At first glance, Johan-Sebastian Christiansen looks like your typical 20-something chap — with a fashion sense that's on-point...a huge appetite for travel and good living...and a complete line-up of social media accounts, updated regularly with the snazziest photos.
What casuals don't realize, though, is that Johan-Sebastian is an elite grandmaster with a peak FIDE rating of 2620.
He's Norway's 3rd highest ranked player, and the "secret" weapon of budding super-GMs.
When Dutch #2 GM Jorden van Foreest competed in the 2020 edition of the Tata Steel Masters Tournament, Johan-Sebastian supplied him with an arsenal of opening novelties capable of taking down the toughest of opposition.
Their weapon of choice was the Alapin Sicilian...which Johan-Sebastian broke down and analyzed in his Chessable course, The High-Pressure Alapin Sicilian.
(Jorden took fourth place in the event, after scoring upsets against 2700-grandmasters. He went on to win the 2021 edition of the tournament after beating top-10 player Anish Giri in the tiebreaks.)
Reliability is one of Johan-Sebastian's strongest suit as a second. As a player, however, his consistency can only be rivalled and surpassed by the world's top players.
His best personal result of beating GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2-0 in the FIDE World Cup 2019 is impressive. But playing for nearly a year without dropping a single game? Even more so!
During the time, Johan-Sebastian also secured podium finishes in strong open tournaments, including the Summer Prague Open 2020 (shared second place)...13th Paleochora Open (shared second place)...and the Prague Chess Festival 2020 (shared first place).
As an author, Grandmaster Johan-Sebastian Christiansen serves you the consistent, strong moves and reliable opening analysis he's been known for...
And you're only one click away from enjoying his top-notch instruction.