Play Magnus has a unique concept where you play the best or one of the best chess players who ever lived at each age.
So when Magnus was 5 he obviously wasn’t as good at chess as someone who’s an adult and a decent player. Then it scales up from there to progressively harder chess.
In this article, we’ll look at the approximate ELO ratings for Play Magnus at each age.
Play Magnus – Approximate ELO Ratings
5 years old: 250
6 years old: 500
7 years old: 800
8 years old: 850
9 years old: 900
Norwegian rating.
10 years old: 2200
Still Norwegian rating.
Heidi Røneid vs. Magnus Carlsen Age 10 | Play Magnus App | Chessable Masters
11 years old: 2227
Magnus became an FM at age 11.
12 years old: 2350
Magnus became an IM at age 12.
13 years old: 2500
Magnus became a GM at age 13, the youngest in the world and the second-youngest ever at the time.
14 years old: 2581
15 years old: 2570
Magnus went through his only real slump that year.
16 years old: 2698
Magnus played in his first super tournaments right around this time.
17 years old: 2714
Magnus reached 2700 at 16 as the youngest ever, a record that has since been beaten by Wei Yi.
18 years old: 2786
Magnus was now number four in the world.
19 years old: 2801
Magnus reached 2800 at 18 as the youngest ever. The record still stands.
20 years old: 2802
Magnus became the highest-rated player in the world at 19, as the youngest ever.
21 years old: 2826
Magnus solidified his top spot on the world rankings this year, and has held it since.
22 years old: 2848
Magnus was really closing in on Kasparov’s rating record now, and surpassed it shortly after his 22nd birthday.
23 years old: 2870
At this point there was a whopping 70-point difference between Magnus and the second-rated player, Levon Aronian.
24 years old: 2863
Magnus peaked at 2882 (unofficially 2889) that year, the highest rating ever.
Magnus also recognizes age 24 as generally his best form ever.
25 years old: 2850
A minor dip in form.
26 years old: 2853
Still number one by a good margin.
27 year olds and beyond: 2850+
Magnus is now in his 30s, and his rating has peaked in the high-2800s.
The engine probably gets incrementally more difficult at each age, but should top out around at ELO of about 2900.
It remains a great app for impersonating super-GM/world champion-level play.
Play Magnus was acquired by Chess(.)com in August 2022.
Magnus Carlsen Age
Magnus was born November 30, 1990, so he will be 33 in November 2023.
