I feel sorry for players who are always lying awake at night, brooding over their games..

I don't consider myself a particularly young chess player. I have been playing in the best tournaments in the world since I was 16 years old. In othe….

I was lucky enough to attend schools where they were understanding about when I needed to go abroad to play chess. Of course, socially it is importan….

People ask what my goal is. I don't have a goal..

My father, a fine chess player himself, has been a massive influence throughout my life..

I enjoy hiking and skiing, like most Norwegians. In winter, there will be snow for months on end. In the summer, there are the long evenings to enjoy..

Kids love games and chess is a game where you have to sit down and concentrate and it just helps in every way..

I played like a child!.

I started by just sitting by the chessboard exploring things. I didn't even have books at first, and I just played by myself. I learnt a lot from tha….

In my experience, when I went to school, and especially in after-school, and during breaks, a lot of people wanted to sit down and play chess up till….

Self-confidence is very important. If you don't think you can win, you will take cowardly decisions in the crucial moments, out of sheer respect for ….

Contrary to many young Colleagues, I do believe that it makes sense to study the Classics..

If you want to get to the top, there's always the risk that it will isolate you from other people..

I spend hours playing chess because I find it so much fun. The day it stops being fun is the day I give up..

It's just not my nature to go around idolizing people..

I learnt an enormous amount, but there came a point where I found there was too much stress. It was no fun any more. Outside of the chessboard I avoi….

My former coach, Simen Agdestein, used to be the best player in Norway..

All I expect are wins and to get pleasure from the game. And if someone thinks something about me, if someone's dissatisfied with something... that's….

Some people think that if their opponent plays a beautiful game, it's OK to lose. I don't. You have to be merciless..

What I admired most about him [Bobby Fischer] was his ability to make what was in fact so difficult look easy to us. I try to emulate him..

Right now I'm really happy with how things are going with my chess career, so I'm not thinking of doing anything else..