The king is crowned

by Albert Silver
11/25/2013 – With a couple of days to rest and recover, before the closing ceremony, Magnus Carlsen chose to indulge in his favorite activities such as some basketball and football. A gymnasium was reserved and he challenged a team of journalists to face his team of Norwegians. Finally, the day came for the players to receive their medals, trophies, and checks. Large pictorial report.

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The king is crowned

With the match having ended before twelve games had been played, the date of the closing ceremony, initially scheduled for November 26, was bumped up to November 25. With a couple of days to rest and recover, Magnus Carlsen chose to indulge in his favorite activities such as some basketball and football. A gymnasium was reserved for him and he challenged a team of journalists to face him and his Norwegian friends. Needless to say this meant plenty of photos as well.

A day of sports

The groundrules are established: "What do you mean 'no hairpulling'?"

Either the opposing team underestimates Magnus, or he is understimating his opponent

A group picture of all the players

A game of football was not enough so basketball was added to the day's challenge

Magnus Carlsen, tired and happy

Closing Ceremony

First the silver platter for the runner-up is given to Vishy Anand by the Chief Minister
of Tamil Nadu, Mrs. J Jayalalithaa

The base of the winner's trophy was quite a bit larger than usual

The chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Mrs. J Jayalalithaa, FIDE president
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, and the just-crowned Magnus Carlsen

A jubilant champion

FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov with world champion Magnus Carlsen

Video of closing ceremony

 

The footage only starts at 5:00, and the actual prize giving is at 15:30

Interview of Magnus Carlsen by Susan Polgar

 

Pictures by Anastasiya Karlovich

Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications.