World chess champion Carlsen is highest earning esports player of 2020 Tuesday, 19 January 2021 Norway’s world chess champion Magnus Carlsen has been named as the world’s highest-earning esports player of 2020 after successfully turning his hand at gaming during the coronavirus pandemic. The 30-year-old grandmaster registered $510,587 (£375,795/€422,559) in prize money from Chess24. Carlsen, who first reached the top of the International Chess Federation world rankings in 2010, goes by the name of DrNykterstein on the computer game. He was joined in the top 10 by American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, whose winnings totalled $325,000 (£239,183/€268,968) for the year. The top 50 also featured two more Chess 24 players, demonstrating the sport’s rise in the gaming world.