Apart from a beard that hides his baby face, but not his still slightly scowl, not much has changed since 2013 and his first coronation: in chess, the king is Magnus Carlsen.

In Dubai, where he had won the highest rank in chess at the age of 13, international grandmaster, the Norwegian outrageously dominated his Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi.

With his patient but relentless style, he was able to play the best shots even after more than 7 hours of games to secure the first victory in Round 6, which left his opponent on the ropes.

"He just destroyed the guy. He destroyed him with his solid punches," said Dutchman Anish Giri, 7th player in the world, who was commenting on the match for the Chess24 platform.

Carlsen won his fifth unified title, a performance only surpassed by the German Emanuel Lasker, six-time winner in a reign that began more than 150 years ago, and equaled by the Soviet Mikhail Botvinnik, sixty years ago. year.

World number 1 since 2010 in the points classification, the Norwegian is the all-powerful general of an army of pawns, towers, riders, madmen.

"I'm relieved of course. It's hard to feel joy when the situation was so comfortable, but I'm happy with my overall good performance," commented the Norwegian at the end of the game.

- Business man -

But its ambition is not limited to only 64 black and white boxes.

The 31-year-old is the only active player whose aura goes beyond the scope of his sport, although his popularity falls far short of that of American Bobby Fischer or Garry Kasparov in their time.

Nicknamed very early "Mozart of chess" by the American daily Washington Post, it still attracts international sponsors today, such as the payment group Mastercard.

In September, the company joined forces with the man, but also with its online tournament circuit.

Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen (right) scrapes with his Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi in Dubai, December 7, 2021 Giuseppe CACACE AFP / Archives

Because the Norwegian is advancing his pawns in the business world, taking advantage of a new playing field that has greatly developed during the Covid-19 pandemic: online chess.

It lends its name to the company Play Magnus, which notably owns a chess application and platform since 2019, valued at around $ 100 million (approximately EUR 88.4 million) on the Oslo Stock Exchange, and of which it owns. almost 10%.

Play Magnus is running a $ 1.5 million tour that attracts top players.

The final, in September, was obviously won by the Norwegian.

A French, future adversary?

Magnus Carlsen quickly took to the game of online chess, filming his participations in the first tournaments reserved for the best players in 2017. Since then, the pandemic has given a meteoric acceleration to these competitions, far from the framework of the International Chess Federation (Fide).

Fide competitions still retain their predominance for the time being.

Magnus Carlsen is set to put his world title on the line again in 2022 or 2023.

If the players of the Norwegian's generation broke their teeth in front of him, the chess world awaits the clash with the French prodigy Aliréza Firoujza.

Master Magnus Carlsen already winner of the Fide world chess championship in London, November 28, 2018 Tolga AKMEN AFP / Archives

The Iranian-born player was not yet a year old when Magnus Carlsen became grandmaster, but, at the height of his 18 years, he already seems to be the main obstacle in the long term to the domination of his elder brother.

World number 2 since December, he also qualified for the Candidates tournament, which brings together eight players to designate, during 2022, Magnus Carlsen's next challenger.

© 2021 AFP