Magnus Carlsen
Norwegian chess grandmaster; World Chess Champion 2013–2023
I would want to be a role model. As you talk about an athlete who wakes up at seven every day, then you have two training sessions...for me, it's not like that. I definitely think about chess all the time. I work at chess every day but it's not like I have a routine. It's always been based on inspiration for me. Fortunately, I haven't run out of inspiration yet...Sometimes I play better when I haven't slept that much, because you kind of play more creative.
Recorded
On-stage interview, Milken Institute Global Conference, Los Angeles, Chess.com, 5 May 2017
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Our life here is simple, very simple. Get up in the morning, go for a run, come back. If it is a day for cleaning, we do the cleaning, or we just relax. Then go for lunch, massage, the 4 o'clock run, evening tea, relax, go to sleep. As simple as that.
Recorded
Global Sports Communication training camp, Kaptagat, Kenya, BBC Sport, 24 April 2020
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Simple. I ran to school. There was no other way to get to it, so I, all of us, ran to school each day. We lived in the countryside and had to go to the town to school. And as it happens with school, you'd get late. It was not easy being on time when you have to run 10km every morning. To reach at 8 am, I would start at 6.30 am, and there would be a punishment waiting for you, or worse, they would ask you to get your parents to school.
Recorded
The Times of India, 25 October 2022
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