Play Magnus App Review – Yeah! You can Play Magnus Carlsen!
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Who can ignore the app created by the World Champion? Play Magnus is exactly that kind of chess app. Created and launched by Magnus and his team in 2014, this app has come a long way since then.
But is there anything that makes this app unique, apart from the fact that it was the world champion’s team who created it? Should you use this app? Will it do good for your chess?
And would you like to know what happened when the real Carlsen faced younger Carlsen, on the app?!!
Keep reading to find out.
Play against Magnus Carlsen?
Can you actually play with Magnus on this app? The answer is partially true and false. On this app, you can play against the reel Magnus, not the real Magnus. Basically, the point is that you get to play against Carlsen’s bot. Thank the advanced computer algorithm!
The app has been programmed in such a way that it would mimic Carlsen’s strength at any age. When you open the app, you’ll be taken to a dashboard with two options –
- Play with Me
- Train with Me
‘Play with Me’
Here, there are different age categories of Magnus that you can play against. You can tap on the Play Magnus button to get started.
The easiest Magnus you’ll ever face is when he was 5 years old. It’s also the starting age of Magnus on the app. You’ll also see a brief intro, explaining what Magnus was like and how he looked at that age.
Depending on your level, you’ll be able to win against Carlsen of different levels. In real life Carlsen became a Grandmaster at the age of 13. In the app, it is mentioned that at age 13, Carlsen beat Karpov. So to beat Magnus of age 13 is going to require some real chess muscles.
Magnus vs Magnus
But remember you aren’t playing against real Magnus. There’s a funny story that you should know. Once Magnus himself was playing against his younger self on the app.
The real Magnus was playing against his own self aged 18 years of age. At the age of 18, Magnus was already a 2750+ player. So you can expect the app to be that strong. Do you know what was the end result? The real Magnus 2800+ was crushed.
Yes, the real human was defeated by the much younger robot!
But it doesn’t stop here.
Another time Magnus played against himself aged 14 years old. At 14, Magnus was still under the 2650 Elo range. Can you guess what happened this time?
Magnus accidentally lost a drawn position. And he was nowhere close to winning that position either. In fact, he was lucky to get a fortress in that game in order to hold.
The point of telling you these stories is that you don’t have to be discouraged if you lose against the Magnus bot. Even the real Magnus, who’s a world champion, faces difficulty against them.
Other players
On the app, you can also play against other strong players, at different age levels. They include strong grandmasters like Wesley So, Judit Polgar as well as Carlsen’s father Henrik Carlsen. You can play against Judit without paying for any membership. Every character has a short animation clip that depicts a famous story in their life. It was fascinating to watch Judit’s.
‘Train With Me’
This is another feature found on the dashboard page of the app. Train With Me is mostly gated content that features video lessons with Magnus. The video lessons are mostly for beginners and new players. Apart from Train with me, there are also two other options – Magnus Trainer and Tactics Frenzy. However, they will take you to a new app that you should download.
Free Version vs Premium Version
On the dashboard, you can click on the cart option to see what you’re offered in the premium version. The premium version basically unlocks all the video lessons and other players(like Judit, Henrik, Wesley among others) on the app. Apart from that, you also get rid of ads and can evaluate your positions with the app’s very own Magnometer.
Summary of Magnus Carlsen App
PlayMagnus is an app created by the World Champion. It has received a lot of publicity because of this. However, it might not be the best for anyone who’s looking to be a professional. For them, Chess24 would be a better choice. PlayMagnus is mostly catered to the general public who are fascinated by the game and can boast of playing against strong players at their different ages.
