British Grandmaster (and lots more) Nigel Short's summary of the Anand - Carlsen Chennai World Chess Championship 2013, courtesy Indian Express.  
A champion of his time

Nigel Short

At Chennai, as Carlsen outplayed Anand, the dignified but staid image of the game changed.

As the dust settles on the Viswanathan Anand versus Magnus Carlsen match in Chennai — the biggest chess clash since Bobby Fischer vs Boris Spassky in 1972 — it is time to reflect upon its impact. The immense interest, both in India and abroad, of this most cerebral of jousts, belies the pessimist's view that chess requires Cold War rivalry to be marketable. Indians proudly cheered, and sometimes even prayed, in huge numbers, for their mighty warrior. Alas, it was always going be an unforgiving task for Anand — at almost 44, the oldest World Champion in half a century — to cling on to his crown against someone half his age and already the highest-rated player in history. Time and tide tarries for no man.

Carlsen's victory gives succour to the countless enthusiasts who feared that modern chess was becoming an ever-accelerating arms-race of computer engine analysis. It is hard to recall any World Championship match that has been so bereft of theoretical novelties, as the young Norwegian constantly sought to sidestep Anand's renowned preparation by going down less travelled paths. His simple philosophy was, in essence, "Give me an equal position that you have not studied with a computer and I will outplay you." Call it cocky, if you will, but he was right. Twice, in games five and six, he defeated Anand with the slenderest of endgame advantages, defying the expectations of even the finest experts. It simply does not do credit to Carlsen to say that Anand just blundered. He blundered — yes — but only because he was subjected to constant, nagging pressure. To use a cricketing analogy, Carlsen's style most resembles that of Glenn McGrath — unspectacular, but extraordinarily accurate and effective. Only once did Anand seek to drastically alter the course of the match — in game nine, when he was already on the verge of defeat. From the first move he sought to gain the upper hand by striving for complications. It was the correct strategy and was nearly successful, as he built up an imposing attack. Anand must have felt he had an excellent position. But first, he dithered slightly with an unnecessary rook exchange, and then spent 40 minutes looking for a forced win where none existed. Faced with a resolute, calm defence and the knowledge that the title was ebbing from him, Anand cracked first with a hideous and uncharacteristic howler.

It would be tempting to now predict a lengthy reign for Carlsen. He is well-balanced, from a good family and not in the least bit weird. He is still ridiculously young, but has already dominated the chess world for the past few years. Yet, while I consider the above prognosis to be the most plausible, the example of Vladimir Kramnik, who defeated the legendary Garry Kasparov in 2000, provides a cautionary note. The lack of motivation, bordering on apathy, combined with an unpleasant illness (arthritis), meant that the Russian's play nose-dived in the years following his scaling of the highest summit. With his health recovered, he has, arguably, only relatively recently regained the drive and form he once possessed. Indeed, after playing superbly at the London Candidates back in March, he was edged out of another World Championship match by Carlsen with the slenderest of margins — on tiebreak. Of Carlsen's most likely challengers in 2014, I would say that Kramnik, despite his ripe age (38), will give him the hardest time. Another tough opponent will be the world number two, Levon Aronian (31) from Armenia — although I would still back Carlsen to fend off either threat. Beyond that short horizon, one must look to the next generation — such as Hikaru Nakamura from America (who, on Twitter, perhaps not entirely jokingly, refers to Carlsen as "Sauron" — the evil, all-seeing eye from Lord of the Rings), Fabiano Caruana from Italy, or maybe Sergey Karjakin from Russia.

Undoubtedly the most exciting thing about the Chennai match is the palpable feeling that the dignified but slightly staid image of the game has abruptly changed. With a young, G-Star Raw model as World Champion, chess has become cool. It is suddenly reaching new audiences that had been hitherto untouched by its esoteric beauty. This was most graphically demonstrated by the Norwegian schoolgirls who famously undressed for Carlsen in a moment of patriotic fervour. More seriously, countless international media outlets, that have previously neglected chess, have this time covered the drama in Tamil Nadu.

India may be mourning the loss of a great champion but, when the tears have dried, people will remember that Anand has inspired an entire generation of chess players. The country has gone from being mediocre to being a powerhouse in a few decades, for which he can take much of the credit. As yet, no one is quite ready to step into his shoes but, given the extraordinary and increasing strength and depth of Indian chess, it is surely only a short matter of time. 

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Heinz India makes World Champion Vishy Anand Brand Ambassador for 'Complan with Memory Chargers'

Heinz India, an affiliate of H.J. Heinz Co., has announced that it is signing up World Chess Champion Vishwanathan Anand as brand ambassador for Complan with Memory Chargers. The announcement comes during the World Chess Championship that is being held in Chennai.

This association will include Anand sporting the Complan with Memory Chargers logo during all professional commitments starting with the World Chess Championship.

A Globosport Platinum Rye deal, the association signifies a partnership of excellence as one of the country's one of the leading brands, backs one of the India's iconic and trusted names in sport, said V. Mohan, Director-Corporate Affairs Heinz India. While the World Champion takes on the challenger and India watches with a bated breath, the team at Globosport Platinum Rye and Heinz India have made their winning move.

He said, "Vishwanathan Anand personifies hard work, strategic and smart thinking and a sustained quest for excellence - traits that we as a company are eager to encourage in every young Indian child."

Anand in a statement said, "I am selective about the brands I partner with. I would like to be associated with brands that I can trust personally. Heinz, over the years has commanded confidence and trust across the globe and I am delighted to be part of this globally well-trusted company."

The H.J. Heinz Company, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA provides nutritious and convenient foods for families in 200 countries around the world. Heinz came to India in 1994 and over the years has built strong local products like Complan (Milk Food Drink), Glucon-D (Glucose Powder), Nycil (Prickly Heat Powder), and Sampriti Ghee apart from its iconic Heinz Tomato Ketchup.

Complan is a premium health beverage scientifically designed to maximise the growth and development potential of children within their genetic potential. It is a leading brand and nutrition expert in the "milk food drink" category. Complan with Memory Chargers is a delicious chocolate flavoured drink which helps provide key nutrients required for children's cognitive development.

* Crocin Cold Flu Max Chess Challenge to Play with Vishy Anand

* World Chess Champion Vishy Anand the dependable brand ambassador - Commercial videos

* Magnus Carlsen and G-Star new collection

* Chess World No. 1's company MagnusChess

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