Magnus Carlsen > Quotes

“Self-confidence is very important. If you don’t think you can win, you will take cowardly decisions in the crucial moments, out of sheer respect for your opponent. You see the opportunity but also greater limitations than you should. I have always believed in what I do on the chessboard, even when I had no objective reason to. It is better to overestimate your prospects than underestimate them.”
― Magnus Carlsen

“Some people think that if their opponent plays a beautiful game, it's OK to lose. I don't. You have to be merciless.”
― Magnus Carlsen

“The most helpful thing I learnt from chess is to make good decisions on incomplete data in a limited amount of time.”
― Magnus Carlsen

“Without the element of enjoyment, it’s not worth trying to excel at anything.” - @MagnusCarlsen”
― Magnus Carlsen

“I think it’s always better to be overly confident than pessimistic. I realize sometimes after games that, you know, I was actually way too confident here. I was way too optimistic. But if you’re not optimistic, if you’re not looking for your chances, you’re going to miss. You’re going to miss opportunities. And you know, I think there are — there are plenty of players in history who have been immensely talented, but they’re — they’re just too pessimistic. They see too many dangers that are not there and so on so they cannot perform at a very high level.”
― Magnus Carlsen

“I think it’s always better to be overly confident than pessimistic. I realize sometimes after games that, you know, I was actually way too confident here. I was way too optimistic. But if you’re not optimistic, if you’re not looking for your chances, you’re going to miss. You’re going to miss opportunities. And you know, I think there are — there are plenty of players in history who have been immensely talented, but they’re — they’re just too pessimistic. They see too many dangers that are not there and so on so they cannot perform at a very high level.

You need to have that winning 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.”
― Magnus Carlsen

“Sorry dude, I'm not that slow, nor that weak!”
― Magnus Carlsen

“I maintain that taking an IQ test is one of the dumbest things I can do cause I have literally nothing to gain from that...People think that I'm pretty smart and I'll let them continue to believe it.”
― Magnus Carlsen

“I rarely play against engines at all, because they just make me feel so stupid and useless.”
― Magnus Carlsen