The 16th World Chess Champion
Today began with the official ceremony recognizing Magnus Carlsen as the 16th World Chess Champion, in the line of undisputed world champions that began with Wilhelm Steinitz in 1886.
Magnus – who will celebrate his 23rd birthday in less than a week from now (November 30) – becomes the second youngest champion in history; Garry Kasparov was five months younger in 1985, when, at 22, he broke the record set by then-23-year-old Mikhail Tal in 1960. Kasparov reigned continuously from 1985 until 2000. Viswanathan Anand, who became the 15th World Champion in 2007, had successfully defended his title three times in matches prior to this month. We join the entire chess world in congratulating both the old and the new world champions.
In honor of his victory, we’re offering a bundle of ten lectures on previous games by Magnus – nine by IM David Vigorito and plus one by GM Jesse Kraai – which we’ve collected on DVD as “Magnus Madness” and “Carlsen’s Black Magic & Carlsen in Baku”. Each is normally $19.95, we’re offering the two as a bundle for $29.95 in our store. Member discounts apply to this price – 40% for platinum and gold, 30% for silver and 20% for bronze – and this offer will remain available for holiday gifts through December 25th.