Quotes from Magnus Carlsen

I got the travel bug when I was quite young. My parents took me and my sisters out of school and we travelled all over Europe. It was an eye-opening experience and, although I love Norway, I also enjoy visiting new countries. I don't get homesick.

Right now I'm really happy with how things are going with my chess career, so I'm not thinking of doing anything else.

It's nice to be financially secure. Apart from that, I really don't care too much about money.

I don't really watch too many movies. I don't have the patience usually to watch one, one and a half or two hours in a row.

For me, the most important thing is to continue to play well and to be a positive figure and hopefully a role model for kids as well.

It's easy for me to get along with chess players. Even though we are all very different, we have chess in common.

When you have fun then you're more interested in learning.

My father, a fine chess player himself, has been a massive influence throughout my life.

I honestly don't read that much. Obviously I read chess books - in terms of favorites, Kasparov's 'My Great Predecessors' is pretty good.

I learnt an enormous amount, but there came a point where I found there was too much stress. It was no fun any more. Outside of the chessboard I avoid conflict, so I thought this wasn't worth it.

If you want to get to the top, there's always the risk that it will isolate you from other people.

Maybe if I didn't have the talent in chess I'd find the talent in something else. The only thing I know is that I have talent in chess, and I'm satisfied with that.

I enjoy hiking and skiing, like most Norwegians. In winter, there will be snow for months on end. In the summer, there are the long evenings to enjoy.

Some people think that if their opponent plays a beautiful game, it's okay to lose. I don't. You have to be merciless.

You need to have that edge, you need to have that confidence, you need to have that absolute belief that you're - you're the best and you'll win every time.

I'm not really into rap.

One of the things that first attracted me to chess is that it brings you into contact with intelligent, civilized people - men of the stature of Garry Kasparov, the former world champion, who was my part-time coach.

Kids love games and chess is a game where you have to sit down and concentrate and it just helps in every way.

Without the element of enjoyment, it is not worth trying to excel at anything.

I've never been much of a computer guy at least in terms of playing with computers. Actually until I was about 11 I didn't use a computer for preparing for games at all. I was playing a bit online, was using the chess club mainly. Now, obviously, the computer is an important tool for me preparing for my games.

Once you're a chess player, you spend a lot of time thinking about the game and you can't get it completely out of your head.

I was lucky enough to attend schools where they were understanding about when I needed to go abroad to play chess. Of course, socially it is important to go to school and interact with people your own age.

I started by just sitting by the chessboard exploring things. I didn't even have books at first, and I just played by myself. I learnt a lot from that, and I feel that it is a big reason why I now have a good intuitive understanding of chess.

Unfortunately I'm still not a fashion expert.