Chess star Carlsen

Despite being a tender 23 years old, the current chess world champion Magnus Carlsen is no stranger to plenty of attention. At just 13, he was already turning heads in the sport, and by January 2010 - as a 19-year-old - he'd climbed to the top of the world chess rankings.

His ELO number, the number used to measure a player's chess skill level, hit 2,882 points in May of this year. That's the highest level ever reached in the sport. Previously, the mark had been set by Garry Kasparov, at 2,851 points.

Carlsen has a photographic memory he says. He's even been known to win some chess matches blindfolded.

No nerd

The nerdy image is one that so often haunts top chess players. Magnus Carlsen however is not one of those. Carlsen likes to keep fit by playing football and loves to go jetskiing and swimming off the south Norwegian coast every summer. He even likes to model a little, showing off the threads of the Dutch denim company "G-Star" in his spare time. His sponsorship deals have already made him a millionaire, although he did win nearly one million euros when he triumphed in last year's World Chess Championship.

Recently he's launched a new app called "Do you dare play Magnus?" which also brings in some income too. In the game, chess fanatics can play a simulated version of Carlsen at various ages. If you win enough, you can qualify for a game against the superstar. The first stage sees you play a five-year-old version of Magnus - a tough enough task for even most chess players.

He's a big Facebook user and he regularly posts events from his life to his hundreds of thousands of fans. Back home in Norway, Magnus Carlsen is a household name. It might be hard to believe, but his match last year against the Indian Viswanathan Anand broke all sorts of TV records. In a country which normally loves its winter sports, he was even voted sportsman of the year last year. Despite all the attention, he remains shy of the media.

"Sometimes, I seem more uptight than I actually am," the 23-year-old recently said in interview with German broadcaster WDR. "That's probably because as a child, I just didn't like giving interviews."

These days, it's the same story. An interview request from DW was politely, but clearly, refused. He wants to focus all his efforts on his training, ahead of the upcoming World Chess Championship match. The 20 day event (including rest days) will once again be against the Indian Anand, this time in Sochi.

Criticism of Sochi

When playing, Carlsen is brilliant, often playing the perfect game. Sometimes though he uses high-risk tactics, which can lead to heavy losses. That was the case at the Chess Olympiad in Norway this year, where he lost twice. Criticism of his playing style doesn't bother him too much, as he explained to WDR.

"I think, I have always had the same approach," he said. "I just want to learn to get better. That's my motivation every time that I play."

The approaching World Chess Championship match in Sochi nearly didn't happen though. Carlsen agreed to take part in the event right at the last moment. He was concerned about the current role of Russia in the Ukraine, and tried to get the location of the match moved. Eventually he was forced into playing or he would have had to forfeit the match. Now, the defending champ is just looking forward to the challenge.

"I think that Anand will be better prepared than last time," Carlsen said. "But, I am too."