You talk too fast. Your message is conveyed with a great volume of adolescent excitement and the accompanying "fandom mentality". I can find the same mentality in the pre-game hype for a wrestling match, a pro football game, automobile racing, or a soccer matchup. Life is a choice wherein the pickin' n grinnin' comes from whichever social venue one chooses to subscribe to. The bubbly cheeriness, exuberance, and beatfically beaming elation can be a distraction. It is rather like the fellow on the street, who decided to pee in his pants on a cold day. It was a relief because it gave warmth for a couple of minutes, but when it was over, everything returned to another of the usual forms of discomfort. The whole YIPPEE--SKIPPEE thing ----does that really work for you? It causes me to think of Howard Cosell offering narration.
After Alireza's last lost, he went self-destruct mode. Nepo getting all the matchups where his opponents go self-destruct. Rapport had clear draw, decided to self-destruct too.
@@arrownibent5980 He meant Rapport vs Nepo. That game was a forced draw but Rapport decided to keep playing destroying his own position and giving Nepo an easy win
I mean part of the reason theyre “self destructing” is specifically bc of how far ahead Nepo is. They basically need to win at every opportunity they get and almost even more importantly they need to make Nepo lose every chance they can get. Drawing against him is not really an option if they want to win
@@noThankyou-g5c No. No. Nepo is getting very very lucky in his games. He's creating a little of it but he has gotten the worst version of the opponents he has beaten. Alireza went insane today, Rapport refused to accept a clear repition where every other option was inferior and losing. Nepo has been lucky and I hope he gets caught and actually put under pressure. He's had a shot at WCC and got his result already, time for new blood.
@@emanueleverzelloni9966 no definitely not, nepo did this last year and dominated everyone and just got wiped. Magnus isn't losing to anyone that challenges him
From the beginning of the tournament, Alireza was trying to make history again, so he kept pushing and pushing, and his opponents just sit back and capitalize. Lack of experience for sure, but also great ambition.
Alireza did the correct thing. In candidates u ALWAYS have to push. If u don't win the candidates then u lose. You can score 8 points, be second and that would be the exact same as scoring 0 points and being last.
Nah, Alireza came to the tournament with the mentality to show off his dominance, because he was the "youngest" 2800. However, his ambition backfired, so he went downhill quickly.
@@kartikeyatiwari2502 But you have to push in a smart way, not play like its Bullet. Alireza went -2.5 from 0.0 in TWO moves and that before move 20....that was a bigger blunder than all Nepo made in the WC match and he was shat on by half the world. Pushing as a base strategy is fine but playing hope chess throwing pawns forward like its a random online game is just disrespectful. Todays performance of Alireza was a pure disgrace. Not preparing correctly for your opponent but play random bullet games all night is also like why the fuck are you even here then?
@@Devilfish6666 Ian got shat on, because he was playing the most boring, uninspired chess. no creativity whatsoever. He is still playing the same chess, and the WCC is going to suck a** again. He is just sitting back, playing solid chess.
I've expected a million different things from these candidates, BUT I did not expect levy to make Ding Liren's bishop sound like it has developmental issues
@AARO Chinese people will do anything to win, dong jiren is trash, he gets points by winning against trash players, now he is winning because China is paying caruana to lose against liren and others so that dong wouldn't suffer a horrible loss
It reminded me of Beth Harmon as well. Alireza is still very young so he'll hopefully develop better discipline in time, or at least get a coach who can manage him.
I'd just like to point out Ding has improved on every game from the first half so far A loss against Nepo and then all draws Now a draw with Nepo and, so far, all wins
Ding plays insanely well with black. Even outside the candidates, I’ve noticed that he tends to lose or draw with white and win or draw with black. I think it’s because he plays defense so well, and it’s refreshing to see a super GM playing for wins with black.
@@tyrannusrex31 True, I think there was a study that said the chances of winning with the black pieces on the GM level is like 10% or something, you usually want to draw if you're black but Ding is just built different.
I can imagine that playing hyperbullet against Naroditsky was for Firouzja an equivalent of banging a slot machine in casino. You know its wrong but it just feels so good.
Ian's performance in this tournament is out of this world. Just think about his wins: R1: 32 moves with black vs. Ding Liren (top seed in the Candidates) R4: 39 moves with white vs. Alireza (2nd top seed in the Candidates) R6: 35 moves with white vs. Duda R7: 43 moves with black vs. Rapport R11: 35 moves with black vs. Alireza
I'm happy that Ding and Hikaru finally play a great tournament, but what the hell happend with Fabi? He started off great and then completely collapsed after his long game against Radjabov
We don't know for sure, but his games have been long and tough. I think he may be getting exhausted. Also, you know how people get tilted and start losing more and more after they've started losing? That may be coming into play as well. But this is pure speculation, I want to be clear.
Chinese people will do anything to win, dong jiren is trash, he gets points by winning against trash players, now he is winning because China is paying caruana to lose against liren and others so that dong wouldn't suffer a horrible loss
There's a risk you take when you try to play for a win - the fact that a better player can turn that against you. Alireza is just another rash 19 year old, and Rapport doesn't really care about draws and rather comes to fight every game. Just because these two approaches are high-risk/high-reward, it doesn't make either of them bad players. Remember, this is literally the *strongest players on planet fucking earth*, and in some of these games Ian is literally destroying them like if a 2000 destroyed a 1200 - it's insane. I know the internet is all "ooga booga Ian blundered in WC match = he's bad", but come on, you've got to give credit where it is due.
Nepo secretly thanking Magnus: Last year in championship, I practiced very hard to beat you, but lost. Now it's paying back and I am enjoying beating all these 7 children.
Getting crushed might be one of the best things for Alireza's chess career. Hopefully after this he'll look back and play more in the style of chess that got him to 2800 in the first place... Also not staying up til 5am playing hyper bullet Vs Danya before playing the best players in the world at classical would help 😂
Bruh, he’s playing the same style as always, aggressive chess, he’s just getting obliterated because he lacks experience against players so prepared like the candidates. I’ll be honest, he’s very talented but still has a long way to be a real contender for the world champion title. He might classify again to the next candidates, but he will still be too young. Unless he gets some crazy evolution in these next two years
I think at this point everyone is thinking "screw everyone else, either I win this match, or Nepo wins the tournament". It's kinda obvious that the latter is happening.
i for one think it would be boring, because the chess he plays is ambitious and creative, and magnus’s solid style just seemed to grind him down in the worst of ways in the last world championship. it was honestly kind of hard to watch past a point.
@@ramanandnayak305 fischer is no way top 5 , he never played a tough opponent , only won against a weak wcc spasky , he literally ran away from karpov , wasnt even able to win candidates until 30 age . magnus considers kasparov to be the best followed by capablanca and vishy
Well, sometimes in this tournament in the games against Ian, the other players have rather proven why they do not deserve to win the candidates than Ian showing amazing skill. Ian has still shown that he is an amazing chess player, but he has also been given waay more chances than other players (like against Firouzja today) or other players just didn't use their chances against him (like Hikaru's game againsf Ian)...
@@drakeking9628 he did break a sweat tho...that's why Magnus said WCC was too tiring (not cuz he could beat up everyone but because it takes too much effort for little satisfaction)
@@drakeking9628 Nepo collapsed after the win in round 6 for which Magnus definitely broke a sweat, being the longest game in WCC history. After that Nepo just didn't play like himself. I don't even like Nepo very much but he is incredibly strong and I would say he is very close to Magnus's level, the problems in the last match were purely psychological. If he manages to fix that and Magnus agrees to defend the title it would be a great WCC match.
The biggest wins of Ian were not even from him pressuring his opponents into mistake. It was a 100% draw for Rapport but he decided to throw the game. Then Alireza lost too many times and went to play blitz and then played weird blitz style against Nepo and that was Alireza's biggest self-destruct win in the tournament too. These wins aren't Nepo actually doing something to them, but the opponents are way too greedy and reckless and self-destructing. Nepo could not have won if they did not let him.
I don't agree, but then again, on not his 2nd, do I'm not sitting around him, so if he is that way, then I can only go by his public persona which he never seems arrogant to me, unless he's joking and because he says everything straightfaced, so it's hard to tell sometimes
Crazy how ding went for the favorite going into the candidates, to having an awful start and being almost discarded by most, and now he’s back in second after having an insane last few rounds.
Been watching you for two years now, never commented on any of your videos. I just wanted to thank you for the continuous quality output, your work is oozing with enthusiasm and love! A Gotham Video a day has become integral part of my daily routine :)
Hikaru "I don't care" Nakamura desperately played for a win in a drawing endgame, while Alireza stayed in bullet chess thinking mode. They must have got wrong scripts today..
I am not a fan of Hikaru. Before the candidates i predict that Hikaru will be the punching bag of other players and Alireza will dominate the tournament, and oh boy.... how totally wrong i am right now..
Nepo's on fire! I'm sure he'll keep his streak. I really hope Magnus will defend the title because I'm sure Nepo will be stronger and more focused. Also I would like a Magnus vs Ding but it looks like Nepo won't fail
@@astral6060 It was all about psychology, Nepo played really well right until he lost on that super grind that was round 6, after that his confidence dropped and he got crushed. Honestly most folk lose against Magnus before they sit on the chessboard. Mentality is everything.
i mean Nepo got so many "gifted" wins this tournament, he just plays solid and then suddenly his opponent starts playing like a 800 Ding vs Magnus would be so much better
I’m just ready for Magnus’s heel/villain arc, the rogue not-champion, running around stealing everyone’s Elo and crushing the current champion over the board
Ian protecting his lead point for the candidate tournament in the nutshell: Ian: playing solid defense on black to force a draw His opponents: proceed to force breaking the stalemate and lose the game
Me when I’m watching levy’s videos: What a brilliant move by Hikaru. He is giving himself an advantageous position. Me when I’m the one playing: *blunders queen on move 4*
Can someone tell us what was the final result between Alireza and Danya's bullet match? At this point that result is way more interesting than the candidates
15:47 When you feel useless, when those around you are bullying you, when you think things won't get better, know that you do have a true purpose that will be revealed at the right time: That is the lesson to be learned here.
Fabis loss to Hikaru giving me major Nepo Game 6 WC vibes, feel sorry for him, but cant feel not hyped about the possibility to see a WC with Hikaru in it
6:27 you cant tell me you took a sip of that drink. There is no god damm way you drank a single drop of that. That probably didnt even touch your lips. You likely were held at gun point because the people who captured you just felt like having you drink random stuff
Firoujza looks mature for his age, but we shouldn't forget he's still a teenager. I, for one, can remember doing a lot of other rather crazy things at that age rather than playing bullet chess throughout the night. Well, I wasn't actually playing with bullets instead, but you get my drift, I'm sure. He'll be back on track soon enough: Lass die Jugend ihre Freude! After all, he knows he can no longer win or finish in second place in this tournament, so. By the way: g4 really is a bully bullet move!
Firoujza is a professional. There are thousands of professional sports people who are 19 and younger, none of them would consider staying up all night before an important competition. If they did they would very likely be sanctioned by their coaches/sponsors. Extremely unprofessional behaviour imo being young is no excuse.
@@timhibberd9513 I wasn't trying to excuse him, really, just intimating that he might have acted on the spur of the moment, like youngsters often do, and then, confronted with the prospect of an uphill endgame, which he just might be able to hold to a draw, while still trailing the standings, decided: What the f----k! No excuse, of course, more in the nature of an observation.
I was in Danya's stream, they played 25 games (13-12 for danya) at around 2 am, then he told Ali to go to sleep. I didn't know he played for 4 more hours lmao
I think the shadow of Magnus has affected them emotionally. He put the chip on Alireza and that has crushed him. Magnus is the best but he sometimes has behaved like a spoiled kid. If Magnus doesn´t want to defend his title and go full Fischer mode, let it be.
Why would you stay up till 5 a.m. in what is the most important chess tournament of the year. It seems downright disrespectful to the other candidates. There is no way you can bringer your A game with that amount of sleep, it almost seems like he has allready given up on the tournament, and now he basically gave Nepo the nomination on a silver platter.
This is the same way that Nepo self-destructed against Magnus. At that level - it's an endurance match and when completely fatigued the ability to make good decisions is substantially reduced.
Any person who can play 250 hyperbullet games against one of the best hyperbullet players and then go on and play in the candidates the next day deserves my respect.
Its like going out drinking before a important exam. Sure you can do it but it will negativly impact your next day performanca. If alireza won today that would be incredible 👀
I'll never forget when Nepo came back to the board, looked at Firo and went "bro idk what you've been smoking, but you're about to get mad clapped and it's not gonna be pretty" (he didn't actually say it, he just said it with his head, i read it all)
well the thing is his game didn't start until 3pm so even after staying up till 6 am he could easily get 7-8 hours sleep. so people are kinda blowing the whole thing out of proportion imo
Staying up until 6am playing hyperbullet with a commentator when you have a game against the previous World Championship contender the next day is a gigachad move and no one is convincing me otherwise.
I’m still hoping for a scenario where nepo wins, naka clinches second place, and Magnus doesn’t contest his title so that we can see a nepo vs hikaru world chess championship while Magnus commentates, casually roasting them the whole time
That would be the best pair for social media (except maybe Magnus-Hikaru with Giri trolling up the commentary). The best pair for chess is definitely Magnus-Ding or Magnus-Fabi, those are guaranteed to be interesting in terms of strategy, prep nukes and opening innovations.
Magnus, as many other people do not like, if not hate, Nakamura because he has a very toxic personality. If there was a chance for Nakamura to get it, Magnus wouldnt let him im 100% certain.
Ian really shut up all his doubters. I thought that Magnus broke him in Dubai but boy was I wrong. Ian is proving that the last candidates win wasn’t just a fluke.
#TeamDingLiren all the way. Unfortunately I wonder what Magnus is thinking at the moment after Ian just cruised through Alireza. Ding Liren is starting to look like the scary version of Ding Liren. He’s starting to pull those sleeves up and showing what he is made of.
Imo what Alireza is missing to become WC material is a great mentor. Magnus carlsen had kasparov and that's part of what make him what he is today : Not only the best, but the best by far.. ! And also lack experience, playing bullet will no longer help him to become better, it's just non sense games with a lot of blunder, I don't see the point at this level, except for fun...
I’ve always seen this as alireza’s biggest weakness. His talent is insane and he’s a brilliant player, but if he gets knocked down at all he stops caring and is essentially out. I’m not saying I would do any better in this situation and it is crazy that he is where he is at his age, but he has to gain maturity in that area before he becomes the best of the best. That being said, this was a great round and I truly hope he can produce some magic soon.
@GothamChess Man you look really good on that red shirt.also the pink shirt that you wore is pretty amazing.these two shirt really looks good on you. Btw please wear these again in the future.
I hope Ding Liren wins because I think he deserves to at least have the chance to face off in the WCC after having such a hard time playing in these top level tournaments. His grind to take the free spot for grabs in the candidates would be all the more worth it.
When I see I see super-popular youtube channels and take a taste, I wonder, "Why do people watch this crap? I don't get it." Not with your channel. You have personality, intelligence, an approachable persona, and well-timed humor. You keep it clean, too. Nice job, Gotham.
I think people are unfair towards their analysis on Nepo. Everyone are mostly like "yeah, he got lucky, their opponents handed the game to him". But I think he is literally the only player who successfully sees and take advantage of even the slightest advantage over the board. many other players had devastating lost chances and even went from having full advantage to a losing position because they couldn't calculate well or confidently enough. Ian is the only player that every single time that he has advantage, he can find it, play it and be better for the rest of the game and possibly win it. I think that in itself is truly incredible
The sad part about watching the candidates is that each and every one of these players will kick my ass in chess sleeping while riding a horse upside down through a thunderstorm yet game 1 feels like a matchup of losers and I feel so sorry for both players.
...and they would kick the ass of the players who would kick the ass of the players who would kick the ass of the players who would kick the ass of the players who would kick the ass of the players who would kick my ass
Nepo has played fantastic chess but he's surely been the beneficiary of everybody playing their absolute worst game against him too. Jet lag Ding, frustrated Rapport, Sleepy bullet Alireza...
Everyone has their own sorry excuses for their losses and inability to win, except taking responsiblity for performing poorly or giving credit to the one who is actually winning.
@@Me-fm9zk I mean, credit where it's due as well, you have to beat the guy you're playing and he's done a fantastic job of that. It's just been a real weird tournament in a few spots!
@@Me-fm9zk I guarantee you that if it was Hikaru in Ian's position they would be saying Hikaru is god. They are so salty. Ali Reza also took risks against Hikaru in the 2nd game but the narrative was that Hikaru was amazing.
Even though he is crushing again, I think Nepo winning is the worst timeline. He will likely get wiped by Magnus again and is the most likely player to prompt a no show which means many fans will consider the new champion illegitimate. I think Ding or Fabi have the best chances at being world champion, but Magnus has already beat Fabi so he may not want that match. imo Magnus has Hikarus number so I think a Ding win is the best timeline.
@@PalladinPoker at that wcc match their rating difference is only 3 points which is basically meaningless difference but caruana has been slowly declining after that
Levy, I don't comment very often but I wanted to take a moment to just let you know how incredible your content is. Additionally, thank you for working as hard as you do. I'm sure most people don't even realize how much time and energy you put into your craft. I have been following for many years, both here and Twitch, and you really blow me away. Thanks for helping someone who loves chess but isn't talented enough to appreciate it properly, appreciate it somewhat properly! :) Keep it up thank you bro, big big love!
I really like seeing Nepo winning his second candidates after that heartbreak WCC, but how he wins it makes me question if he really is the best player in the tournament. Like, both games against Firouzja, Firouzja made big mistakes without Ian doing anything out of the ordinary, then Ding blunders in the first round, and Duda just forgets theory in the italian. Dont get me wrong, hes playing great chess, but bis opponents are making big mistakes without Ian putting any extra pressure on them.
yea it's an interesting narrative. there really does seem to be a lot of things going Nepos way at this point. even more interesting since a lot are predicting that he is the one Magnus is the least likely to bother playing again
It's been proven the importance of adequate sleep for sports and intellectual performance. Staying that late is very unprofessional by Alireza. If football players made such a thing during the World Cup, their national media would criticise them, and rightly so.
@@maximussaktish You might but a 19 year old professional sports person wouldn't. I know lots of young althletes and none of them would stay up most of the night before a major comp. There are lots of 19 year old professional sports people and almost all prioritise sleep and rest and their coaches and sponsors would be furious if they didn't.
@@noone-ld7pt Sleep at that time is nowhere near as good, all those bullet games would have made him unnecessarily extra tired and he's left himself no time to prep for his game against Nepo.
@@timhibberd9513 are you saying sleep quality is time specific? cause that is a very disputed claim as far as I know, would love to see some research to back that up. When I researched it while working nightshifts the consensus seemed to be that sleep quality is mainly influenced by surroundings and number of completed REM cycles and that time of day was completely irrelevant as long as the location was sufficiently dark, warm and spacious, but you may of course know more than me. On the preparation side I agree somewhat, but 99.9% of the preparation at that level is done in the months and months prior to the tournament, and some of the contestants (Rapport for example) has said that they actually don't prepare specificly for the next day game but try and relax in whatever way they can and trust their prep.
You talk too fast. Your message is conveyed with a great volume of adolescent excitement and the accompanying "fandom mentality". I can find the same mentality in the pre-game hype for a wrestling match, a pro football game, automobile racing, or a soccer matchup. Life is a choice wherein the pickin' n grinnin' comes from whichever social venue one chooses to subscribe to. The bubbly cheeriness, exuberance, and beatfically beaming elation can be a distraction. It is rather like the fellow on the street, who decided to pee in his pants on a cold day. It was a relief because it gave warmth for a couple of minutes, but when it was over, everything returned to another of the usual forms of discomfort. The whole YIPPEE--SKIPPEE thing ----does that really work for you? It causes me to think of Howard Cosell offering narration.
rip
Sir, this is a Wendy's
Pin of ...
pin of truth
im not reading all of that XD
Damn Alireza prepares for the candidates using the same tactics I use to prepare for my exams.
Hyperbullet and probably some self loathing on the side?
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The worst part I find about such situations is that exam is sitting in the back of your head and you suck at hyperbullet.
Like, you and Ali did nothing?
Well hes still very young probably the same mindset
After Alireza's last lost, he went self-destruct mode. Nepo getting all the matchups where his opponents go self-destruct. Rapport had clear draw, decided to self-destruct too.
Saying Rapport's draw was "clear" is being generous, the repetition was literally on the board XD
I mean they have no choice but to push hard and take chances, what else are they going to do play solid and make draws?
@@arrownibent5980 He meant Rapport vs Nepo. That game was a forced draw but Rapport decided to keep playing destroying his own position and giving Nepo an easy win
I mean part of the reason theyre “self destructing” is specifically bc of how far ahead Nepo is. They basically need to win at every opportunity they get and almost even more importantly they need to make Nepo lose every chance they can get. Drawing against him is not really an option if they want to win
@@noThankyou-g5c No. No. Nepo is getting very very lucky in his games. He's creating a little of it but he has gotten the worst version of the opponents he has beaten. Alireza went insane today, Rapport refused to accept a clear repition where every other option was inferior and losing. Nepo has been lucky and I hope he gets caught and actually put under pressure. He's had a shot at WCC and got his result already, time for new blood.
Honestly by far the biggest reason I want magnus not to contest his title is to have a tiny chance to potentially see him in the next candidates
From the reasons why he’d step down, I don’t think he’d enter the candidates if he qualified.
That would be awesome!
Nepo is maybe better than magnus this time
@@nilscarlson8168 thats why i used the words "chance" and "potentially", i agree its unlikely but I have hope
@@emanueleverzelloni9966 no definitely not, nepo did this last year and dominated everyone and just got wiped. Magnus isn't losing to anyone that challenges him
So well deserved for Ding.
He played the opening perfectly, made a huge blunder then defended perfectly and then attacked super well. What a game.
Would you really call it huge
huge blunders are the ones Nepo is getting
@@Viewer13128 Cope
Which move was a huge blunder?
@@Amethyst_Friend i think it was queen e5 at 12:46
From the beginning of the tournament, Alireza was trying to make history again, so he kept pushing and pushing, and his opponents just sit back and capitalize. Lack of experience for sure, but also great ambition.
Alireza did the correct thing. In candidates u ALWAYS have to push. If u don't win the candidates then u lose. You can score 8 points, be second and that would be the exact same as scoring 0 points and being last.
@@IgorDimitrov this is, without exception, the lamest attempt at a joke I've ever seen
Nah, Alireza came to the tournament with the mentality to show off his dominance, because he was the "youngest" 2800. However, his ambition backfired, so he went downhill quickly.
@@kartikeyatiwari2502 But you have to push in a smart way, not play like its Bullet. Alireza went -2.5 from 0.0 in TWO moves and that before move 20....that was a bigger blunder than all Nepo made in the WC match and he was shat on by half the world. Pushing as a base strategy is fine but playing hope chess throwing pawns forward like its a random online game is just disrespectful. Todays performance of Alireza was a pure disgrace. Not preparing correctly for your opponent but play random bullet games all night is also like why the fuck are you even here then?
@@Devilfish6666 Ian got shat on, because he was playing the most boring, uninspired chess. no creativity whatsoever. He is still playing the same chess, and the WCC is going to suck a** again. He is just sitting back, playing solid chess.
I was always hoping for Ding to magically win 3 games in a row, now he's fking done it. Two of them with the black pieces. OMFG
Now 2 whites vs Radjabov and Hikaru + black vs Firouzja. Got some great chances to get a few more points
yea but Nepo is being fed free games
The problem is that Alireza is nice and is giving points for free
Nepo got fed a-lot in this tournament
Ding sucks. Dude is a scrub.
I've expected a million different things from these candidates, BUT I did not expect levy to make Ding Liren's bishop sound like it has developmental issues
Absolutely here for the ding ascendancy… highly appreciate how quickly we get these recaps, Levi. They’re 100% the highlight of my day
@AARO Chinese people will do anything to win, dong jiren is trash, he gets points by winning against trash players, now he is winning because China is paying caruana to lose against liren and others so that dong wouldn't suffer a horrible loss
same
Levy*
At least Alireza wasn't hangover:) Based on the Queens Gambit story, or what I read about Tal, playing bullet chess till dawn is just mildly insane.
It reminded me of Beth Harmon as well. Alireza is still very young so he'll hopefully develop better discipline in time, or at least get a coach who can manage him.
I'd just like to point out Ding has improved on every game from the first half so far
A loss against Nepo and then all draws
Now a draw with Nepo and, so far, all wins
Ding plays insanely well with black. Even outside the candidates, I’ve noticed that he tends to lose or draw with white and win or draw with black. I think it’s because he plays defense so well, and it’s refreshing to see a super GM playing for wins with black.
@@tyrannusrex31 True, I think there was a study that said the chances of winning with the black pieces on the GM level is like 10% or something, you usually want to draw if you're black but Ding is just built different.
@@ryanfriesen4366 lol did u not read the comment?
@@ryanfriesen4366 He also beat Fabiano from America lol
ding, when playing at his best is basically fucking stockfish, when he's not doing so well, he's not doing so well
8:28 Levy might not be a GM at chess but he is DEFINITELY a GM in comedy LMAO
I can imagine that playing hyperbullet against Naroditsky was for Firouzja an equivalent of banging a slot machine in casino. You know its wrong but it just feels so good.
Is Narodisky Nepo's second? Sure seems like he was helping with prep.
@@GreenManorite nepo's second is probably karjakin and grishuk
@@shouryaaswal5681 Peter Leko?
Ian's performance in this tournament is out of this world. Just think about his wins:
R1: 32 moves with black vs. Ding Liren (top seed in the Candidates)
R4: 39 moves with white vs. Alireza (2nd top seed in the Candidates)
R6: 35 moves with white vs. Duda
R7: 43 moves with black vs. Rapport
R11: 35 moves with black vs. Alireza
I'm happy that Ding and Hikaru finally play a great tournament, but what the hell happend with Fabi? He started off great and then completely collapsed after his long game against Radjabov
We don't know for sure, but his games have been long and tough. I think he may be getting exhausted. Also, you know how people get tilted and start losing more and more after they've started losing? That may be coming into play as well. But this is pure speculation, I want to be clear.
Second straight candidates he’s thrown away his chances, something is definitely up. Maybe others are finally catching up with prep?
He goes for the win at all cost and takes risks... If he's only concerned with winning the first place, then it may be a reasonable strategy a priori.
That moment when all Alireza's pieces were hit, and many more than once, is absolutely brutal.
Totally a scene from gangsta movies. A bunch of wannabies rounded up by real killers. Only much more bloody than gangsta movies.
Ian is obviously playing strong, solid chess, but these people really seem to want him to win the tournament going full ape mode in objective draws
They're likely going full ape mode because they're trying to catch Ian.
Chinese people will do anything to win, dong jiren is trash, he gets points by winning against trash players, now he is winning because China is paying caruana to lose against liren and others so that dong wouldn't suffer a horrible loss
There's a risk you take when you try to play for a win - the fact that a better player can turn that against you. Alireza is just another rash 19 year old, and Rapport doesn't really care about draws and rather comes to fight every game. Just because these two approaches are high-risk/high-reward, it doesn't make either of them bad players. Remember, this is literally the *strongest players on planet fucking earth*, and in some of these games Ian is literally destroying them like if a 2000 destroyed a 1200 - it's insane.
I know the internet is all "ooga booga Ian blundered in WC match = he's bad", but come on, you've got to give credit where it is due.
@@aru0109 homie spittin rn
even without that ian is the only player not to lose.
Nepo secretly thanking Magnus: Last year in championship, I practiced very hard to beat you, but lost. Now it's paying back and I am enjoying beating all these 7 children.
Getting crushed might be one of the best things for Alireza's chess career. Hopefully after this he'll look back and play more in the style of chess that got him to 2800 in the first place...
Also not staying up til 5am playing hyper bullet Vs Danya before playing the best players in the world at classical would help 😂
I dont think he cares at this point,he is too far behind so he went allin
Its his Queens Gambit drunk in the front yard moment. Now he has to go through a training montage so he can rematch less-handsom Borgov (Nepo)
He is still playing the same still of chess, but he is being more reckless.
Bruh, he’s playing the same style as always, aggressive chess, he’s just getting obliterated because he lacks experience against players so prepared like the candidates. I’ll be honest, he’s very talented but still has a long way to be a real contender for the world champion title. He might classify again to the next candidates, but he will still be too young. Unless he gets some crazy evolution in these next two years
He also lost to danya 140 to 108... YIKES
I think at this point everyone is thinking "screw everyone else, either I win this match, or Nepo wins the tournament". It's kinda obvious that the latter is happening.
Ian is so creative but at the same time, his defensive skills are amazing. I love his style. He deserves a rematch versus the GOAT!
I am not so sure if Gary would agree to a match against Ian .... ;-)
i for one think it would be boring, because the chess he plays is ambitious and creative, and magnus’s solid style just seemed to grind him down in the worst of ways in the last world championship. it was honestly kind of hard to watch past a point.
@@zaphodbeeblerock Lmao Magnus is better.
@@saintjoven top 5
Magnus
Kasparov
Fischer
Anand
Karpov
Sound about right?
@@ramanandnayak305 fischer is no way top 5 , he never played a tough opponent , only won against a weak wcc spasky , he literally ran away from karpov , wasnt even able to win candidates until 30 age . magnus considers kasparov to be the best followed by capablanca and vishy
Been waiting for you to drop this haha. I only follow the candidates through you 🔥
The legend himself🔥🔥
I did not except you here
WOAH ZIG HI
Missing out on alot of good coverage
Same
I can’t believe I actually remember Magnus playing Rook B8 against Ian in the World Championship game, so proud of myself lol.
Haha same, I am absolutely lost in opening theory, thats why im only 1200 but somehow I remembered that
I can totally picture Liren reaching out with a fruit in hand for his opponent.
Ian Leading an UNDEFEATED tournament, Nepo just proving why he won the last candidates. What a legend.
And imagine the power level of Magnus who clapped Nepo without breaking a sweat
Well, sometimes in this tournament in the games against Ian, the other players have rather proven why they do not deserve to win the candidates than Ian showing amazing skill. Ian has still shown that he is an amazing chess player, but he has also been given waay more chances than other players (like against Firouzja today) or other players just didn't use their chances against him (like Hikaru's game againsf Ian)...
@@drakeking9628 he did break a sweat tho...that's why Magnus said WCC was too tiring (not cuz he could beat up everyone but because it takes too much effort for little satisfaction)
@@drakeking9628 Nepo collapsed after the win in round 6 for which Magnus definitely broke a sweat, being the longest game in WCC history. After that Nepo just didn't play like himself. I don't even like Nepo very much but he is incredibly strong and I would say he is very close to Magnus's level, the problems in the last match were purely psychological. If he manages to fix that and Magnus agrees to defend the title it would be a great WCC match.
The biggest wins of Ian were not even from him pressuring his opponents into mistake. It was a 100% draw for Rapport but he decided to throw the game. Then Alireza lost too many times and went to play blitz and then played weird blitz style against Nepo and that was Alireza's biggest self-destruct win in the tournament too. These wins aren't Nepo actually doing something to them, but the opponents are way too greedy and reckless and self-destructing. Nepo could not have won if they did not let him.
I like neppo. very humble, friendly, likeable, not big ego. I hope that he gets another shot at mangus, maybe mangus gets tired next time and loses.
mangus
sungam
You are just describing ding, Nepo is none of those things
I don't agree, but then again, on not his 2nd, do I'm not sitting around him, so if he is that way, then I can only go by his public persona which he never seems arrogant to me, unless he's joking and because he says everything straightfaced, so it's hard to tell sometimes
I keep refreshing my sub box literally the second games end. GothamChess recap is the best part of this tournament.
Crazy how ding went for the favorite going into the candidates, to having an awful start and being almost discarded by most, and now he’s back in second after having an insane last few rounds.
Been watching you for two years now, never commented on any of your videos. I just wanted to thank you for the continuous quality output, your work is oozing with enthusiasm and love! A Gotham Video a day has become integral part of my daily routine :)
"If a sitting duck is defending another sitting duck, they're both sitting ducks" ~ Levy Rozman 2022
Hikaru "I don't care" Nakamura desperately played for a win in a drawing endgame, while Alireza stayed in bullet chess thinking mode. They must have got wrong scripts today..
'cause Hikaru is a pro, and he feels obligated to compete, if not for himself then for his fans. Alireza was just tanking
Hikaru is playing really well
I am not a fan of Hikaru. Before the candidates i predict that Hikaru will be the punching bag of other players and Alireza will dominate the tournament, and oh boy.... how totally wrong i am right now..
It's a disgrace how Firouzja and Carlsen are disrespectful towards Nepo.
Before GothamChess, i never followed the candidates or classical chess. Now I know a lot about the top players. Levy Goated
I just played 15:10 at 0.25x speed and it just might be my favorite GothamChess moment ever😂
Can we please address the important question? How many of the 250 bullet-games did Firouzja win?
108/250
Nepo's on fire! I'm sure he'll keep his streak. I really hope Magnus will defend the title because I'm sure Nepo will be stronger and more focused.
Also I would like a Magnus vs Ding but it looks like Nepo won't fail
Nepo will get destroyed again.... easily.
@@astral6060 It was all about psychology, Nepo played really well right until he lost on that super grind that was round 6, after that his confidence dropped and he got crushed.
Honestly most folk lose against Magnus before they sit on the chessboard. Mentality is everything.
@@ofrund yes you are right, but it's possible that Nepo will again happend to blunder because of the "trauma" he had the last time
i mean Nepo got so many "gifted" wins this tournament, he just plays solid and then suddenly his opponent starts playing like a 800
Ding vs Magnus would be so much better
@@irkkaad708 If anything Nepo shows that he wants to face Magnus again. I hope that he accepts the challenge. I would love to see this nice rematch.
I’m just ready for Magnus’s heel/villain arc, the rogue not-champion, running around stealing everyone’s Elo and crushing the current champion over the board
Ian protecting his lead point for the candidate tournament in the nutshell:
Ian: playing solid defense on black to force a draw
His opponents: proceed to force breaking the stalemate and lose the game
Thats rapport-nepo in a nutshell
I mean, thats only 1 game. He also won other 4 matches and still would be on the lead
Just here to say that Levy is an awesome dude that makes incredible content basically every day. The entire chess community loves and appreciates you.
Me when I’m watching levy’s videos: What a brilliant move by Hikaru. He is giving himself an advantageous position.
Me when I’m the one playing: *blunders queen on move 4*
Only on move 4? Those are rookie numbers. You gotta hang the queen on move 3 like me
Hikaru: Sacs his queen on purpose on move 4, still beats 2300 rated players
Can someone tell us what was the final result between Alireza and Danya's bullet match? At this point that result is way more interesting than the candidates
Danya beat Alireza 142-108
@@florianharder576 yikes
@@florianharder576 wow that is brutal
@@florianharder576 Magnus has announced that he'll play the world championship only against Naroditsky.
15:47 When you feel useless, when those around you are bullying you, when you think things won't get better, know that you do have a true purpose that will be revealed at the right time: That is the lesson to be learned here.
This by far the most entertaining recap you have ever made .... the sitting duck analogy was amazing ... love from Somalia
These recaps are all I look forward to in life thanks levy
Man get a life
Your life must suck
Nice
That sounds healthy :d
I hope everything's OK man. If you really only look forward in life for Levy's videos maybe you should get help.
Much love, mate ❤️
At 11:47 why can't the bishop takes on d6? White would be up one point of material assuming the tactic works (im lazy to calculate all those lines)
It's more like Ali 'Resign' Firouzja at this point...
Ding's light square bishop was the funniest thing I have ever seen from Levy :D
'I only see the light squares whoohoo' had me in stitches. Brilliant commentary Levy
Levy is the kind of guy who has never heard of technoblade
Fabis loss to Hikaru giving me major Nepo Game 6 WC vibes, feel sorry for him, but cant feel not hyped about the possibility to see a WC with Hikaru in it
Idk man nepo looking way too fire
I give 95% chance Ian wins at this point
@@Bobo-yw4ph I'm assuming he meant Nepo vs Hikaru since Magnus maybe won't play.
Levy:
This is a great move, because it loses a pawn completely.
Me:
*pauses video*, oh a new tactic, let’s go lose some pawns
“I only see the light squares” quote is better than the “horses in the back” quote a couple years ago😂both cracked me up for a good 10 minutes
A good 10 minutes in total, with both jokes added together ? Or a good 10 minutes per joke ?
6:27 you cant tell me you took a sip of that drink. There is no god damm way you drank a single drop of that. That probably didnt even touch your lips. You likely were held at gun point because the people who captured you just felt like having you drink random stuff
Firoujza looks mature for his age, but we shouldn't forget he's still a teenager. I, for one, can remember doing a lot of other rather crazy things at that age rather than playing bullet chess throughout the night. Well, I wasn't actually playing with bullets instead, but you get my drift, I'm sure. He'll be back on track soon enough: Lass die Jugend ihre Freude! After all, he knows he can no longer win or finish in second place in this tournament, so. By the way: g4 really is a bully bullet move!
Firoujza is a professional. There are thousands of professional sports people who are 19 and younger, none of them would consider staying up all night before an important competition. If they did they would very likely be sanctioned by their coaches/sponsors. Extremely unprofessional behaviour imo being young is no excuse.
@@timhibberd9513 I wasn't trying to excuse him, really, just intimating that he might have acted on the spur of the moment, like youngsters often do, and then, confronted with the prospect of an uphill endgame, which he just might be able to hold to a draw, while still trailing the standings, decided: What the f----k! No excuse, of course, more in the nature of an observation.
@@timhibberd9513 Teen professional athletes do dumb things all the time. So do some of the adults…
"sneaky and not being noticed by the two pawns" 8:29 I started laughing and you say sarcasm meter hahahahah
Translating Levy's titles into Pepper day 5: Did Ding just? Wasn't he-
To what...?
@@krietvohra2058 pepper day
I feel like alireza could’ve done the hyper bullet matches right before a rest day
I was in Danya's stream, they played 25 games (13-12 for danya) at around 2 am, then he told Ali to go to sleep. I didn't know he played for 4 more hours lmao
Alireza: plays 250 bullet games online and loses sleep before a candidate's tournament.
Mikhail Tal: Hold my cig...
I think the shadow of Magnus has affected them emotionally. He put the chip on Alireza and that has crushed him.
Magnus is the best but he sometimes has behaved like a spoiled kid. If Magnus doesn´t want to defend his title and go full Fischer mode, let it be.
15:09 "I only see the light squares. Whohooo"😂
Let's appreciate the speed at which Levy uploads his videos right after the events.
that ding liren, fabiano caruana game was insane
So Hikaru v Nepo will probably decide the fate of these candidates...
BUT
Since hikaru doesn't care, it will probably be a draw
Why would you stay up till 5 a.m. in what is the most important chess tournament of the year. It seems downright disrespectful to the other candidates. There is no way you can bringer your A game with that amount of sleep, it almost seems like he has allready given up on the tournament, and now he basically gave Nepo the nomination on a silver platter.
Somehow Nepo's opponents self-destruct against him
This is the same way that Nepo self-destructed against Magnus. At that level - it's an endurance match and when completely fatigued the ability to make good decisions is substantially reduced.
15:30 - It was Fredo!! 🤣 if Ding's Bishop was Fredo after all maybe he'll help Fabiano's pieces to checkmate his own KING. Since Fredo is a traitor 🤣🤣
Any person who can play 250 hyperbullet games against one of the best hyperbullet players and then go on and play in the candidates the next day deserves my respect.
""play""
@@rrechyt i mean he got completely killed for it, I still respect it.
Its like going out drinking before a important exam. Sure you can do it but it will negativly impact your next day performanca. If alireza won today that would be incredible 👀
13:50 it's induction!
I'll never forget when Nepo came back to the board, looked at Firo and went "bro idk what you've been smoking, but you're about to get mad clapped and it's not gonna be pretty" (he didn't actually say it, he just said it with his head, i read it all)
gotham i love how i logged onto youtube and the personalized ad i got was balls shaving
I can't help but wonder: What effective rating was Firoujza playing at? How many ELO points do you throw away when you skip six hours sleep?
well the thing is his game didn't start until 3pm so even after staying up till 6 am he could easily get 7-8 hours sleep. so people are kinda blowing the whole thing out of proportion imo
Staying up until 6am playing hyperbullet with a commentator when you have a game against the previous World Championship contender the next day is a gigachad move and no one is convincing me otherwise.
It's only a gigachad move if you win tbh
I would love a recap of the hyper bullet match
top line summary, Danya is a god in hyperbullet and Alireza was blowing some steam... so naturally Danya shredded him.
Danya crushed him 142-108
Ding would never talk to Ali reza after this. 😆😂
I’m still hoping for a scenario where nepo wins, naka clinches second place, and Magnus doesn’t contest his title so that we can see a nepo vs hikaru world chess championship while Magnus commentates, casually roasting them the whole time
I’d prefer Nepo vs Fabi
That would be the best pair for social media (except maybe Magnus-Hikaru with Giri trolling up the commentary). The best pair for chess is definitely Magnus-Ding or Magnus-Fabi, those are guaranteed to be interesting in terms of strategy, prep nukes and opening innovations.
Id prefer danya vs alireza hyperbullet
Magnus, as many other people do not like, if not hate, Nakamura because he has a very toxic personality.
If there was a chance for Nakamura to get it, Magnus wouldnt let him im 100% certain.
Alireza playing all those bullet games at ungodly hours show he's not really taking the candidates seriously.
He really might just feel defeated already. It's been a tough tournament for him and it's easy to forget he's still really young
Ian really shut up all his doubters. I thought that Magnus broke him in Dubai but boy was I wrong. Ian is proving that the last candidates win wasn’t just a fluke.
I was concerned as well about Nepo being a broken man as well.. But I was wrong and he's rolling now.
15:30 You broke my heart, Fredo.
#TeamDingLiren all the way. Unfortunately I wonder what Magnus is thinking at the moment after Ian just cruised through Alireza. Ding Liren is starting to look like the scary version of Ding Liren. He’s starting to pull those sleeves up and showing what he is made of.
Imo what Alireza is missing to become WC material is a great mentor. Magnus carlsen had kasparov and that's part of what make him what he is today : Not only the best, but the best by far.. ! And also lack experience, playing bullet will no longer help him to become better, it's just non sense games with a lot of blunder, I don't see the point at this level, except for fun...
Yes Gotham, there is drama in chess
I’ve always seen this as alireza’s biggest weakness. His talent is insane and he’s a brilliant player, but if he gets knocked down at all he stops caring and is essentially out. I’m not saying I would do any better in this situation and it is crazy that he is where he is at his age, but he has to gain maturity in that area before he becomes the best of the best. That being said, this was a great round and I truly hope he can produce some magic soon.
@GothamChess Man you look really good on that red shirt.also the pink shirt that you wore is pretty amazing.these two shirt really looks good on you.
Btw please wear these again in the future.
True
Lol
I hope Ding Liren wins because I think he deserves to at least have the chance to face off in the WCC after having such a hard time playing in these top level tournaments. His grind to take the free spot for grabs in the candidates would be all the more worth it.
When I see I see super-popular youtube channels and take a taste, I wonder, "Why do people watch this crap? I don't get it."
Not with your channel. You have personality, intelligence, an approachable persona, and well-timed humor.
You keep it clean, too. Nice job, Gotham.
I think people are unfair towards their analysis on Nepo. Everyone are mostly like "yeah, he got lucky, their opponents handed the game to him". But I think he is literally the only player who successfully sees and take advantage of even the slightest advantage over the board. many other players had devastating lost chances and even went from having full advantage to a losing position because they couldn't calculate well or confidently enough. Ian is the only player that every single time that he has advantage, he can find it, play it and be better for the rest of the game and possibly win it. I think that in itself is truly incredible
The sad part about watching the candidates is that each and every one of these players will kick my ass in chess sleeping while riding a horse upside down through a thunderstorm yet game 1 feels like a matchup of losers and I feel so sorry for both players.
...and they would kick the ass of the players who would kick the ass of the players who would kick the ass of the players who would kick the ass of the players who would kick the ass of the players who would kick my ass
Ali Reza reminds me of Paul Neumann’s The Hustler. He’s got the skill, but he ain’t got character yet.
Nepo has played fantastic chess but he's surely been the beneficiary of everybody playing their absolute worst game against him too. Jet lag Ding, frustrated Rapport, Sleepy bullet Alireza...
Everyone has their own sorry excuses for their losses and inability to win, except taking responsiblity for performing poorly or giving credit to the one who is actually winning.
@@Me-fm9zk I mean, credit where it's due as well, you have to beat the guy you're playing and he's done a fantastic job of that. It's just been a real weird tournament in a few spots!
"Magnus is the champion because he has been the beneficiary of Nepo's blunders when he woke up bad"
@@Me-fm9zk I guarantee you that if it was Hikaru in Ian's position they would be saying Hikaru is god. They are so salty. Ali Reza also took risks against Hikaru in the 2nd game but the narrative was that Hikaru was amazing.
@@tauriqabdullah6130 exactly
Alireza had to go lunatic mode thinking it might've been his only shot at catching Ian off-guard, but boy was he wrong...
Even though he is crushing again, I think Nepo winning is the worst timeline. He will likely get wiped by Magnus again and is the most likely player to prompt a no show which means many fans will consider the new champion illegitimate.
I think Ding or Fabi have the best chances at being world champion, but Magnus has already beat Fabi so he may not want that match. imo Magnus has Hikarus number so I think a Ding win is the best timeline.
@nyet _ I agree, its just a shame that since then Fabi seems to have gotten worse.
@@PalladinPoker at that wcc match their rating difference is only 3 points which is basically meaningless difference but caruana has been slowly declining after that
Alireza is like a big fish that moved from a lake to the ocean. he is now realizing their are much bigger fish
Levy, I don't comment very often but I wanted to take a moment to just let you know how incredible your content is. Additionally, thank you for working as hard as you do. I'm sure most people don't even realize how much time and energy you put into your craft. I have been following for many years, both here and Twitch, and you really blow me away. Thanks for helping someone who loves chess but isn't talented enough to appreciate it properly, appreciate it somewhat properly! :) Keep it up thank you bro, big big love!
Nepo is an exceptional player. Ppl fell asleep on him after he botched the world championship match.
He'd be a good, fun champion. the criticism is that he's inconsistent, but he's a fun player.
I really like seeing Nepo winning his second candidates after that heartbreak WCC, but how he wins it makes me question if he really is the best player in the tournament. Like, both games against Firouzja, Firouzja made big mistakes without Ian doing anything out of the ordinary, then Ding blunders in the first round, and Duda just forgets theory in the italian. Dont get me wrong, hes playing great chess, but bis opponents are making big mistakes without Ian putting any extra pressure on them.
And rapport who should go for a draw as there was nothing more to be done but instead took the unnecesary risk and lost to nepo
@@nah7574 true and as far as i know the Position being drawn was known to Super GMs
yea it's an interesting narrative. there really does seem to be a lot of things going Nepos way at this point. even more interesting since a lot are predicting that he is the one Magnus is the least likely to bother playing again
@@noone-ld7pt are you hinting that there might be some conspiracies
A lot of unexpected moves this video.
But the one to take the crown would be Levy getting a sponsor beside g4.
It's been proven the importance of adequate sleep for sports and intellectual performance. Staying that late is very unprofessional by Alireza. If football players made such a thing during the World Cup, their national media would criticise them, and rightly so.
Lets not forget hes still a 19 years old kid, how many of us have played video games or out partying while we have an exam the next morning
well his game was at 3pm so he could still easily get 7-8hrs sleep which is completely fine
@@maximussaktish You might but a 19 year old professional sports person wouldn't. I know lots of young althletes and none of them would stay up most of the night before a major comp. There are lots of 19 year old professional sports people and almost all prioritise sleep and rest and their coaches and sponsors would be furious if they didn't.
@@noone-ld7pt Sleep at that time is nowhere near as good, all those bullet games would have made him unnecessarily extra tired and he's left himself no time to prep for his game against Nepo.
@@timhibberd9513 are you saying sleep quality is time specific? cause that is a very disputed claim as far as I know, would love to see some research to back that up.
When I researched it while working nightshifts the consensus seemed to be that sleep quality is mainly influenced by surroundings and number of completed REM cycles and that time of day was completely irrelevant as long as the location was sufficiently dark, warm and spacious, but you may of course know more than me.
On the preparation side I agree somewhat, but 99.9% of the preparation at that level is done in the months and months prior to the tournament, and some of the contestants (Rapport for example) has said that they actually don't prepare specificly for the next day game but try and relax in whatever way they can and trust their prep.
20:07 missed a perfect opportunity to say "and c4 is a little bit more explosive"
nepo won, it's so over magnus bros