What is Magnus Carlsen's IQ?
Magnus Carlsen's IQ is widely quoted as 190. He has never published a test result, and has said in interviews that he does not know his IQ and has no interest in finding out.
A quick, honest note. This number circulates online with no traceable origin. We publish it because you came to read it, and label it what it is: lore.
Where does the 190 number come from?
Carlsen's stated reasoning is worth quoting in substance: he has suggested that knowing the number could only hurt — a high score would invite complacency, a low one would invite doubt, and neither would improve his chess.
The 190 has the same non-provenance as the other chess figures on this site. It is worth setting against the one chess number that does have a source: Kasparov's proctored 135. If the strongest tested player on record measured 135, a sourceless 190 for anyone else should be read with scepticism.
How rare would a 190 IQ be?
If the 190 figure were literally true, it would be extraordinarily rare — rarer than1 in 1,009,976,791 people. That alone is a good reason to treat any confident-sounding celebrity IQ number with a raised eyebrow.
Too rare to draw — a grid with one highlighted dot in 1,009,976,791 would be a solid wall of gray.
What a score like this would mean
A 190 would sit in the very superior · gifted range — about one person in 1,009,976,791. Fill a large concert hall and you would expect nobody in the room to clear it.
Stop reading estimates about strangers. Sixteen questions and about ten minutes gets you a number that is actually yours.
Frequently asked questions
What is Magnus Carlsen's IQ?
Unknown. He has never published a test result and has said he does not know it.
Why is 190 quoted so often?
It circulates on aggregator sites with no original source. The one properly tested chess figure on record, Kasparov’s, is 135.