[ Dramatic music plays ]
-Take a sip from your soul
On a metaphysical milkshake
-SoulPancakers, I am so thrilled to be here
with one of my all time heroes,
truly the number-one chess player in the world,
the youngest international grandmaster champion
of all time, Mr. Magnus Carlsen.
[ Imitates crowd cheering ]
What, do I have a bad breath?
-That was awful.
-For those of you, those Pancakers who don't know,
I'm kind of a big chess geek,
and I play a little bit of chess.
I was on the high-school chess team.
True story -- At one chess tournament,
I saw a guy with mold in his ear.
You may have heard this is a metaphysical van,
and you can go pretty much any place in the multiverse
that you would like to go.
Where would you like to go?
-To the sun.
Boom.
-I'm not feeling it. -You're not feeling it?
Okay, how about we go to the inside of your brain
and see how it all works?
-That works. -You have a magnificent brain,
and if it was exposed to the air, I would massage it.
-Um... -That's not a sexual thing.
It's not even like a Jeffrey Dahmer thing.
It's -- I appreciate your absolute brilliance.
You are the number-one chess player in the world.
I'm pretty much
the number-one actor in the world, right?
-How can I disagree with that?
-What keeps you humble?
-We Norwegians, we are taught from an early age
that you shouldn't think you are something.
-Hmm. -Which is a little bit different
from here, where you're supposed to be something, you know?
-'Cause you -- That boasting, like, "Oh, man,
I took that guy down with my rook.
I'm so badass." And your dad is like...
[ Norwegian accent ] "Magnus, remember where you come from."
-That was the worst Norwegian accent ever.
-[ Laughs ]
-[ Normal voice ] Some people view success in chess
as you have to be more of a warrior.
And some people view chess
as you need to be more of an artist.
Which would you say that you are,
and which of those is more true?
-I think I'm more of the warrior than an artist,
but I like to find some kind of art,
some kind of beauty in my games.
But the main goal is to win, and that's the warrior.
-If there are a group of evil, villainous chess players
and a group of good chess players,
kind of like superheroes, which side would you join?
-In my dreams, there are several times
evil chess players who make me lose for no apparent reason
or trick me into not coming to the game
and losing for that reason.
So, I mean, in my dreams I'm always one of the good guys,
so I think I would be one of good guys, yeah.
-That's fascinating. So, you have dreams
of evil, manipulative chess players?
-Yeah. -Do they kind of look like this?
[ Laughs evilly ]
You know, when I was researching doing this interview with you,
I was a little intimidated because you're, like,
the greatest at something in the world.
But as I was researching you, what's odd to me is, like,
you're a totally normal person.
People think about chess geniuses
as hanging out in their basement and obsessively, like, chewing
on their own skin and, you know,
maybe bodies hidden somewhere in the house.
-Well, you know, I'm only 21 years old,
so give me some time to develop the crazy, you know?
-[ Laughs ] Okay, good.
Boom -- Life's big questions. Lightning round.
What is your biggest fear?
-To get attacked by a big fish in an open sea.
-What does your name mean? -"The great."
-Do you consider yourself a genius?
-No, I do not.
-What blows your mind? -Magic tricks.
[ Both laugh ]
-What is your life's big question?
What is the big question that you wrestle with?
-Whether there is life after death.
I had a firm conclusion when I was a child...
-Mm-hmm. -...that after people die
they all gather in the universe
and use their power to start a new big bang
and that this is just an infinite cycle.
-And that perpetuates the universe?
-Yes. -That is really cool.
Have you given this more thought as a late teen
or in your early adulthood?
-No, not really because I got Internet in my room,
and I stopped thinking about such things.
-[ Laughs ]
The Internet killed your creativity?
-Yes. -As it does for so many of us.
-Yes. -What would the first sentence
of your autobiography be? -"I'm not a genius."
-And what would the title of your autobiography be?
-"Magnus Carlsen: Chess Genius." I don't know.
-[ Laughs ]
-So, YouTubers, here's your creative challenge
for this Metaphysical Milkshake.
Write down the title of your autobiography
and also your first sentence, and Magnus --
I'm going to make him read through all of them.
We are going to read through all of the titles
and the first sentences, right?
-Yeah, and I'm sure they're going to make much for sense
than mine did. -Than yours? [chuckles]
So, write them down right now in the comment section below --
title of your autobiography and your first sentence.
Let her rip. Go. Boom, do it.
Checkmate.
You have soft, supple hands of a chess player.
Do you moisturize?
These are delicate instruments for you, like a piano player.
Of course, you could probably get your hands chopped off,
and you could still play chess with your stumps.
-SoulPancake
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