every time Magnus Carlsen loses a chess game, the spirit of Mikhail Tal lights a cigarette and cracks open a bottle of vodka
I'm sitting here trying to think of just what it is about Magnus Carlsen that doesn't sit well with me and I think it's because he's less of a person than a brand, somehow. He's not the first chess champion to do so; Garry Kasparov knew how to gin up publicity for himself, too. But there's something corporate and colorless about the Carlsen brand that was never true of Kasparov, who's always seemed a little larger than life.
Carlsen seems rather to fade away on close scrutiny. He's all glossy magazine spreads and dull but discreetly hagiographic press coverage. He carefully avoids having opinions on anything.
the world of professional chess is rather a mess, run by a corrupt as shit international governing body who keeps messing with the formats of tournaments and matches, and there was some hope that when the young and monstrously strong Carlsen finally became world champion, he'd add his voice to those calling for reform (as did Kasparov) , but no such luck. To be fair, most of the top players seem content to live with the current system :/