Magnus Carlsen

Since we saw him last in Saint Louis -- winning the inaugural Sinquefield Cup in September 2013 -- Norwegian Grandmaster Sven Magnus Carlsen has been hard at work confirming his status as the most recognizable chess figure on earth.

Carlsen is now the reigning World Champion of chess -- three times over -- first taking the title in classical time control from GM Viswanathan Anand just a month after last year’s visit to the U.S. He beefed up that moniker this past June by winning the global title in both FIDE Rapid and Blitz time controls, making him the first-ever triple-crown World Champion of chess.

Despite just 23 years of age, not much of Carlsen’s current resume comes as a shock -- he has been on the chess world’s radar for more than a decade. Carlsen obtained his first IM norm in January 2003 and officially earned the title in August, still 12 years old. He earned his first GM norm by winning the Corus Chess Tournament in January 2004 and was eventually awarded the GM title that April, making him the third youngest in history at 13 years, 4 months and 27 days. Later that year, he became the youngest-ever to appear in a Candidates Tournament, his first of four appearances in the event.

In early 2008, Carlsen made his first break into the world’s top-5 -- where he has remained since -- and in November 2009, he became only the fifth and the youngest-ever to pass the 2800 rating barrier. FIDE named Carlsen the world’s No. 1 for the first time in January 2010, making him the youngest to ever hold the rank at 19 years and 32 days. Last year, he passed former World Champion Garry Kasparov’s rating record of 2856 -- a bar Carlsen raised to 2889 this past April. He now sits at 2877, more than 70 points clear of the world No. 2 Levon Aronian.

Famous Washington Post columnist Lubomir Kavalek dubbed Carlsen the “Mozart of Chess” when he was just 14, a moniker that has since become entrenched by a recent CBS 60 Minutes interview. He is known for an endgame prowess amongst the greatest in history, as well as an unusually wide range of openings, which frustrates his opponents in their preparation against him.