Quotes Category: Magnus Carlsen

You have to choose the move that feels right sometimes; that’s what intuition is.

Of course, analysis can sometimes give more accurate results than intuition but usually it’s just a lot of work. I normally do what my intuition tells me to do. Most of the time spent thinking is just to double-check.

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

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 […]

People ask what my goal is. I don’t have a goal.

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

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

The right balance is found between optimistic and illusion