Magnus on Reddit

Full transcript here

Some interesting ones:

[–]perrii 383 points 1 day ago

Hi! What do you think of Nakamura joking with calling you Sauron on Twitter?

[–]MagnusOenCarlsen[S] 2033 points 1 day ago

I've never actually watched Lord of the Rings... if I had, and Nakamura had been a better chess player, I might have been more insulted.

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[–]fra403 113 points 1 day ago

Hey Magnus, let me just start and say that i'm a really big fan.

I'm trying to break the 2000 barrier and I was wondering if you could give me any advice to achieve my goal.

Thanks for doing an AMA!

[–]MagnusOenCarlsen[S] 235 points 1 day ago

Studying tactics, I would say. Up to that level, most games are still decided by someone hanging a piece...or blundering a checkmate - haha

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[–]kalebreath 139 points 1 day ago

What's your favorite chess book? Favorite non-chess book?

[–]MagnusOenCarlsen[S] 535 points 1 day ago

Chess book: Kramnik: My Life & Games made a strong impression on my as a child

Non-chess book: close race between several Donald Duck comics (seriously).

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[–]TheZenDom 48 points 1 day ago*

Hello Magnus,

1. What are your thoughts on the ongoing Candidates 2014? Does Vishy winning make it easier for you or do you have another favourite in the tournament? I ask because judging from your tweets, you don't really hold Anand in the highest regard :)
2. What is your response to the general idea that you are too much of a grinder? A great many number of people have said that you specialize in squeezing out dry positions rather than playing attacking chess. Many GMs have called your style of chess as its death in some aspects.

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[–]MagnusOenCarlsen[S] 120 points 1 day ago

1. No, it didn't have anything to do with Anand, I'm very impressed by his level of preparation and general play both tactically and technically so far in the Candidates.
2. I think it's an important trait of a good player to be able to have the same level of focus and creativity in simple positions as well as more complicated ones and thus create chances at any point in the game. I don't think making few mistakes and playing very accurately for a long time should be a negative

USAT-N Rnd 5