Magnus Carlsen: Norwegian chess grandmaster and five-time World Chess Champion, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Became a grandmaster at 13 and reached the highest rating in chess history.
What this episode covers
Joe Rogan and Tony Hinchcliffe talk with chess world champion Magnus Carlsen about what separates elite players from everyone else and how he excels through enthusiasm and obsession rather than grinding study. They dig into the infamous Hans Niemann cheating controversy (including the anal-beads theory) and the broader threat that cheap, phone-powered chess engines pose to a sport built on trust. Magnus explains how AI like AlphaZero, Stockfish, and Leela transformed chess strategy and made him stupid by comparison while teaching humans new ideas. The conversation also wanders through golf obsession, video games, creatine, blindfold simultaneous play, and his quirky habits like randomizing openings and showing up late after skiing. It closes on his love of Norwegian rap and his philosophy that loving what you do is the real key to greatness.
Recommended on this episode
Creatine gummies
unspecified
“everybody should take creatine it's a really good supplement super safe... I take it in gummy form I take creatine gummies every day they're delicious”— Joe Rogan
Mr. Pimp-Lotion & Oral-Bee
Mr. Pimp-Lotion & Oral-Bee
“there's a guy called um Mr pimp lotion and oral be... they're like doing like American like West Coast rap in in Norwegian”— Magnus Carlsen
The guest's own work
Tri-Creatine (Onnit Total Strength + Performance / Tri creates)
Onnit
“I don't know we have any of those Tri creates here I don't think so yeah I think I have them out there”— Joe Rogan
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
Stockfish
Tord Romstad, Marco Costalba, Joona Kiiski
“there's one that was originally developed by neegan called stockfish that's still still considered um the best”— Magnus Carlsen
Leela Chess Zero
Leela Chess Zero project
“there was a grandmas who played a match recently against Leela which is like the best neural network engine now”— Magnus Carlsen
AlphaGo
DeepMind / Greg Kohs
“I did watch I watched the movie Alpha go and I mean how long ago was that that's like five no maybe like six seven years ago”— Magnus Carlsen
Rammstein
Rammstein
“I think some wild Norwegian music R Ramstein or something that's actually German but uh they have some good songs”— Joe Rogan
...Baby One More Time
Britney Spears
“like yeah of course Britney SPS Baby One More Time 999 so I'm kind of the opposite of that”— Magnus Carlsen
Quake
id Software
“we used to have a whole local area network at our old Studio we'd all play quake and it was a real problem”— Joe Rogan
FIFA
EA Sports
“I'm like playing some you know chill FIFA or something”— Magnus Carlsen
Grand Theft Auto (GTA)
Rockstar Games
“my my wife is playing GTA and all of these FPS games”— Magnus Carlsen
Call of Duty
Activision
“I can see you Call of Duty people headphones on”— Joe Rogan
Madden NFL
EA Sports
“you get kids that have been playing you know Madden 10 hours a day for 15 years”— Joe Rogan
PlayStation
Sony
“I actually got a um I I got a PlayStation recently uh but like my my wife is playing GTA”— Magnus Carlsen
Big reveals from this episode
- Magnus says Elon Musk and Marc Andreessen amplified the anal-beads cheating theory, but he doesn't believe that method actually happened.
- Reveals a Netflix 'Untold' documentary is coming where he tells his side of the Niemann cheating saga.
- Admits he secretly played online under multiple anonymous accounts until a Russian grandmaster identified five of them by his playing style.
- Used an opening his own father unknowingly invented ('the Henry Carlson variation') with success against the world's best players.
- Reveals he randomizes his opening choices with a dice-roll app to reduce mental energy and be less predictable.
- Says he's only had a few days in his career where he felt completely 'in the moment' total flow.
- The legendary 'late to the board' moment was him skiing in the Kazakhstan mountains and getting stuck behind a road accident, not a mind game.
- Reveals he recorded a song with Norwegian rap duo Mr. Pimp-Lotion & Oral-Bee.
Worth remembering
- The youngest-ever grandmaster record is age 12; Magnus earned it at 13.
- Even a basic smartphone chess engine can now beat any human, including the world champion every time.
- Joe's fascination with chess began watching two men play blindfolded in a pool hall.
- Surgeons who regularly play video games make about 37% fewer errors in operations.
- Creatine is highlighted as a safe supplement that improves cognitive performance, especially when sleep-deprived.
- Go is far more complex than chess; AlphaGo's victories shocked experts and introduced creative moves now used in human play.
- A grandmaster recently beat the top neural engine Leela 5.5-4.5 in a 10-game match starting down a knight.
- After AlphaZero arrived in 2018, every chess opening played for centuries had to be re-checked by coaches.
- Mr. Pimp-Lotion's song was about someone stealing his SP moisturizer at a concert, contrasting Norwegian and American rap themes.
- Magnus believes peak chess years are mid-20s to early 30s, a less steep drop-off than physical sports.