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Most of us think of chess as a thoughtful, contemplative game, but here at 60 Minutes, we've learned that among grandmasters, chess is a blood sport. This Sunday on 60 Minutes, the world's number one chess player, Norway's Magnus Carlsen, tells Bob Simon that winning a chess match is more than just defeating your opponent; it's destroying him. "I enjoy it when I see my opponent...really suffering," Carlsen said with a wicked grin. "If I lose just one game...I just really want to get revenge." Here's a preview of Sunday's segment:
It's not the first time we've heard this kind of talk. In 1972, Mike Wallace profiled the infamous Bobby Fischer, who was then only 29 years old and training for his famous Cold War showdown against Russia's Boris Spassky.
Here's an excerpt from that profile:
Wallace: Winning for winning's sake is important, but do you like to beat another man?
Fischer: Yes, I like to beat another man.
Wallace: You smile about it. Do you like to crush another man's ego?
Fischer: Uh-huh, so when they go home that night, they can't kid themselves that they're so hot, you know?
We all know how Fischer's story ended – in madness – but the board is still a world of opportunity for today's young superstars.
Tune in this Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CBS to see Bob Simon's profile of 21-year-old chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen.
