The chess world has a new No. 1 player, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, and he is only 18 years old — the youngest chess player ever to hold the rank. On Saturday, Mr. Carlsen beat Peter Leko, a Hungarian player now ranked No. 11, in the final round of a chess tournament in Moscow. Though Mr. Carlsen only tied for second in the tournament, his performance was good enough for him to edge out Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria for the top world ranking. Mr. Topalov, 34, did not compete in the tournament. Mr. Carlsen, who turns 19 on Nov. 30, is only the seventh No. 1-ranked chess player since the ranking system began in 1970. Garry Kasparov, the Russian former world chess champion ...
More...