Kathryn R Biel Popular Books

Kathryn R Biel Biography & Facts

Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster. He is a five-time World Chess Champion, the reigning five-time World Rapid Chess Champion, the reigning seven-time World Blitz Chess Champion, and the reigning Chess World Cup Champion. He has held the No. 1 position in the FIDE world chess rankings since 1 July 2011 and trails only Garry Kasparov in time spent as the highest-rated player in the world, while holding the record for longest consecutive reign. His peak rating of 2882 is the highest in history. He also holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak at an elite level in classical chess at 125 games.A chess prodigy, Carlsen finished first in the C group of the Corus chess tournament shortly after he turned 13 and earned the title of grandmaster a few months later. At 15, he won the Norwegian Chess Championship, also becoming the youngest ever player to qualify for the Candidates Tournament in 2005. At 17, he finished joint first in the top group of Corus. He surpassed a rating of 2800 at 18, the youngest at the time to do so. In 2010, at 19, he reached No. 1 in the FIDE world rankings, the youngest person ever to do so. Carlsen became World Chess Champion in 2013 by defeating Viswanathan Anand. He retained his title against Anand the following year and won both the 2014 World Rapid Championship and World Blitz Championship, becoming the first player to hold all three titles simultaneously, a feat which he repeated in 2019 and 2022. He defended his classical world title against Sergey Karjakin in 2016, Fabiano Caruana in 2018, and Ian Nepomniachtchi in 2021. Nepomniachtchi qualified again for the title match in 2023, but this time Carlsen declined to defend his title, citing a lack of motivation.Known for his attacking style as a teenager, Carlsen has since developed into a universal player. He uses a variety of openings to make it harder for opponents to prepare against him and reduce the utility of pre-game computer analysis. Childhood Carlsen was born in Tønsberg, Norway, on 30 November 1990 to Sigrun Øen, a chemical engineer, and Henrik Albert Carlsen, an IT consultant. The family spent one year in Espoo, Finland, and then in Brussels, Belgium, before returning to Norway in 1998, where they lived in Lommedalen, Bærum. They later moved to Haslum. Carlsen showed an aptitude for intellectual challenges at a young age. At two years, he could solve 500-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 age five, although he initially showed little interest in it. He has three sisters, and in 2010 stated that one thing that first motivated him to take up chess seriously was the desire to beat his elder sister at the game.The first chess book Carlsen read was a booklet named Find the Plan by Bent Larsen, and his first book on openings was Eduard Gufeld's The Complete Dragon. Carlsen developed his early chess skills playing by himself for hours on end—moving the pieces around, searching for combinations, and replaying games and positions his father showed him. Simen Agdestein emphasises Carlsen's exceptional memory, stating that he was able to recall the locations, populations, flags and capitals of all the countries in the world by age five. Later, he memorised the locations, populations, coats-of-arms and administrative centres of "virtually all" 356 Norwegian municipalities. He participated in his first tournament—the youngest division of the 1999 Norwegian Chess Championship—at 8 years and 7 months, and scored 6/11. Carlsen was coached at the Norwegian College of Elite Sport by the country's top player, Grandmaster (GM) Simen Agdestein, who in turn cites Norwegian football manager Egil "Drillo" Olsen as a key inspiration for his coaching strategy. In 2000, Agdestein introduced Carlsen to Torbjørn Ringdal Hansen, a former Norwegian junior champion and later International Master (IM) and Grandmaster (GM), as Ringdal served a one-year siviltjeneste (an alternative civilian service programme) at the college. Over the course of that year, Carlsen's rating rose from 904 in June 2000 to 1907. His breakthrough occurred in the Norwegian junior teams championship in September 2000, where he scored 3½/5 against the country's top junior players and gained a tournament performance rating (TPR) of around 2000. Apart from chess, which he studied about three to four hours a day, his favourite pastimes included playing football and reading Donald Duck comics. He also practised skiing until age ten.From autumn 2000 to the end of 2002, Carlsen played almost 300 rated tournament games, as well as in several blitz tournaments, and participated in other minor events. In October 2002, he placed sixth in the European Under-12 Championship in Peñiscola. The following month, he tied for first place in the 2002 World Under-12 Championship in Heraklion, placing second to Ian Nepomniachtchi on tiebreak. He then obtained three IM norms in relatively quick succession: the first at the January 2003 Gausdal Troll Masters (score 7/10, 2453 PR); the second at the June 2003 Salongernas IM-tournament in Stockholm (6/9, 2470 PR); and the third at the July 2003 Politiken Cup in Copenhagen (8/11, 2503 PR). He was officially awarded the IM title on 20 August 2003.After finishing primary school, Carlsen took a year off to participate in international chess tournaments in Europe during the autumn of 2003, then returned to complete secondary education at a sports school. During the year away from school, he placed joint-third in the European Under-14 Championship and ninth in the 2003 World Under-14 Championship. Chess career 2004 Carlsen made headlines after his victory, at the age of 13, in the C group at the 2004 Corus chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee. He obtained a score of 10½/13, losing just one game (against the highest-rated player of the C group, Duško Pavasovič). As a result, he earned his first GM norm, and achieved a PR of 2702. Particularly notable was his win over Sipke Ernst in the penultimate round, when he sacrificed material to give mate in just 29 moves. His victory in the C group qualified him to play in the B group in 2005, and it led Lubomir Kavalek, writing for the Washington Post, to give him the title "the Mozart of chess" (although, as pointed out by Edward Winter, the nickname had been given to many illustrious predecessors). Agdestein said that Carlsen had an excellent memory and played an unusually wide range of openings. Carlsen's prowess caught the attention of Microsoft, which became his sponsor.Carlsen obtained his second GM norm at the Moscow Aeroflot Open in February. On 17 March, in a blitz chess tournament in Reykjavík, Iceland, he defeated former World Champion Anatoly Karpov. It was a preliminary event leading up to a rapid knockout tournament beginning the next day. In that event, Carlsen was paire.... Discover the Kathryn R Biel popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Kathryn R Biel books.

Best Seller Kathryn R Biel Books of 2024

  • Seize the Day synopsis, comments

    Seize the Day

    Kathryn R. Biel

    Current Mood: Freaking Out.Erin McAvoy is living her best life. A lover of tacos, witty Tshirts, and Pinterest, Erin is always ready to tell you about her favorite thingthe animals...

  • New Attitude synopsis, comments

    New Attitude

    Kathryn R. Biel

    "This is a great chicklilt story that really connects with the mind and heart!" InD'tale MagazineThe New Beginnings Series that you loved in Made for Me continues!I thought not win...

  • Killing Me Softly synopsis, comments

    Killing Me Softly

    Kathryn R. Biel

    Rivalry, reunions, and renovations. The perfect recipe for disaster.Sadie Perkins has a gift. Call it a sixth sense. Call it clairvoyance. Call it creepy. All she knows is that som...

  • Paradise by the Dashboard Light synopsis, comments

    Paradise by the Dashboard Light

    Kathryn R. Biel

    Running away and living in denial is totally an acceptable way of adulting. That way I don't have to admit that very bad thing I did to the guy I'd been in love with since the day ...

  • Jump, Jive, and Wail synopsis, comments

    Jump, Jive, and Wail

    Kathryn R. Biel

    He's got an Olympic medal; she's got a careerending injury. They may be stuck in a snowstorm, but things are heating up in this sports romance.Yes, I have an attitude problem. You ...

  • Vision of Love synopsis, comments

    Vision of Love

    Kathryn R. Biel

    USA Today Bestselling Author Kathryn R. Biel returns for another season at The Edison Theater in this oppositesattract, workplace romantic comedy.Tabitha:Once upon a time, I used t...

  • Whatever It Takes synopsis, comments

    Whatever It Takes

    Kathryn R. Biel

    USA Today Bestselling Author Kathryn R. Biel returns for the third installment of the Center Stage Love Story Series with this emotional and engaging story of the quest to be the b...

  • You Belong with Me synopsis, comments

    You Belong with Me

    Kathryn R. Biel

    In college, they were friends. For one night, they were lovers. Now she needs a favor, if only she can forgive him for ruining her life. Twelve years ago, wouldbe sportscaster...

  • Hold Her Down synopsis, comments

    Hold Her Down

    Kathryn R. Biel

    But it was everything she ever wanted. Right?Elizabeth Zurlo is everything to everyone: wife, mother, teacher. But in being everyone's everything, Elizabeth has lost herself. ...

  • Ready for Whatever synopsis, comments

    Ready for Whatever

    Kathryn R. Biel

    "Don’t think for one minute that this book is full of heavy, tearful drama. The author approaches Millie’s dilemma with humor, including some moments of madcap hilarity. This book ...

  • Live For This synopsis, comments

    Live For This

    Kathryn R. Biel

    Samirah Lundgren is living the party girl life. While she's trying to forget about her past and put off having a meaningful future, her lifestyle catches up with her, leaving her i...

  • Once in a Lifetime synopsis, comments

    Once in a Lifetime

    Kathryn R. Biel

    Ten years. Five women. One concert.Your reunion was never this good. Or this complicated.A decade ago, Callie Smalls walked away from her topselling, allgirl music group to pursue ...

  • Good Intentions synopsis, comments

    Good Intentions

    Kathryn R. Biel

    At seven, Maggie Miller survived an accident that killed her mother and brother. At twentyfour, she fell in love for the first time. At twentyfive, she realized she was pregnant, a...

  • Underneath It All synopsis, comments

    Underneath It All

    Kathryn R. Biel

    Marg Kensington has the perfect life. No really, she does. A husband who's as detailoriented as she is, two great kids, the house, you name it. The only thing not perfect for Marg ...

  • Made for Me synopsis, comments

    Made for Me

    Kathryn R. Biel

    INDIEREADER AWARD WINNER FOR BEST CHICK LIT! "MADE FOR ME by Kathryn Biel is like your favorite bingeworthy television seriesa fun reality show romp bursting with drama, romance, a...

  • The UnBRCAble Women Series Box Set synopsis, comments

    The UnBRCAble Women Series Box Set

    Kathryn R. Biel

    Are you ready to Be UnBRCAble? Get set to live, laugh, and love with this awardwinning series, chronicling the journey of women gaining control over their genetics. Contains the co...

  • Queen of Hearts synopsis, comments

    Queen of Hearts

    Kathryn R. Biel

    "An entertaining twist on the modern fairy tale!" InD'tale Magazine And then they lived happily ever after ... right? Not necessarily in my case. I thought marrying Crown Prince St...

  • Take a Chance on Me synopsis, comments

    Take a Chance on Me

    Kathryn R. Biel

    She's finally getting her life back together. His is falling apart. It's the perfect time to take a chance.Nobody likes packing up their things and moving to a small town in the mi...