Norwegian 'King of Chess' calls in the cyber police ahead of his battle with a Russian grandmaster amid fears Putin's hackers will steal his tactics from the computers he trains against

Magnus Carlsen is to play Sergey Karjakin in Chess World Championships
He fears Russian hackers are working to help his Crimean-born opponent
Karjakin is a fierce supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin
Norwegian Carlsen, 25, has called on Microsoft to shield his secret tactics

Published: 20:23 GMT, 6 November 2016 | Updated: 23:58 GMT, 6 November 2016

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The world chess champion Magnus Carlsen has pleaded with Microsoft to protect his secret tactics over fears Russian hackers will discover them.

The Norwegian is to play the Crimean-born Sergey Karjakin in the World Championship final next week.

But he fears cyber teams are working to help Karjakin who is a fierce supporter of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Magnus Carlsen, 25, is to play Sergey Karjakin in the World Championship final next week

Russia's President Vladimir Putin with Russian chess grandmaster Sergey Karjakin

Carlsen has spent months honing his skills and tactics using powerful chess computers ahead of the tournament on Friday, November 11.

He has contacted Microsoft's Norway team and asked for assurances his plans would be protected.

Vibeke Hansen, a spokeswoman for Microsoft Norway, told The Sunday Telegraph: '...It is critical that all communication during preparation and the finals is completely secure. Preparing for a World Championship demands a lot of work, analysis and strategic sparring – and a lot of computing power.'

She said Microsoft Norway will 'ensure that he has a safe training environment and secure communication and collaboration tools'.

Carlsen (pictured during a previous match) has spent months honing his skills and tactics using powerful chess computers ahead of the tournament final on Friday, November 11

Carlsen, 25, has not spoken about his preparation for the match which chess experts are calling one of the biggest in decades.

His manager Espen Agdestein said the preparations were going as planned.

The need to keep chess plans secret is key if a player is to succeed. Top chess players go to such lengths as to employ teams of researchers who analyse opponents for weaknesses.

Carlsen's belief that Russian hackers could be probing for his tactics comes after Microsoft was the target of cyber criminals who exploited a flaw in its operating systems.

The tech giant blamed the hacking group 'Fancy Bears' formerly linked with the Russian government.

The group revealed personal records of US Olympic athletes after they hacked into a drugs testing database.