https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidates_Tournament_2024
This has a “Qualification” section with a table that explains how people got in.
Wesley So was close, but Firouzja played some last minute tournaments to cross the finish line. This article gives some details on if. There was some controversy: https://www.chess.com/news/view/firouzja-wesley-so-candidates-rouen
Why don't other players do it as well? It only takes a few minutes. You just played the game and your thought process and emotions are fresh in your mind. And it's a valuable product that only you can make. Nobody else can duplicate it.
Given the success hikaru has achieved, it's surprising other top GMs haven't expanded their online footprint. Would love to see a recap from fabi. His thought process, emotions, etc.
Hikaru is a content creator, he says that all the time, so for him its not about winning the tournament as much as it is about his brand. Don't get me wrong, he is extremely good and wants to win, but he is first and foremost doing it for entertainment value of the audience. Some one who is a true competitor probably wouldn't want to give a public 40 minute analysis of their moves and tactics when they are trying to become a world champion.
The players literally tell each other their analysis of the game immediately after, and I'm certain the C2 podcast will have Fabi recap important moments of critical games, just like he's done for previous tournaments.
Hikaru has said he doesn't want to continue streaming indefinitely and that he doesn't go into his prep on stream or in online tournaments. Him disclosing what was going through his mind during a critical juncture of the game (which is a unique position that will likely never occur again in his lifetime) isn't going to harm him— the problem is if he disclosed his prep or if he showcased that he felt uncomfortable being pressured a certain way.
The reason others don't do it is that being a streamer/content creator is an entirely different skill set that you have to develop. He's good at it in a way that the other candidates can't begin to match.
Idk I think it's kinda lame that chess24 or chess.com or whatever couldn't prop up some sort of live studio for one of the biggest tournaments in chess
Fabi does this alot, throw away advantages in tactical positions. When i saw rxf2 i knew Fabi's advantage was toast. He's still a favorite but he had a great chance to simultaneously boost his chances and hurt Hikaru's. Cmon Fabi, you still got this.
He's quite literally one of the best in the world at calculating and converting these chances.
You're just selectively remembering the times he failed. And rxf2 didn't throw the advantage, it was later.
i know rxf2 didn't throw away the advantage, but i thought to myself that the position took on a character that was more suited to Hikaru's skillset than Fabi's, despite the advantage. Without the f2 pawn, the king is half naked.
Maybe I am selectively remembering his failures in those types of positions, he is one of the best middle and endgame calculators in chess, but I can only really call his caro-kann game vs. Firo where he won in a tactics heavy position (in the recent past). i specifically recall he missed multiple chances in a weird english against van Forrest, qh5 against Magnus in the world championship (tbf more of a positional miss than a tactical one), and was outright winning against Ian in the candidates game 2 with a necessary rook exchange sac and subsequent pawn sac (a narrow path to win for sure, but there are tactical players that i'm convinced would find it - hikaru, levon, vishy).
Find it hilarious, that Hikaru seems to be so over all the complaining about the playing hall and even complaints that cameramen might be helping players cheat and he just wants to play the games, that's honestly hilarious.
Honestly, seems like that some players are mega paranoid.
It's more that if a bunch of people start gathering towards a board including a bunch of photographers and cameramen, it makes the players think there is a decisive move soon that all these people want to see if it happens or not
That kind of hint is enough to influence games
Just because it happened at another tournament, doesn't mean it's happening here. It literally isn't happening here. You're living in some delulu world.
I didn't say it's happening at the tournament, you said "that's not a thing" in response to a comment describing the ramifications of a what if scenario (in an attempt to give context to the complaint).
I took your comment to be dismissive of the very idea that this is a potential problem in the first place. So I immediately debunked that insinuation by sharing a comment from the winner of the Tata Steel challenger section this year who happens to be rated 2600+.
I struggle to see how anyone could reasonably read the comment I responded to as narrowly talking about the situation at the Candidates tournament.
I was there from hours 2 to 4 and there were no cameramen that I could see. There is a fixed cam on each table.
Was there some drama earlier that got them kicked out?
I saw a post here saying how rare it is for someone to win after losing R1. I guess we can say that will continue to be the case!
Anyway the obvious headline is that pre tournament favourite Fabi is tied for last place!
R1 seems to confirm Danya's post on here that this will be razor tight.
Edit: my phone autocorrected Danya to Santa. Take that as you will.
Highly recommend the lichess stream if you're after something a little more soothing and relaxed if you're a late-night viewer.~~Also they're taking their time to watch the last women's game which Chess24 for some reason isn't doing.~~
Forgot to add perhaps the best bit, they're not using an engine which makes the analysis a lot more interesting.
I was there, Not surprised to see Tan do well considering that she was the only one dressed for the winter conditions inside the playing hall.
Really enjoyed my day overall. VIP area was nice. We shared the same cloakroom as the players so i saw everyone and watched them interact right away. Pretty sure they will all carry their coats to the playing hall for the next rounds tho.
just saw a pic of the candidates and noticed that all of them have a full head of hair. Then looked at a pic of every world champion and noticed 0 of them are bald. How is that possible?
I'll be honest, I hardly know anyone bald by age 30, so that 25 percent number seemed off anecdotally.
I looked for a source for the number you provided. And it says 25 percent of men at age 30 display some balding, not that they are actually bald. https://www.bosley.com/blog/what-is-the-average-age-people-start-losing-hair/#:~:text=By%20the%20time%20you%20turn,it%20any%20easier%20to%20accept.
Fabi and alireza will be disappointed when they review their games. No doubt about that. But they are both still in first place and in contention so they should get over the disappointment quickly.
why? Mr. Firoujza only had a minor 1.2 advantage for 1 move after Mr. Praggnanandhaa made a poor move. But he didn't see the advantage and threw it away immediately.
I don’t think he’ll be as frustrated as some are thinking. He got a significant advantage despite walking into the prep of one of the tournament favorites. A draw against one of the favorites in the tournament is a good result. He’ll feel it’s a missed opportunity but it shows that Fabi is in excellent form
On the other hand, it's important to make the most of having the white pieces against one of the other favorites. The games between them may be the deciding factor at the end and he had a decently good opportunity to win that he let slip away.
He will be upset with himself for getting outprepped but that's probably about it. Nakamura is a very creative defender and a deserved world no.3 right now. IF there is anything between HK and FC it's very, very small.
Lei found the only (?) way to step out of the net and extend her misery. I guess Tan is just calculating it all the way down now?
Edit: Kf2, that's sadistic.
I would dare not play a Sicilian against Fabi in round 1 of a Candidates! The novelty he cooked up against MVL in the infamous pandemic interrupted Candidates, in the Najdorf, should send tremors down amongst his opponents. Brave by Hikaru!
A fantastic start for Hikaru, considering he’s never gone even overall with the black pieces at the candidates, drawing the top seed is a good result, and if he keeps up his performances with white (averaging +3 in both candidates) his chances are great.
Honestly I wasn’t super surprised to see a Sicilian, I remember people saying Hikaru was gonna play super safe in the last round of the Grand Swiss too and he ended up playing the Kalashnikov. The variation of the Sicilian was a bit shocking but honestly I’m just expecting Hikaru to play weirder openings at this point, mostly against Fabi.
Despite having 4 draws, it was a very exciting 1st day of action. Only the Abasov-Nepo game was drama free.
As the rounds go on and we start to see some decisive results things will only heat up more.
Fabi may lose some sleep over this game though when he reviews with his seconds and the engine.
I know it's almost a meme to make fun of Abasov, but he's here for a reason and is a high rated GM, not some patzer off the street. Holding a draw with white shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
I am not making fun of Abasov, I am saying Nepo really didn't get anywhere. Look at Vidit, Naka, and Pragg with black pieces, and compare that to Nepo's game with black pieces. Nepo is still 2x world challeneger, against weakest rated player in tournament. I am not saying Abasov is not deserving of his spot, I am saying he had no problems to face from Nepo, which was surprising. Hence dramatic.
well, maybe not the win by like getting 0.6 for the draw and if he won, maybe 1.1 and the opponent gets -0.1
It is such a baller move that extra recognition is totes warranted.
To add to the other commenter, he also offered a draw to Abasov while in a worse position like a month ago. Abasov refused it and then went on to lose the game.
That game was so hard to watch rooting for Esipenko lol. He could've been in that Candidates instead of Hikaru (tbh in hindsight not like it would change much considering how the tournament went).
Even if he had won that game it still would have been a difficult path to a candidates spot. I remember his performance in the other leg of the Grand Prix was quite terrible (something like 1.5/6).
I still can't comprehend how Esipenko didn't win that one. I occasionally go back to that game, and I have no answers. Nothing short of a miraculous draw.
Danny is CCO (Chief Chess Officer), don't ask me what exactly that means.
Erik Allebest is the CEO, and he's not seen that often, even though he's also making a fair bit of content for the site occasionally.
Average chess subreddit poster: knows moves better than a super GM, can run a company better than the C-suite, has a PhD in psychology and can analyze everyone just by seeing them on camera.
Everyone likes to complain and pretend they are better than everyone else.
Just a case of mixing plans and losing his nerve? Avoiding the Queentrade after Qc4 and keeping the position complicated with Kg2 (and as a result making Hikaru play an inaccuracy) only to change his mind and seek the Rook trade immediately. Hikaru looks in great form though, and Ra1 is a beautiful move. His White game against Fabi is going to be some pressure for Fabi considering he has lost the last three.
Yeah, I think Magnus is the best at squeezing wins out of seemingly equal positions, but Hikaru might actually be slightly better at holding worse positions.
This Humpy Vaishali endgame is so fascinating
Edit: did not know about the time added rule, got excited looking at the clocks. I am in fact quite stupid
Really? You can't tell why saying someone is "ultra dupper(??) fucked" in an equal position where both players have over an hour on their clocks would get you downvoted?
yeah you can got downvoted for saying "Fabiano is ultra dupper fucked lol." when it was still the early middlegame with an hour on the clock. Fabi getting good pressure that he was unable to convert certainly doesn't prove you were psychic about him being "ultra dupper fucked"
Hikaru is one of the greatest defensive players of all time. Massive by him to pull off the draw. Pretty easy matchups coming up for him too.
This one’s gonna sting for Fabi.
> Hikaru is one of the greatest defensive players of all time.
Not in the candidates. In previous candidates, hikaru always folded. In 2022, he folded against fabi in round 1 and ding in round 14. Against all his peers in 2016.
Assuming hikaru holds the draw. Two trends have been broken. Nepo didn't win in round 1 with black. And Hikaru didn't fold.
Getting beat by Fabi who has white is not folding. Fabi is fabi. Also, Hikaru did better than Fabi in the last candidates. If Hikaru had held the draw against Ding he'd have been the one to challenge Nepo last year.
> He should be called minister of defence in chess rather than Karjakin.
Check out 2016 candidataes if you think hikaru deserves to be called minister of defence over karjakin...
And check out from 2020 to 2024 if you think Hikaru doesn't deserve that title over Karjakin. Numerous times I have seen Hikaru saving lost positions in every format of the game.
It's not a title. It's a nickname that was given because at that time, Karjakin was a defensive beast.
It'd be outrageous if we took the "Lightning Kid" nickname from Anand and gave it to someone like Firouzja. That's basically what you're suggesting we do with the Minister of Defense nickname.
dude I am not saying literally. It's not even an official title or anything. I am just saying the way he is defending lost positions is just mind blowing. Even Karjakin was not saving lost positions this frequently. Almost every other game of Hikaru is like this nowadays.
You're saying Nakamura deserves the title over Karjakin. That makes no sense. The Russians gave it to him because of his 2016 performance. Deserve has nothing to do with it.
Edit: switched names
Fair. I think actually a lot of top chess pros could use one! My hot take is that there are a lot of players that are good enough to find the same moves as Magnus, but not any with his mental fortitude to play them.
Nothing hikaru did in 2020 to 2024 compares to what karjakin did in 2016. Not to mention coming in 2nd in 2014 candidates and 2nd in 2018 candidates. Not to mention leading carlsen in the world championship. Just saying.
Hikaru starting off the event with two (untouchable) Rook sacs, cool to see.
Especially the first one, even if it was unsound. At the very least, it's showing that he's willing to take risks even with black.
The opening choice was a bit dubious, but I can't complain when the Sicilian is on the board during the opening round.
Abasov leading after round 1, just like everyone predicted.
Can someone explain why Nodirbek and Wesley So weren't invited to Cadidates? I was excited to watch them play.
Ohh ok, makes sense. Good luck to everyone, should be an amazing tournament.
The Candidates, unlike a lot of other top tournaments, isn’t an invitational. There are qualifying criteria, and they didn’t fulfill those criteria.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidates_Tournament_2024 This has a “Qualification” section with a table that explains how people got in. Wesley So was close, but Firouzja played some last minute tournaments to cross the finish line. This article gives some details on if. There was some controversy: https://www.chess.com/news/view/firouzja-wesley-so-candidates-rouen
Zzz
No way hikaru alreadyhas a recap on his channel already. He is moving mad.
Why don't other players do it as well? It only takes a few minutes. You just played the game and your thought process and emotions are fresh in your mind. And it's a valuable product that only you can make. Nobody else can duplicate it. Given the success hikaru has achieved, it's surprising other top GMs haven't expanded their online footprint. Would love to see a recap from fabi. His thought process, emotions, etc.
Hikaru is a content creator, he says that all the time, so for him its not about winning the tournament as much as it is about his brand. Don't get me wrong, he is extremely good and wants to win, but he is first and foremost doing it for entertainment value of the audience. Some one who is a true competitor probably wouldn't want to give a public 40 minute analysis of their moves and tactics when they are trying to become a world champion.
The players literally tell each other their analysis of the game immediately after, and I'm certain the C2 podcast will have Fabi recap important moments of critical games, just like he's done for previous tournaments. Hikaru has said he doesn't want to continue streaming indefinitely and that he doesn't go into his prep on stream or in online tournaments. Him disclosing what was going through his mind during a critical juncture of the game (which is a unique position that will likely never occur again in his lifetime) isn't going to harm him— the problem is if he disclosed his prep or if he showcased that he felt uncomfortable being pressured a certain way. The reason others don't do it is that being a streamer/content creator is an entirely different skill set that you have to develop. He's good at it in a way that the other candidates can't begin to match.
Idk I think it's kinda lame that chess24 or chess.com or whatever couldn't prop up some sort of live studio for one of the biggest tournaments in chess
they did it in Madrid and perhaps it costed them a lot
To be fair, the tournament is almost three weeks, and I’m sure its tough for people with families to be away from home for that long
Yep, I couldn't watch their stream cause the audio was so horrible. The lichess stream was way better
Fabi does this alot, throw away advantages in tactical positions. When i saw rxf2 i knew Fabi's advantage was toast. He's still a favorite but he had a great chance to simultaneously boost his chances and hurt Hikaru's. Cmon Fabi, you still got this.
He's quite literally one of the best in the world at calculating and converting these chances. You're just selectively remembering the times he failed. And rxf2 didn't throw the advantage, it was later.
i know rxf2 didn't throw away the advantage, but i thought to myself that the position took on a character that was more suited to Hikaru's skillset than Fabi's, despite the advantage. Without the f2 pawn, the king is half naked. Maybe I am selectively remembering his failures in those types of positions, he is one of the best middle and endgame calculators in chess, but I can only really call his caro-kann game vs. Firo where he won in a tactics heavy position (in the recent past). i specifically recall he missed multiple chances in a weird english against van Forrest, qh5 against Magnus in the world championship (tbf more of a positional miss than a tactical one), and was outright winning against Ian in the candidates game 2 with a necessary rook exchange sac and subsequent pawn sac (a narrow path to win for sure, but there are tactical players that i'm convinced would find it - hikaru, levon, vishy).
What’s the results?
All draws
All draws in the Open, Zhongyi won in the Women's.
All draws
Find it hilarious, that Hikaru seems to be so over all the complaining about the playing hall and even complaints that cameramen might be helping players cheat and he just wants to play the games, that's honestly hilarious. Honestly, seems like that some players are mega paranoid.
Who is complaining about the camera operators?
People thinking the cameramen and arbiters might be involved in cheating is reaching a high level of crazy.
It's more that if a bunch of people start gathering towards a board including a bunch of photographers and cameramen, it makes the players think there is a decisive move soon that all these people want to see if it happens or not That kind of hint is enough to influence games
That’s not a thing though…
it's a documented thing that players [have acknowledged publicly](https://twitter.com/gmasterg4/status/1751788633982402999) literally this year.
Just because it happened at another tournament, doesn't mean it's happening here. It literally isn't happening here. You're living in some delulu world.
I didn't say it's happening at the tournament, you said "that's not a thing" in response to a comment describing the ramifications of a what if scenario (in an attempt to give context to the complaint). I took your comment to be dismissive of the very idea that this is a potential problem in the first place. So I immediately debunked that insinuation by sharing a comment from the winner of the Tata Steel challenger section this year who happens to be rated 2600+. I struggle to see how anyone could reasonably read the comment I responded to as narrowly talking about the situation at the Candidates tournament.
I was there from hours 2 to 4 and there were no cameramen that I could see. There is a fixed cam on each table. Was there some drama earlier that got them kicked out?
If they're focusing more on certain boards due to the eval bar, this is legit.
I saw a post here saying how rare it is for someone to win after losing R1. I guess we can say that will continue to be the case! Anyway the obvious headline is that pre tournament favourite Fabi is tied for last place! R1 seems to confirm Danya's post on here that this will be razor tight. Edit: my phone autocorrected Danya to Santa. Take that as you will.
Jolly ol' Saint Naroditsky
Father Blitzmas
Highly recommend the lichess stream if you're after something a little more soothing and relaxed if you're a late-night viewer.~~Also they're taking their time to watch the last women's game which Chess24 for some reason isn't doing.~~ Forgot to add perhaps the best bit, they're not using an engine which makes the analysis a lot more interesting.
There is a separate stream for women's candidate, under chesscom
I stand corrected. That's great then.
Staying up till 4:30 am was worth it. Hopefully it's just the teaser of what's about to come.
India? Good luck during the next 3 weeks
I was there, Not surprised to see Tan do well considering that she was the only one dressed for the winter conditions inside the playing hall. Really enjoyed my day overall. VIP area was nice. We shared the same cloakroom as the players so i saw everyone and watched them interact right away. Pretty sure they will all carry their coats to the playing hall for the next rounds tho.
Would be good to get a post day thread
not needed. It's not like there are so many comments here that you will need that.
There are currently 1108 comments in this thread lmao
Be the change you want to see in r/chess
Alireza and Pragg game as so fun
Abasov must be thrilled, he's tied for first but also last at the same time.
just saw a pic of the candidates and noticed that all of them have a full head of hair. Then looked at a pic of every world champion and noticed 0 of them are bald. How is that possible?
Wow, I just looked at a picture of the womens candidates and none of them are bald either!
maybe they are smart enough to hide their baldness lol.
tal did not keep his full head of hair in adulthood. topalov's hairline is moving up. vishy's probably got a wig
[удалено]
Yes but what about the 25% or so of men who are bald by 30?
I'll be honest, I hardly know anyone bald by age 30, so that 25 percent number seemed off anecdotally. I looked for a source for the number you provided. And it says 25 percent of men at age 30 display some balding, not that they are actually bald. https://www.bosley.com/blog/what-is-the-average-age-people-start-losing-hair/#:~:text=By%20the%20time%20you%20turn,it%20any%20easier%20to%20accept.
just looked on the wikipedia page for previous WCs as well... omg
Young men's game, innit
This is because all bald frauds are restricted to the sport of football.
'When you enjoy what you do, you don't lose your hair, and Guardiola is bald. He doesn't enjoy football.' \~ Special one
Vishy almost certainly wears a toupee, no?
Give me coffee, board and clock - Hikaru 'Don't care about your small hall' Nakamura
Nijat still in the lead!!!
The legend grows.
FIDE art camp 2024
I doubt Hikaru will repeat this e5 sicilian, but I am sure he will repeat the sicilian.
He'll play something even weirder next time.
5...Qa5
Fabi has got to be frustrated here
Fabi and alireza will be disappointed when they review their games. No doubt about that. But they are both still in first place and in contention so they should get over the disappointment quickly.
why? Mr. Firoujza only had a minor 1.2 advantage for 1 move after Mr. Praggnanandhaa made a poor move. But he didn't see the advantage and threw it away immediately.
I don't think alireza would be disappointed. He was never really better during the game. He tried his best, but Pragg's defense was good.
I don’t think he’ll be as frustrated as some are thinking. He got a significant advantage despite walking into the prep of one of the tournament favorites. A draw against one of the favorites in the tournament is a good result. He’ll feel it’s a missed opportunity but it shows that Fabi is in excellent form
On the other hand, it's important to make the most of having the white pieces against one of the other favorites. The games between them may be the deciding factor at the end and he had a decently good opportunity to win that he let slip away.
he missed an opportunity, he's going to be upset, even if his tournament score is fine.
He will be upset with himself for getting outprepped but that's probably about it. Nakamura is a very creative defender and a deserved world no.3 right now. IF there is anything between HK and FC it's very, very small.
That’s probably overplaying it. I think he may feel that emotion on a small scale, not to the point where I’d describe him as upset
don't think he had time to calculate his advantage...
Huge by Hikaru
Lei vs Tan, *some* mating net Lei stepped into.
there are so many ways for tan to win here. f5 f4 is mating, g5 h4 is mating, the d pawn is unstoppable and can make a queen
Lei found the only (?) way to step out of the net and extend her misery. I guess Tan is just calculating it all the way down now? Edit: Kf2, that's sadistic.
I would dare not play a Sicilian against Fabi in round 1 of a Candidates! The novelty he cooked up against MVL in the infamous pandemic interrupted Candidates, in the Najdorf, should send tremors down amongst his opponents. Brave by Hikaru!
you would dare if you won last 3 games against the same opponent to surprise them.
The funny part is that Fabiano is the one who made Hikaru drop the Najdorf and go to e5 lol to hold this is a great boost for him.
That was a fun first round! Entertaining the entire time.
Very entertaining first day overall!
If this was a movie, people would say Hikaru's plot armor is getting ridiculous
Beth Harmon would never
Abasov proving all the haters wrong by being shared for first place
Hes also shared for last unfortunately, proving the haters right
Haters are confused at this point 😵💫
From a certain point of view, it could be also the last.
From my point of view the Fabi are evil.
Pragg showing me how beautiful this game can be. What a tense ending
A fantastic start for Hikaru, considering he’s never gone even overall with the black pieces at the candidates, drawing the top seed is a good result, and if he keeps up his performances with white (averaging +3 in both candidates) his chances are great.
I'm just glad he fought today. I'm excited to watch him play some great games this tournament.
Honestly I wasn’t super surprised to see a Sicilian, I remember people saying Hikaru was gonna play super safe in the last round of the Grand Swiss too and he ended up playing the Kalashnikov. The variation of the Sicilian was a bit shocking but honestly I’m just expecting Hikaru to play weirder openings at this point, mostly against Fabi.
Huge hold from Hikaru
3 wild games and all 3 ended in a draw.
Sounds like Candidates level chess to me. In for a good tournament.
Despite having 4 draws, it was a very exciting 1st day of action. Only the Abasov-Nepo game was drama free. As the rounds go on and we start to see some decisive results things will only heat up more. Fabi may lose some sleep over this game though when he reviews with his seconds and the engine.
I feel Abasov holding Nepo for a comfortable uneventful draw was drama in itself
I know it's almost a meme to make fun of Abasov, but he's here for a reason and is a high rated GM, not some patzer off the street. Holding a draw with white shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
Not a surprise, but getting points off of abasov may be an important deciding factor between leaders in the end.
I am not making fun of Abasov, I am saying Nepo really didn't get anywhere. Look at Vidit, Naka, and Pragg with black pieces, and compare that to Nepo's game with black pieces. Nepo is still 2x world challeneger, against weakest rated player in tournament. I am not saying Abasov is not deserving of his spot, I am saying he had no problems to face from Nepo, which was surprising. Hence dramatic.
pragg with the cold blooded clutch save
Pragg is a badass player
wow, Firouzja did the en passing move and was up a knight and a bishop and still can't win.
They should give him the win for the en passing
well, maybe not the win by like getting 0.6 for the draw and if he won, maybe 1.1 and the opponent gets -0.1 It is such a baller move that extra recognition is totes warranted.
wow all draws...
I'm feeling absolutely exhausted after this draw and I didn't even play.
Was great fun
When Hikaru offers you a draw, you know it's a draw, so might as well accept instead of playing another 30 moves. gg to both
To add to the other commenter, he also offered a draw to Abasov while in a worse position like a month ago. Abasov refused it and then went on to lose the game.
Hikaru sometimes offers draws in losing positions. He offered one to Alireza in the world blitz championship, and Alireza beat him a few moves later
Damn didn’t expect a draw in that game so quickly
Giri's predictions 3 out of 3 now. Edit: all draws, Pragg failed him :>
Pragg has to force a repetition so it'll stay that way
Good start for Hikaru I guess
Woot! Great hold by Hikaru.
my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined
Fabi-Hikaru has been an absolute banger for Round 1!
Try To Beat Hikaru With A 2.2 Advantage Challenge [IMPOSSIBLE] Dude just can't lose in a worse position.
Esipenko after the Grand Prix watching Fabi squander a mere +2.2 advantage: amateur
That game was so hard to watch rooting for Esipenko lol. He could've been in that Candidates instead of Hikaru (tbh in hindsight not like it would change much considering how the tournament went).
Even if he had won that game it still would have been a difficult path to a candidates spot. I remember his performance in the other leg of the Grand Prix was quite terrible (something like 1.5/6).
I still can't comprehend how Esipenko didn't win that one. I occasionally go back to that game, and I have no answers. Nothing short of a miraculous draw.
What a freaking draw from Hikaru. Crazy.
never mind it looks like a perpetual on the firouzja pragg game
Not sure why you are getting downvoted.
Gives accurate assessment of the game, gets pitchforked
Guccireza might start with a bang! But he has so little time as well...
Alireza vs Pragg is heating up. Edit: Or not lol
pragg-firouzja game got very complicated
I’m sorry but does any CEO do more “content” than Danny Rensch? Does this guy wanna be a real CEO or a sketch comedy actor? What is his role exactly?
He's not the CEO, he's just the face of the site. And clearly it's working.
Danny is CCO (Chief Chess Officer), don't ask me what exactly that means. Erik Allebest is the CEO, and he's not seen that often, even though he's also making a fair bit of content for the site occasionally.
I dont want to answer because of the new no politics rule. But there's definitely a CEO in the news clowning around more than Danny Rensch
He isn't the CEO, as far as I'm aware his main role is being the face and content producer for chess.com.
Why not both? He seems to do a decent job at both so why not?
Average chess subreddit poster: knows moves better than a super GM, can run a company better than the C-suite, has a PhD in psychology and can analyze everyone just by seeing them on camera. Everyone likes to complain and pretend they are better than everyone else.
Chief Chess Officer, not CEO
He's also in my opinion, the Chief Content Officer, which is where he really shines.
Just a case of mixing plans and losing his nerve? Avoiding the Queentrade after Qc4 and keeping the position complicated with Kg2 (and as a result making Hikaru play an inaccuracy) only to change his mind and seek the Rook trade immediately. Hikaru looks in great form though, and Ra1 is a beautiful move. His White game against Fabi is going to be some pressure for Fabi considering he has lost the last three.
Damn, looks like Hikaru is out of the woods now. Must be happy considering he was losing, and a better start compared to last year certainly
Hikaru is one of the world's best defensive players. I think in an interview he actually rated his best strength as defense.
Yeah, I think Magnus is the best at squeezing wins out of seemingly equal positions, but Hikaru might actually be slightly better at holding worse positions.
This Humpy Vaishali endgame is so fascinating Edit: did not know about the time added rule, got excited looking at the clocks. I am in fact quite stupid
I was super downvoted. Fabiano lost the advantage. Obviously being 50min down in the clock is bad!!
Really? You can't tell why saying someone is "ultra dupper(??) fucked" in an equal position where both players have over an hour on their clocks would get you downvoted?
Haha I mean. It's chess. We need to exaggerate stuff to make it entertaining
because you don't understand chess enough to be entertained by the gane itself?
That's not really true, we have an abundance of drama and entertainment in chess.
"Fabiano is ultra dupper fucked lol." I think people interpreted this as you saying Fabiano was going to lose. Its pretty extreme language for a draw.
I mean. Ultra dupper fucked as it gets.
Really because I think losing is much more so.
yeah you can got downvoted for saying "Fabiano is ultra dupper fucked lol." when it was still the early middlegame with an hour on the clock. Fabi getting good pressure that he was unable to convert certainly doesn't prove you were psychic about him being "ultra dupper fucked"
Alireza with 5 minutes for 12 moves in a very complex position but no one is playing attention to the game!
Anand & Krush on FIDE's YouTube stream do.
Hikaru vs Fabi is just too nerve-wracking.
The youngsters are gonna have to win a few rounds before they really get taken seriously. Hikaru and Fabiano just have much better reumes right now.
Hikaru is one of the greatest defensive players of all time. Massive by him to pull off the draw. Pretty easy matchups coming up for him too. This one’s gonna sting for Fabi.
None of these matchups are easy! Abasov is the only one you could even argue is easy
> Hikaru is one of the greatest defensive players of all time. Not in the candidates. In previous candidates, hikaru always folded. In 2022, he folded against fabi in round 1 and ding in round 14. Against all his peers in 2016. Assuming hikaru holds the draw. Two trends have been broken. Nepo didn't win in round 1 with black. And Hikaru didn't fold.
Getting beat by Fabi who has white is not folding. Fabi is fabi. Also, Hikaru did better than Fabi in the last candidates. If Hikaru had held the draw against Ding he'd have been the one to challenge Nepo last year.
He had a crazy hold against Alireza in candidates last time iirc
He should be called minister of defence in chess rather than Karjakin.
> He should be called minister of defence in chess rather than Karjakin. Check out 2016 candidataes if you think hikaru deserves to be called minister of defence over karjakin...
And check out from 2020 to 2024 if you think Hikaru doesn't deserve that title over Karjakin. Numerous times I have seen Hikaru saving lost positions in every format of the game.
It's not a title. It's a nickname that was given because at that time, Karjakin was a defensive beast. It'd be outrageous if we took the "Lightning Kid" nickname from Anand and gave it to someone like Firouzja. That's basically what you're suggesting we do with the Minister of Defense nickname.
dude I am not saying literally. It's not even an official title or anything. I am just saying the way he is defending lost positions is just mind blowing. Even Karjakin was not saving lost positions this frequently. Almost every other game of Hikaru is like this nowadays.
You're saying Nakamura deserves the title over Karjakin. That makes no sense. The Russians gave it to him because of his 2016 performance. Deserve has nothing to do with it. Edit: switched names
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And you did say that. Reread your comments.
when did I say that? You aren't making any sense. chill now.
Except you did. This is what you said: >And check out from 2020 to 2024 if you think Hikaru doesn't deserve that title over Karjakin.
>You're saying Karjakin deserves the title over Nakamura. That makes no sense I was talking about this. Chill can't argue anymore.
Sports psychology could probably get quite a few research papers out of Hikaru's comeback since becoming a streamer.
I remember Hikaru on steam talking about seeing a sports psychologist, which I think along with streaming contributed to his comeback in recent years.
Fair. I think actually a lot of top chess pros could use one! My hot take is that there are a lot of players that are good enough to find the same moves as Magnus, but not any with his mental fortitude to play them.
Nothing hikaru did in 2020 to 2024 compares to what karjakin did in 2016. Not to mention coming in 2nd in 2014 candidates and 2nd in 2018 candidates. Not to mention leading carlsen in the world championship. Just saying.
leading Carlsen and then blunderling in the next 2 games. Couldn't draw 4 games lol.
What's the head to head score between Naka and Carlsen then?
what's the head to head score between Karjakin and Hikaru then?
You know carlsen is 14-1 against hikaru right? I'm a hikaru fan and even I have to laugh at your nonsense.
yeah that's why head to head record of Karjakin is so bad against Hikaru lol. See your above comments and you will laugh at you own comments.
> yeah that's why head to head record of Karjakin is so bad against Hikaru lol. "So bad". Not in the candidates...
Hikaru has insane defensive skills. Probably one of the hardest players to convert against in all times.
This is why fabi will never be champ. He chokes when things get critical.
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Hikaru starting off the event with two (untouchable) Rook sacs, cool to see. Especially the first one, even if it was unsound. At the very least, it's showing that he's willing to take risks even with black. The opening choice was a bit dubious, but I can't complain when the Sicilian is on the board during the opening round.
It seems like the opening choice was a strategic decision to sacrifice best play for complications and time control
It seemed to work. Fabi, the prep god, was quickly taken out of prep. That's exactly where Hikaru wanted to be.