World champion Magnus Carlsen was five when he was introduced to chess. Young Carlsen, by his own admission, was not particularly fond of the sport. But he persisted with it because of his intention to best his elder sister Ellen, who, then, was a better player in the Carlsen household.
Twenty-three years later, as one of the greatest chess players across eras, Carlsen reveals to Forbes that he benefited from the sport as it sharpened his “learning and development skills”.
He, hence, wants more people, especially the younger generation, to take up the sport.
“From a young age, chess refined my concentration and problem-solving skills. It forced me to sit still, to think deliberately, to be diligent and to analyze moves over a long period of time without resorting to an easy distraction or a Google search,” he says.
“I learned how to labor through frustration, form a strategy, see a challenging problem through to completion and even face down defeat.”
And, Carlsen reckons that one needn’t be a grandmaster in the sport to enjoy its benefits.
“I believe that chess can combat many challenges we face today: fractured attention, indecisiveness and a shortage of grit and discipline brought on by too much screen time,” he says.
Patience and critical-thinking skills of today’s children, he reckons, suffer due to their “appetites for fast-paced, action-packed entertainment”.
The world champion cites an example, wherein chess helped primary class students in a school in Denmark perform better in mathematics.
Carlsen, hence, wants to make the game more accessible for today’s generation.
“To attract more kids to the game, we must make it accessible and engaging, something they can do on their own terms, which includes meeting them where they are today: on their tablets, phones and computers,” he says.
Carlsen mentions that his company, Play Magnus, has been developing digital products for playing and training. Its latest app, Magnus Kingdom of Chess, he says, is specifically targeted to kids nine and under who are learning the game for the first time.
“The company started out with me and a few other founders, but by now we have several institutional investors involved, and the company is valued at more than $22 million,” he says.