This Hikaru vs Fabi game has been brilliant. coming down to the wire
Chess discussions
- Thread starter Danny1982
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Hikaru was in the driver seat but Caruana is as resourceful as Nakamura when it comes to defense.
Fabi almost pulled out the escape but then missed Kh1
He must also be very tired after the last 2 games. Hard to see Nepo losing after this if he can survive tomorrow.
He must also be very tired after the last 2 games. Hard to see Nepo losing after this if he can survive tomorrow.
What a marathon from Radjabov and Firouzja. Impressed by the way Alireza is plugging away despite a tough time of it. He could be the player to keep Caruana's hopes alive when he plays Nepo.
Exciting finish to it.
I'm loving this tournament so far, fills the gap perfectly from no football
Currently Caruana plays against Nepo, the top2 in the standing.
So Alireza played hundreds of bullet games until 6am and then he goes on and tries some insane caveman attack against Nepo which will probably allow the latter to wrap up the tournament for good? 
Good thing Nepo seemed untouchable anyway, so people can chalk this off as youthful frustrations and nothing much will be made out of it.
Good thing Nepo seemed untouchable anyway, so people can chalk this off as youthful frustrations and nothing much will be made out of it.
Nepo has played very well but it doesn't half feel like a few points have fallen into his lap.
I play a ton of chess, but how do you come to your opinion on things like that? It’s not like other sports where you can recognise exceptional performance even though you couldn’t replicate it. With chess, given you can’t know what the players are thinking, how do you go about recognising great play/ mistakes etc?
My own opinion on the games as a decent club player and also following the commentary of GMs. I know what you mean that it can be hard to recognise mistakes if you're not at a certain level but this is where commentary helps. So then it's not just about the computer saying a move is bad but you have the human view.
What I meant by that comment is I think Nepo has had a few points that have come about through his opponents dropping the ball unrelated to the position in the game or any unusual pressure from Ian. It's normal, you always get a few winners and losers in tournaments and meeting the right person at the right time makes a big difference. That's not to say he's undeserving of a commanding lead, it just seems like everything has gone right.
This is great, I’m not challenging you at all, just genuinely interested. Chess is a fantastic game and I’m teaching my son to play at the moment, which is a real pleasure and is making me having to constantly think and explain WHY something works, rather than just THAT it works.
Re; the commentary, who would you recommend to listen to for someone like me who’s played for 25 years, occasionally at clubs but mostly not? I’d rather be occasionally confused and only understand eg a third of the comments, than have things over explained.
Your son will probably be better than you within the year. That seems to be how it works!
I think there are only two options for the Candidates, that being chess24 or chess.com. I'd say chess.com's current coverage is aimed at a wider viewership as it is a little more ideas focused. chess24's goes into a lot of depth on particular lines.
For some tournaments chess24 run two streams with one being very basic indeed, literally covering two and three move ideas and avoiding using notation or terminology. It's a good initiative but I'd say more basic than you'd want but I think they've started to realise that the influx of new players to chess requires suitable coverage.
Thanks man, that’s very useful. Thinking about it, I guess the chess governing bodies and media need to be super aware about not driving new people away with complex multi-move scenarios, but also keeping experienced players interested. I don’t envy them at all trying to balance that! As I say, not like physical sports at all. But thank you.
To be honest: while it's a privilege to have such legends such as Judit Polgar or at other times Peter Leko on as commentators they just seem totally devoid of any charisma and I wouldn't recommend their streams for entertainment value.
The St. Louis chess club also has a stream: https://www.twitch.tv/stlchessclub
As always they have Yasser Seirawan on, who tries to keep the mood light and enjoys telling anecdotes. So it's aimed at a wider audience, too.
The St. Louis chess club also has a stream: https://www.twitch.tv/stlchessclub
As always they have Yasser Seirawan on, who tries to keep the mood light and enjoys telling anecdotes. So it's aimed at a wider audience, too.
I really like listening to Polgar, but she should be paired with someone who is a bit more talkative than Jan.
Nepo V Carlsen, unless for some reason Carlsen declines then Nakamura needs a draw vs Ding to get 2nd.
Naka versus Ding is set up to be a cracker. It will not be easy to hold Ding off with the white pieces.
Great effort by Nepo, he has played extremely well. Hard to criticise anything he has done here. Pretty faultless.
Great effort by Nepo, he has played extremely well. Hard to criticise anything he has done here. Pretty faultless.
Highly doubt Magnus plays. He was a broken man after the previous Nepo match.
Ding takes 2nd with a win over Nakamura
Suspected Ding would push hard today. Beast of a player. That slow start really cost him here.
Who in they’re right mind would want to watch chess? What channel is it even on,
,Similar to the type of people trawling Redcafe to such an extent they end up 10 days in the past, perhaps.Who in they’re right mind would want to watch chess? What channel is it even on
Not everything can be as fun as a Marvel movie.Who in they’re right mind would want to watch chess? What channel is it even on
I genuinely didn’t know folk watched chess, where do you watch it?
Mostly online, youtube or twitch. Some countries have coverage of various events on national TV (e.g. Norway) but it's a rarity.
I was just messing around a bit.
There's different ways to watch, depending on your interest and chess level.
If you're following a major tournament then there'll typically be two commentators who follow the games, and maybe some guests. If they have TV rights they'll show the players, if not then they'll just use online boards to show the position. These will be used even with broadcasting rights because it's easier to see the board positions and analyze potential moves.
The commentators will show how the game progresses, talk about who's doing better and talk about potential moves etc. There'll also usually be a lot of random talk and anecdotes because there's a lot of time to kill, at least if it's classical chess with long time controls, so it's slightly similar to watching cycling in this particular regard.
These types of coverage will aim at different audiences. Some will cater to good players, offering complicated analysis by very, very strong chess players without much explanation. Others will be more beginner friendly. Some will be very light hearted, some more serious. Usually several teams/channels will cover big events, so you can choose the style you prefer. Typically you'll find this online, though some TV channels do show chess as well. Channels like chess.com and chess24 will cover basically all big events and a lot of smaller ones on Twitch.
Then you can also watch people playing online chess at home while interacting with their audience. This will be on streaming platforms like Twitch or YouTube, and is similar to watching someone streaming video games. Here the selection is very diverse. You can watch the very best players, like world champion Magnus Carlsen or someone like Nakamura. Or, you can watch people at grand master level but not quite on top, or all the way to not particularly strong players compared to professionals. Some of these people play seriously, some less so. Some will interact with the chat a lot, while others focus mostly on the games. Some will play against people from the audience or do various challenges, some will play against similar ranked players.
I get that this probably sounds weird to someone not familiar with it, and it's absolutely not for everyone. Similarly, though, plenty of people don't see the appeal of watching people play video games or football or basketball or people running very fast. Different strokes for different folks.
@NotThatSoph took it personally.
I take everything personally, most things are about me if you really think about it.@NotThatSoph took it personally.
I got interested after watching a grandmaster teach kids - by making a constant string of terrible or adult jokes they didn't understand, insulting the kids, the internet audience, and himself.
This is his funniest video, but you probably need to know a little bit to get the jokes he's making and the lesson itself.
For those into more esoteric chess content, the classic game Ben Finegold v Fen Binegold is worth a short watch. It's also a nice introduction to theory.
Ben Finegold is a legend
The match itself is already fantastic
In other news: Looks like it's official that Carlsen won't defend his title.
Really? WowThe match itself is already fantastic
In other news: Looks like it's official that Carlsen won't defend his title.
Ding V Napo as Magnus has confirmed he won’t be playing, what a costly blunder from Hikaru in the 2nd place decider vs Ding that turned out to be.
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Is he still interested in chess in general? Like blitz/rapid formats or fischer chess?
Yeah, he just had enough of the monstrous amount of grind and preparation you have to put in for a world championship match.
The Chess Olympiad is on which is always a fun event.
Spain are one of my favourites for a medal, and they've started well.
Norway got a tonking off Italy.
A steady start for England.
USA shouldn't be mentioned for their band of mercenary players.
Spain are one of my favourites for a medal, and they've started well.
Norway got a tonking off Italy.
A steady start for England.
USA shouldn't be mentioned for their band of mercenary players.
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Hans Niemann, who beat Carlsen yesterday, effectively being accused of cheating.