The photo of Carlsen jumping in the swimming-pool in his suit was sheer luck! I had this cover all prepared in expectation that Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen would win the 2013 World Chess Championship – the publishers and I expected a traditional shot of the winner holding the trophy aloft, so the cover artwork sat with a dummy image of that in place. We were delighted when the young World Champion gave us such a great photo opportunity. I added the photo and it was approved and off to print in a few hours, to catch the Christmas 2013 trade.
