[CaptainOfCoit]

> Carlsen showed an aptitude for intellectual challenges at a young age. At two years, he could solve 50-piece jigsaw puzzles; at four, he enjoyed assembling Lego sets with instructions intended for children aged 10–14. His father, a keen amateur chess player, taught him to play at the age of five, although he initially showed little interest in it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_Carlsen#Childhood

I don't know you could go as far to say he was born better at chess, but he certainly seemed to be smart early on, and with his father's influence and with a supporting environment that smarts got aimed at chess.

[jacquesm]

Some people have that talent, others do not. And then those who do have that talent and put in the hours studying theory can go very far without ever looking at a computer to help them with analysis.

Carlsen is that once-per-generation exception, someone who has a talent that somehow allows him to see a little further down the game tree than others. I grew up next to someone who was nearly that good, but there are so many people in that bracket that outside of NL he's not very well known. The distribution of skill at the high end of chess is highly non-linear.

[Fire-Dragon-DoL]

I mean, I could build any lego at age 4, that didn't make me smart, just obsessed with lego, lol

[CaptainOfCoit]

I don't think that particular snippet of text is supposed to highlight how smart Magnus is because of being able to build LEGO at 4, but rather shows the kind of environment he grew up with to foster what he is today.