Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) is back on a roll. After a short hiatus from domination— due to illness— he has returned to form. He seems to be back to the point where any race in which he is entered, he is automatically the favorite. Klaebo won every race last weekend in Trondheim, a Sprint, a Skiathlon, and a Classic race.
There is another Norwegian who carries those same kinds of outsized expectations in another sport which has nothing to do with snow; and as the dominant competitor he has a lot in common with Klaebo. Not only do both of their names come up quickly in G.O.A.T (greatest of all time) conversations, but their dominating style has completely changed their sports.
Magnus Carlsen (NOR) is the five-time World Chess Champion, arguably more dominant than Klaebo is in the sport of cross country skiing, and probably even more famous in their home country. The only reason Carlsen is not currently the World Classical chess champion is that he chose not to play in this year’s tournament. After winning five years in a row, he was bored and basically unmotivated to gear up for a sixth go at it.
Like skiing, chess has several different disciplines. The World Championships use the Classical rules (long games, commonly exceeding five hours). Blitz and Rapid are chess’ equivalent to Sprint racing. Carlsen is the reigning six-time World Blitz champion, and the four-time reigning Rapid Champion. Carlsen also had an unprecedented undefeated streak of 125 games in a row. A streak which Klaebo can’t come close to matching.
Chess—like cross-country—has a ranking system based on points. Carlsen has held the number one position since 2011; a reign at the top which exceeds even Klaebo’s long reign.
So, who is more dominant in their discipline? Well, the numbers lean toward Carlsen.
Carlsen holds the highest rating in chess history of 2882 and is usually the only player rated above 2800 in Classical chess at any given time (There was great fanfare in the chess-world when Fabiano Caruana of the United States recently joined the plus 2800 club with a ranking of 2804). The 2800 ranking is a chess milestone: it’s like 60 home runs in a baseball season, rushing for 2,000 yards in a football season, or winning overall Crystal Globes in cross-country skiing for consecutive years. Very few people have done it.
There is something in chess known as the “Magnus effect.” This term describes a situation when Carlsen makes an objectively bad move, but his opponent is afraid to take advantage of it because he thinks it’s a trap. The underlying premise is that Carlsen is so good that there must be a reason for an apparent miscue; he couldn’t “just make a mistake.” This sounds a lot like the many times competitors have been so intimidated by lining up with Klaebo that they have bungled their own strategy or made an unforced error because they were worried about what Klaebo was going to do.
Who is more famous worldwide? Social media metrics suggest that the advantage clearly goes to Carlsen. Klaebo has 123,000 subscribers on his YouTube Channel and about 437,000 Instagram followers. Carlsen has a pop-star level 1.12 million YouTube subscribers, and 1.3 million Instagram followers. Even biathlon superstar Dorothea Wierer only has 612,000 followers. Advantage Carlsen.
Commentators are often impressed by Klaebo finding a line during a race that no other racer has taken. Likewise, Carlsen will often use openings that are rarely chosen. He does so not necessarily for a tactical advantage, but just to keep things interesting.
When Carlsen sits down at a chess board, he is expected to win. If he doesn’t, it makes world news in chess . . . just like when Klaebo doesn’t win a Sprint. The two men are very much alike in their domination of their chosen pursuits. Carlsen has said, “Not winning a tournament is not an option for me.”
Norway is a relatively small country: population 5.5 million, roughly the same as South Carolina. Not to throw shade on the Palmetto State, but you don’t hear about multiple South Carolinians obtaining global domination in their sports.
When looking to explain how Norway has accomplished this, it’s easy to dismiss the cross-country success as a mix of access to snow, a national ethos of embracing outdoor activity, and being a wealthy country. But what’s the explanation for chess domination? It’s not exactly in keeping with the stereotypical view of the rugged outdoor Norwegian. Is there something in Norwegian water? Is there some kind of hyper-competitive Norwegian gene? Who knows, but there might be some lessons the rest of the world can learn from Norway. In the meantime, while the rest of the world tries to figure it out, Klaebo and Carlsen can have their own competition about who is the most dominant Norwegian in their sport. As of now, Klaebo is in the unusual position of having a little catching up to do.
