My former coach, Simen Agdestein, used to be the best player in Norway.

I am not some sort of freak. I might be very good at chess but I'm just a normal person.

I don't look at computers as opponents. For me it is much more interesting to beat humans.

I don't really watch too many movies. I don't have the patience usually to watch one, one and a half or two hours in a row.

I'm definitely the first no.1 in the world since Fischer, and probably at least since Kasparov, who probably has the most potential to dominate for the foreseeable future.

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

Self-confidence is very important. If you don't think you can win, you will take cowardly decisions in the crucial moments, out of sheer respect for your opponent. You see the opportunity but also greater limitations than you should. I have always believed in what I do on the chessboard, even when I had no objective reason to. It is better to overestimate your prospects than underestimate them.