Magnus Carlsen: Thinking Too Long Can Lead to Mistakes

Magnus Carlsen, renowned as the highest-rated chess player in history, shared his insights on the challenges of thinking too long and the lessons businessmen can learn from chess. During World War II, many strong British chess players worked on the Ultra project, decoding Nazi codes. Carlsen mentioned that his grandparents had a book about the Ultra project, which he read in Norwegian. This highlights the historical significance of chess players in critical projects.

Carlsen noted that at least one hedge fund on Wall Street actively hired chess players, emphasizing the practical skills chess can develop. He believes that chess teaches one to solve complex problems under time constraints, a valuable skill in both chess and business. Carlsen uses intuition and pattern recognition more frequently than deep analysis, which he finds more efficient. He typically considers only two or three candidate moves at a time, focusing on practicality over perfectionism.

Carlsen believes that thinking for more than 15 minutes can lead to less effective decisions. He mentioned that he prefers practicality over perfectionism in chess, noting that chess becomes simpler when he can play intuitively. This approach helps him maintain focus and make quicker, more effective decisions.