A grandmaster at 13 and a world champion at 22 - Magnus Carlsen certainly knows how to breach a fortress with carefully planned and timed moves, that take him to an unarmed King and his throne.
With his victory over five-time world champion from India, Viswanathan Anand, in Chennai, the baby-faced assassin from Norway not only has the crown sitting on his head but also the highest rating in the history of world chess.
He was just 13 when sitting on the other side of the table to Gary Kasparov with a chess board between them. Kasparov, arguably the best chess player the world has seen, didn't win that game; the legend from Russia had to settle for a draw.
Carlsen grew up watching his sisters placing the chess pieces on a chequered black-and-white board. And it didn't take him long to develop fancy for bringing a citadel down. By 10, he had made winning tournaments a habit. Then, there was no looking back.
Many consider Carlsen as the complete player since Kasparov, gifted with the skills of strategising, memory, concentration and mental toughness. He doesn't mind playing long, draining games; if anything, he enjoys to tire his opponents down into making tactical errors.
Unlike most chess players, Carlsen is a poster boy too - having already made an appearance as a model for a Dutch clothing company and ranked by UK magazine Cosmopolitan among 'The Sexiest Men of 2013'.
Not that Carlsen's good looks will add glamour to chess, but the crown he won in Chennai surely marks the beginning of a new era in world chess.
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