‘Reaching the top at 18 must be challenging’: Magnus Carlsen's father on Gukesh's rise

OSLO: Henrik Albert Carlsen, father of world No. 1 chess star Magnus Carlsen, said D Gukesh is displaying great equanimity after winning a world crown, but pointed out that it’s not easy to handle the pulls and pressures that invariably follow winning the world title at such a young age.

“If you already win the World Championship match at 18, even for an experienced player like Gukesh who became a GM at 12 and who also clearly possessed the ability to work on the psychological aspects and mental preparation, it must still have been extremely stressful,” the senior Carlsen told TOI on the sidelines of the Norway elite meet.



“You cannot really be prepared for that amount of pressure and expectations. He is trying his best to handle his results and his play,” the 64-year-old said, adding, “But it’s difficult...”

“I think if you reach the top of the world of chess at such a young age, it must be really challenging. I’m not sure it’s good for children to have that much pressure at that early age,” said Carlsen Sr.

“Children should not get a feeling that they are being watched. That’s harmful,” he added.

“They should be occupied without others expecting something out of it, they should just be enjoying their activity. Fortunately, when Magnus was small, there was not that much social media or media coverage,” remembered the father. When Magnus Carlsen became world champion in Chennai in 2013, he was 22. Gukesh won the title at 18 years, six months.

Carlsen senior also said Magnus was probably fortunate to have been born in Norway. “We are a small nation. I don’t think he’s felt a lot of pressure from Norway. I assume it is quite different for a player like Gukesh coming from India.”

On the difference between Norwegian and Indian parents wanting to produce world champions, Carlsen said, “We have a strong Social Security system (here) so that parents are not as concerned about their children supporting themselves as compared to most other countries in the world.”

Carlsen Sr said his kids were quite bright and were home-schooled for a year and mixed socially. “They were very nice and lovable and interested in various things. But I didn’t consider them anywhere near a genius level or something,” he recalled.

On the feeling of being a parent of an icon of the game, Carlsen said, “When Magnus became GM at 13, I thought ‘wow’.

That made all the efforts and travelling worthwhile,” he recalled. “And then I thought that whatever comes next will be a bonus. But the bonuses have just kept flowing in for more than 20 years,” laughed Henrik, who has four grandchildren from two of his four kids. “I had to pinch my arm (often). I had read about chess stars like (Anatoly) Karpov, (Garry) Kasparov, etc. Now suddenly, Magnus was up there with the great chess players. Now I’m kind of used to it,” he smiled. “Now 35, Magnus seems very mature. He’s a father, husband, and he seemed to be very comfortable in this role.”

The journalist is in Oslo on the invitation of Norway Chess



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