19 November 2013

Anand - Carlsen, Mainstream Press

While scrolling Yahoo news, my eye saw the caption header, 'Model is greatest ever, but not in modeling', before it saw the photo. My first reaction was 'that guy looks familiar', then I did a double take when I recognized GM Carlsen. The caption said,

Magnus Carlsen has what every superstar has: endorsement deals, a growing bank balance, and millions of fans. Transcendent skills.

I'm not usually interested in stories about models, but I had to read this one.

The full article, titled Magnus Carlsen brings new style to the world of competitive chess [sports.yahoo.com], had a lead similar to the caption.

Magnus Carlsen has everything you might expect of a superstar athlete: a modeling contract, endorsement deals, a dedicated female fan club, a growing bank balance and millions of fans watching his every move.

Who said the mainstream press isn't interested in chess? Don't overlook the article's many comments.

2 comments:

Macauley Peterson, ChessBase.com said...

Too bad the comments are mostly repetitive nonsense.

Mark Weeks said...

The headline that I captured promised an article about a model who happens to be a chess master. The article is about a chess master who happens to have done some modeling.

Many of the comments were related to the modeling. I imagine they were mostly from people who weren't the least bit interested in the chess master. That's what happens when the mainstream press writes about chess.