My father, a fine chess player himself, has been a massive influence throughout my life.

I don't consider myself a particularly young chess player. I have been playing in the best tournaments in the world since I was 16 years old. In other sports, if you have been playing for seven years, you are not a young prodigy any more. You're one of the pros.

It's just not my nature to go around idolizing people.

I enjoy hiking and skiing, like most Norwegians. In winter, there will be snow for months on end. In the summer, there are the long evenings to enjoy.

Without the element of enjoyment, it is not worth trying to excel at anything.

The Nanjing games are homework by Garry Kasparov and me, [...] Today's game was provided by Garry.

Contrary to many young Colleagues, I do believe that it makes sense to study the Classics.