Magnus Carlsen is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster who was born on November 30, 1990, in Tonsberg, Norway to his parents Sigrun Oen and Henrik Albert Carlsen. Carlsen spent his early years in Espoo, Finland before moving with his family to Brussels, Belgium. He returned to Lommedalen, Baerum, Norway in 1998. Carlsen exhibited unusually high intellectual abilities and at the age of two, he could solve 50-piece jigsaw puzzles. By age four, he was assembling Lego sets intended for children aged 10 to 14.

In 1999, Carlsen participated in his first chess tournament at the age of eight in the youngest division of the Norwegian Chess Championship. He was coached at the Norwegian College of Elite Sport by chess Grandmaster Simen Agdestein. At age 15, he won the Norwegian Chess Champion with the help of his coach. Carlsen achieved his highest rating of 2882 in 2014, the highest in chess history earning him a reputation as a chess prodigy.