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　　He grew up among knights(国际象棋中的马), kings and queens．At 16, Norway’s chess genius Magnus Carlsen is pushing to become the world’s youngest world title contender(竞争者)．

　　Carlsen, who was introduced to the game by his father Henrik when he was a little boy, became the world’s youngest international grandmaster(大师)at 13．Now he is 17th in the World Chess Federation’s ranking of top players –a position much desired for a player his age．

　　“I’m going for the world championship,”says Magnus, the third youngest grandmaster in world history．But former champion Gary Kasparov and India’s Viswanathan Anand, the World Chess Federation’s current number one, already see him as a possible person who will take their position after they have left．

　　From a young age, Carlsen showed signs of extraordinary intelligence．“At the age of two, he already knew all the car brand names．At five, whatever he built with his toys was very unique and outstanding,”his father says．

　　It is also reported that he learnt the names of every country of the world, with their flag, capital and size by heart．But his first attempts at the game were embarrasing and he was far from the “Mozart of Chess”．

　　“I almost gave up,”his father remembers．But as Magnus watched his father and older sister play, he began to like the challenge．

　　After playing his first tournament(决赛)at eight, his baby face became a common feature in chess circles．

　　When asked what he does when not playing chess, Magnus’ answers to an interviewer’s questions come easily．

　　Girls?“I haven’t done much in that field．”

　　Money?“Has never been a problem．”

　　Hobbies?“I love to play football, spend time with my friends and be in front of my computer as people my age do．And listen to music．”

　　But then, strangely enough, math is not his thing．“I was definitely the best in my class when I was little but now I hate it,”he says．

　　So what’s the secret behind his success so far?

　　“Before a match I will sleep a lot,”he says．“There are very often bad dreams; like that the person I am playing with cheats．”

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