Carlsen sits at the center of a campaign carefully constructed by him and his handlers to use his intelligence, looks and nimble news-media-charming skills to increase his profile outside the sport, as if he were a tennis or golf star. Not since the days of Fischer, Kasparov and Karpov has a player managed to move so deftly beyond the world of chess into the world at large.

“Magnus probably sees himself more like a modern sports star who wants to have fun than like a traditional stereotype of a chess player,” said his manager, Espen Agdestein. “Magnus is becoming more a global person.”

Carlsen has been profiled on “60 Minutes”; has modeled (along with Liv Tyler) for a major clothing label; has met Jay-Z at a Nets game; and has been offered a role, as a chess player, in the coming “Star Trek” film (the role fell through because of work-permit issues).

Much of the attention is because Carlsen has accomplished so much so young; the word prodigy has been trailing behind him for more than a decade. His chess rating — which reflects a player’s relative standing and is calculated according to a complicated win-loss formula — is 2872, the highest ever. (The record was 2851, set by Garry Kasparov in 1999.) Viswanathan Anand, a Bollywood-level celebrity back home in India and the current world champion, has a rating of 2784.

With his Candidates’ Tournament victory, Carlsen will now challenge Anand in the next World Chess Championship, to be played in the fall. His presence is sure to generate new levels of interest in the contest, or so the organizers are hoping.