Without starting another thread, thought of resurrecting this thread to highlight an observation or two by GM Colovic:
Quote:

http://www.alexcolovic.com/2016/09/baku-olympiad-2016-rounds-10.html

Keano wrote on 09/11/10 at 11:58:33:

Sorry, but your answer is full of (illogical) assumptions. How a human feature is seen has nothing to do with attributing this feature to a single person publicly.

Stigma - if he has come out and clarified that he is not autistic then fine. At the moment it doesn't seem to be clarified though and since this is all over the place on wikepeadia, Migs blog, and lots of other places, I dont really agree that us discussing it in one other place here is supporting rumours. So what if he has slight symptoms of Aspergers? From what I can gather in an interview in the New York Times his father said that he was never tested because he seemed well adjusted socially, although his childhood was obviously not normal and there were several times he was concerned. Anyway it seems to be a slight to autistic people to avoid the subject since he has several obvious character traits, and it seems more open, helpful and productive generally that if it is the case it is brought out into the open now. Just my opinion mind, and I can see I've upset a few people who take this as some kind of attack on Carlsen which it certainly is not, I've always been a top supporter of his and you can see in other threads.

Keano wrote on 09/11/10 at 11:58:33:

As tafl just said, Carlsen's answer in that interview was irony. In a somewhat later interview he clarified that he didn't realize anyone could actually believe he was autistic, with all the normal interests he had shown. But maybe that's more obvious to those who know him than to the general public. (I can't find any link to this later answer now; will post it if I do).

So yes, until the man himself says something else in public you are spreading unsupported rumours.

I remember Magnus' father once commenting he was happy things had turned out so well for a child that was in some ways very different. But probably he was just thinking of his unusual skills and interests, obvious from an early age.

This topic serves only the spreading of rumours. It is nearly always a lack of professional ethics to give a diagnosis about a person not examined in direct contact under a clear mandate.

Speculations by laymen are b...s... anyway.

[Event "RAW Chess Challenge"]
[Site "1:10:33-0:26:33"]
[Date "2010.09.10"]
[EventDate "2010.09.10"]
[Round "1"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Black "The World"]
[ECO "E62"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "2"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 d6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.O-O e5 8.d5 Ne7 9.e4 c6 10.a4 Bg4 11.a5 cxd5 12.cxd5 Qd7 13.Be3 Rfc8 14.Qa4 Ne8 15.Nd2 Qd8 16.Qb4 Nc7 17.Nc4 Na6 18.Qxb7 Rxc4 19.Qxa6 Rb4 20.f3 Bc8 21.Qe2 f5 22.Qd2 Ba6 23.Rfc1 Qb8 24.Na4 Rb3 25.Rc3 Rb4 26.Rca3 f4 27.Bf2 Bh6 28.Nb6 fxg3 29.Qxb4 gxf2+ 30.Kxf2 Bc8 31.Rb3 axb6 32.Qxb6 Qa7 33.a6 Kf7 34.Qxa7 Rxa7 35.Rb6 Ke8 36.Rxd6 Bf8 37.Rb6 Nxd5 38.Rb8 Bc5+ 39.Kg3 Ne7 40.Bh3 Kd8 41.Bxc8 Nxc8 42.Rc1 Rc7 43.Rxc5 Rxc5 44.a7  1-0

I'm surprised by the World's choice of opening since 7...e5 isn't one of Black's most reputed answers to the Fianchetto Variation. Was this move chosen by the three GMs or the world?

immense amounts of natural talent + a will to work away from the board + killer instinct over the board.

Carlsen is mildly autistic (Asperger's syndrome I believe.  http://www.nettavisen.no/sjakk/article1599185.ece) as are many chess players, some of the most well known being Ivanchuk and Navara.

I saw an interview with Carlsen on a football programme recently which surprised me. The interviewer asked Carlsen if he was interested in football because he heard when he was younger he was always asking for results. What struck me was Carlsens reply - he said that he was fascinated by the results and scores in particular, but not by the football itself or actual teams! I am just guessing but I'd say Carlsen has some kind of condition which allows him to store chess positions/calculations in an ordered way. I'm not saying the guy is like Dustin Hoffman in Rainman, but you know what I mean.

Edit: thinking about this further I feel like an idiot because after a quick google search it seems this topic has already been well covered. Apparently a journalist asked Carlsen in a press conference if he was autistic, and Carlsen replied "Yes, isn't it obvious". Some people are not sure if this was a joke or not, but for me it seems likely he may be slightly autistic. This could actually be a help to him at super GM level, allowing him to remain more focused. Interesting that its not been mentioned at all in the main-stream chess press, maybe because they are scared it will damage the image of the game, but seems more important to me to be truthful and respectful.