How Magnus Carlsen opens with White
Magnus Carlsen’s first move as White from 2003 to 2026, in three-year spells. 1.e4 and 1.d4 keep swapping the top spot, and lately 1.Nf3 and 1.c4 have taken a real share.
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Data: PGN Mentor’s archive of Magnus Carlsen’s games (7,818 games 2001-2026, all time controls: classical, rapid, blitz and online). 2001-02 are left out, with fewer than 31 games as White each. The busy years from 2020 are mostly online rapid and blitz. 2026 runs to the archive’s last update.