World Champion Falls Apart After a "Beginner's" Blunder

[@fernandovargasmejia8512]

I found the move instantly, and I'm high.

[@thegorn]

Puff puff pass

[@ragdollwilly1]

LOL

[@MzeeMoja1]

Some highs will enhance what you see 👀

[@kovy689]

I didn’t…

[@armynyus9123]

That's a 'but' or even a 'because' - but not an 'and' ;-)

[@mathdeep]

Something happened to Ding after becoming the world champion. He's been struggling mentally and trying to come back to his level but it's hard. He is a chess genius as he proved many times and I hope he will find a way to feel better.

[@goose5462]

long before world champ, he exists at the bottom of most tournaments for 4 years now.

[@anarchistmaverick9507]

It must be difficult knowing that there is a player better than you even when you are the world champion.

[@divine6104]

didnt he just come back from an unknown illness?

[@shaktiprasadkv2807]

​@@divine6104pin of shame,stop using illness,he cured back long time ago and played few tournaments also.Everytime he looses, guys started to keep saying that he was sick/ill.

[@Skyvault12]

He's just tired of chess

[@primeobjective5469]

Anytime knight f5 is played, I automatically think of knight taking at g7 & h6 out of fear.

[@sivaramann3730]

Your comments are apt. It is an elementary mistake for a world champion.

[@davieschuks103]

Exactly! Something is clearly going on in Ding's mind

[@ignacio1085]

that damn suicide pony

[@primeobjective5469]

@@ignacio1085 -- Those knights are tricky bastards.

[@alexanderkidd7351]

Kasparov’s words: a knight on f5 is usually worth at least a pawn

[@quentinr6261]

Fabi's Re2 novelty turned out to be significant. His c4 near the end was clinical. I guess it's why he is 2800.

[@yvesdelombaerde5909]

Novelty by MVL

[@-erebor-2361]

Hé literaly said it was by MVL bruh

[@jestice75]

2800 no more.

[@brendanward2991]

Nxg7 was one of the easier pause-the-video moments. Even I spotted it immediately.

[@Morphil-n8x]

No. Spotting means you actually figure out the entire follow up line which led to the queen-less endgame

[@minitrends]

@@Morphil-n8x you dont have to spot everything till the end, but you surely know that Nxg7 will likely lead you to victory. once you understand that, only then you start calculating.

[@selfconscience]

@@Morphil-n8xsomeone who spotted it will obviously calculate it after realizing the first few sequences lead to a great advantage. And with 30 or so minutes on the clock Getting halfway or 3/4 there isn’t unrealistic

[@Figgy20000]

​@@Morphil-n8xthe move was incredibly obvious. The fact they had an hour on the clock to calculate a move this obvious means any strong player will see it to the end. Except Ding apparently, Gukesh is going to destroy him

[@bassmanjr100]

He's having a slump for sure. However, missing one move after playing a good game against a 2800 is not unusual.

[@mubaraksenju7521]

Fr

[@gunz300]

I saw that immediately and I'm trash.

[@ndnd7614]

Got smashed by Alireza of all people too 😂

[@michaelmassaro4375]

@@ndnd7614Alireza you mean the guy that beat Magnus recently

[@vmab1985]

@@ndnd7614 Alireza can beat anyone.

[@Rkcuddles]

We are all used to ‘world champion’ being a title that implies an impossible opponent because magnus occupied the title for so long. But it was magnus that as special not the ‘world champion’.

[@fishmongal]

not only Magnus but also Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik, Topalov, Karpov etc. They all raised the bar very high.

[@necros6464]

@@fishmongal Don't forget Fischer, the greatest player before engines.

[@mubaraksenju7521]

​@@fishmongalindeed they all are. And Fischer. He's just a monster.

[@rg7535]

Not really. I mean, of course Magnus set an almost impossible standard as he’s the greatest to ever play the game, but past world champions, even discounting Kasparov who was the greatest before Magnus, have always been somewhat dominant. Ding is just the weakest world champion in history, by an enormous margin.

[@vladimirvladimirovich3036]

@@rg7535 Not sure about the enormous margin - Euwe definitely wasn't the strongest of his era, and neither was Spassky. Spassky's case stings in particular, as it would have been nice to see Fischer play a WC match against someone more in his league (e.g. if he hadn't chickened out against Karpov). I think ultimately all world champions were/are great players (of course), but not necessarily the best of the field - and Magnus being arguably the strongest player of all time, following him up was always going to be a tough act.

[@simongideon1343]

Allowing Nxg7 is no big deal. He probably calculated that it will leave him with two pieces against a rook and a pawn which is not so much of a bad trade. So he didn't miss that imbalance in the exchange. He only miscalculated some continuations

[@mubaraksenju7521]

Agreed. He saw that 1000%. But probably didn't expect the queen sacrifice to win the rook in the backrank, probably.

[@gelatinousjoe7979]

No way he didn’t see Nxg7, but you have to ask what DID he see after Rxf8. Because his position was just dead after that with the inevitable exchange sacrifice.

[@ragdollwilly1]

Ding is realizing the crown is heavy

[@Puschit1]

Especially a crown that was left behind unattended by the true king

[@rajiv2612]

That was a beatdown and a half. Ding is in some serious hole - and needs to really start getting his confidence back before the WC.

[@Topseey]

Are you still working on the Steinitz saga?

[@agadmator]

Yes, it's coming!

[@Topseey]

Nice 😎

[@SimonLab]

"we got world champion at home" vibes

[@lirenchow-v9c]

don't mock ding like this... he used to be a true beast, and he will be back at anytime, this is just not his true form

[@abababa7483]

For me, blunders are more of the norm than exception, so I guess I am the wrong person to answer the question of how ding could make such a blunder.

[@anarchistmaverick9507]

In your below 2000 elo matches yes but blunders are an exception in such a high rated game.

[@abababa7483]

@@anarchistmaverick9507 I'd say you are right.

[@Karadjanov]

Love the Game of Thrones comparison! Most people say only the 8th season is bad but in reality it declined in quality in season 4 and then just jumped of a cliff and became pure garbage from season 5 onward.

[@Someone-tn8ur]

This may have been the easiest "find the move" ever. I saw the threat before we were asked to find the move.

[@cloudtheavegner1000]

I don't know how agadmator makes these jokes with a straight face. Then again, he did make that April Fools video with a straight face the entire time.

[@Puschit1]

His entire career is built on his straight face - he is the Leslie Nielsen of chess :) I guess after about a thousand of "sorry about that" jokes while fake-fiddling with the sound volume he got enough practice :)

[@ensiehsafary7633]

If you're a hater just don't watch​@@Puschit1

[@jonathan.palfrey]

Looking at it from White’s point of view, I identified Nxg7 as White’s best move without much difficulty. I don’t know whether I’d have anticipated it as Black; even if I anticipated it, I probably wouldn’t have been able to counter it effectively. But I’m an unrated player, and if I had a rating I think it would be somewhere below 1600.

[@mohamedsannan4092]

I have seen Tal vs Botvinnik match in 1960 on this channel and it looks for me as if they were higher rated and having better tactics and beautiful chess compared with Nepo vs Ding match. Is it really true or modern chess in the engine era made chess different?

[@mubaraksenju7521]

Indeed. Those games were beautiful indeed. Each move comes with a few tactics and sacrifices idea. But chess is not always like that. Ding tried his best. So did Caruana. The better player wins. Easy as that. Though of course Tal wouldn't miss that Nxg7 idea 😂

[@jameshogan6142]

Yes there was a beauty and cohesion about those games from the past. Modern chess does seem based on engine lines and it world be interesting to see how todays players would fare against a prime Alekhine Tal or Fischer.

[@arpadkomar3148]

The game of thrones analogy... What did Ding ever do to you? On a serious note, I think it depends on the person. Ding never seemed as viciously competitive as Magnus, and we shouldn't forget that Magnus wasn't just a world champion, he is the strongest player up to this point.

[@salmanhabibazizi]

Sacrificing a piece on g and h files near king is my favourite move.

[@vipulgupta]

Someone also needs to talk about amazing accuracy of Vaishali in the last game and with that for the first time she has crossed 2500 rating.

[@carloalbertoromano4114]

I got the question move....probably was not so difficult to spot

[@MrK623]

No you are not wrong. Even I found Ng7.

[@Turnyourtruth42]

@agadmator I think you are correct to be a little upset. Ding clearly isn't in his old shape of 2800 plus. He hasn't been playing much since being champion and its obvious there is some rust. As a fabi fan, I still want him in better shape as its better for chess overall.

[@edwardlane1255]

I'm about 1800 on lichess - I found that as my first candidate move but was looking for something more devious for a long while before unpausing

[@thatrandomguy1006]

Ding...Please come back

[@readmycomment3707]

Thanks for covering this game it was one I wanted to check out

[@Frets49]

Checked this channel after a long time. Levy really soaked up viewership of all old channels

[@elektrotwerk]

95% of the time I can’t find the winning or best move when you ask. But here I needed 1 second to find it.

[@frozenhorse8695]

A bell should have rung, in Dings ear, When Fabi offered the a4 pawn.

[@Abduabduta]

Ding, in this tournament, you at rock button now, nothing should be hold back, fight all out now please , fight every game after, show us your heart ❤️

[@bfethree4060]

As a beginner I did evaluate knight g7 but couldn't see why it was so strong.

[@sungod9797]

It took me about 1 second to find Nxg7, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the move Ding missed. I think he just didn’t calculate in a disciplined way about what happens after the knight and bishop are traded for the rook and 2 pawns. I think he underestimated how easily Fabi could exploit his completely exposed king in the resulting position.

[@spmcdade901]

You are not wrong, Antonio

[@yggdrasil9039]

11:37 'You have to capture otherwise you get checkmated' How? eg. Qa8 declining the capture and protecting the 8th rank; Rh6+ Kg8, Qh7+ Kf8 and the King is heading for cover behind the Knight.

[@TUHINMUKHERJEE-l1l]

after Rh6+, not Qh7, Rg6+,Kh8,Qg7#

[@ravinamastor]

Maybe I'm to harsh but the idea that anyone would consider Ding an actual world champion is inconceivable to me. Magnes Carleson could very obviously have the title if he wanted it. but Nepo while a great player is a choker under pressure so it went to bing by two lucky defaults.

[@jameshogan6142]

Shades of Euwe. Brilliant tactician but no match for the cunning Alekhine when he was at his best and was in the right place at the right time.

[@chengalvalavenkata2401]

@13:00: At the 2700 level in a classical game, the position is resignable for black because black is down 3 pawns in addition to being down a queen for a rook and knight with an open king.

[@segs3394]

Everyone now appreciating just how good Magnus is. Being #1 and WC for a decade. Everyone prepares to beat you continuously. Magnus GOAT

[@NadimRifaiTech]

Feel bad for ding. Missing Nxg7 is a bad one for someone of his calibre.

[@petermhart]

I don't count myself a particularly strong player at all but I spotted the move at once.

[@davidstubbs8896]

Ding's collapse happened during the World Championship tournament. The pressure was just too much for him. When he won, he wasn't thrilled, but relieved. He does not enjoy chess anymore and doesn't want to fight. Missing the obvious mate against Carlsen was horrifically shocking. Two rounds later, he offered Fabi a draw in a winning position. He finally showed some heart in the final round against Naka. All he needs to do is play 20 blitz and 20 bullet games per day on Lichess under an alias. He'd win practically all of them and regain his love for the game by winning a lot. His journey demonstrates just how psychological and emotional playing chess actually is. It's impossible to perform well at anything if you don't like it anymore.

[@junaydjaved6776]

It might’ve been a blind spot for King Liren

[@parzingtheasian]

Never say "who am i to criticize person X," nobody is above criticism and personally i think ding just missed the sacrifice, it was a blunder that he should not have missed, or any player above 2000.

[@TonBil1]

"... that you guys already have a feeling that I'm constantly showing you the same game..."

[@andrewgavrilov7273]

You gave us a clue when showing rook to g8. After this it became clear what g7 is the target for attack.

[@mathswithgarry7104]

I saw that! It does seem to end quite badly when you trap your own queen on the queenside while your opponent is attacking on the kingside.

[@alaincayer8999]

Being a candidate, the people focus on 8 persons, being the world champion, the same people focus on one person. It's the binocular syndrome, depend on which side you look.

[@riveroflifeministry8299]

Ding’s a sensitive soul, maybe something snapped in the intense effort to win the championship, and maybe he won’t recover his chess ability at this level. No bad thing, I am sure he could find another field of endeavour.

[@vit4mint685]

I saw it, but I think it was a bit spoiled by mentioning the preceding option for the rook.

[@GeraldM_inNC]

I'm convinced that the task of gobbling up undefended pawns should only be undertaken by a knight or bishop; the queen and rooks cannot be spared from being able to rush to the defense of their king just to ingest a pawn. I've noticed that Fairy Stockfish finds undefended pawns irresistible, so I make a habit of offering free pawns that would lure a rook or queen away from the area they ought to be patrolling, just like Caruana did with the pawn on the A file. Then with the queen or rook out of position, you can attack the under-defended king as Caruana did or, as I usually do, push my passed pawns forward until the Lichess engine has to sacrifice a piece to stop a pawn from queening. Trapping the opponent's queen or rook out of position to prevent your assault is a key strategic skill.

[@LympyDownunder]

@3.56 just Bxg2, I calculated many lines but I can't see how this is not just good for black

[@jameshogan6142]

Ding needs Antonio as his chief second to point out these stop the video moments and prevent such blunders in the world championship match.

[@Bobby-fj8mk]

6:53 - Ding seems to be blind to the fact that if his Bishop - Bxf5 the Rook on e8 is hanging. His Knight on d7 is blocking his Queen from defending the e8 square. Move 25 at 6:52 Black played 25. Qc6 Stockfish says 25. Rg8 is better and the score is only 0.25 against Black.

[@azutsukimiya]

yeah Gukesh has this in the bag against Blunding

[@ΝτίνοςΜέρτζιος]

Can you somehow add the clock on this new classical games??

[@LukeLongboneOfficial]

I would hate to be the guy who becomes WCC after Magnus. Stepping into shoes that nobody can fill, so to speak. Ding is not necessarily at fault for failing to be what we expect from the world champion. Magnus raised the bar of expectations ridiculously high.

[@patricechoffat6382]

Much like a chess position, the chess players have objective strength at some points in time: - Alireza in 2021 - Nepo at candidates - Caruana in 2023 Even Ding himself assesses his loss in motivation and performance relatively fairly. So it’s ok for you to ask questions… It’s a shame for all of us that the WC match is not Gukesh vs Magnus though

[@Spencaa95]

When even I can find the pause move you know it must have been an easy miss 😂

[@ryanreyes2601]

Dont ever underestimate the heart of the champion 🎉

[@Someone-tn8ur]

When the champion doesn't display any heart...

[@MaritimeSunset]

I am not a great chess player and I found it quite quickly so you are completely right Agad. Clearly Ding is having a rough one.

[@_Cujo_]

I'm currently around 1050 and I found it after about a minute of looking. Poor Ding really is struggling with something, clearly.

[@TerahAsh]

Show the evaluation bar.

[@Lasselucidora]

Ding has PTSD. Candidates and WC was too much pressure for him. He cant focus any longer. Anxiety hunts him.

[@davewright8206]

im probably 1200 , i found it quickly ,so you are perfectly ok to question it

[@dewaard3301]

But you were told that there was an obvious mistake, and which move was the obvious mistake. Would you really have caught it over the board?

[@sunnylondon]

@@dewaard3301 That is the interesting question. If he paused the video on Ding's move, I am guessing less people would get Rook to G8 than Knight to G7.

[@SuperChezus]

@dewaard3301 I'm 600 rated lol. But i would have taken with the knight not because i am smart but because it just "looked" like a better move than moving the rook. I can't objectively define why i would have done it.

[@aoibheall55]

Seeing the move isn't quite enough, you have to be able to figure out the continuation. Fabi obviously could since he played the move without spending much time, which is why it's surprising that Ding missed it

[@ItsAllAboutGuitar]

He also told you there was a move to find. Not knowing that in game makes it completely different. If you were playing Fabi, you would get destroyed in 10 moves. Ding is up 7.5 to 6.5 against Fabi.

[@SudeepKs-ps3ix]

Please come back ding 😢❤

[@iregretthisname6098]

When I mean to snooze my alarm but accidentally turn it off 😢

[@subhendubiswas1525]

Next time😶😶😶

[@hemakanthadesilva2087]

😓

[@willmandelang167]

I don't think Ding actually wants to be world champion. In fact, I believe he will be a much better chess player again once he is not anymore. It's a heavy crown sort of thing. I myself tend to be less performant (in whatever) when im put in the spotlight. Reason of Ding's decline in performance is probably due to one or more of these: Increased anxiety due to expectations and scrutiny. Distraction from focusing on the outcome rather than the process. Over-analysis of moves that would normally be made more intuitively. An inability to enter the optimal performance state due to heightened pressure.

[@KarlaKloppstock]

Ding is an incredible player, but he seems to be have difficulties with too much pressure of expectation. It's all a result of Magnus stepping down unbeaten.

[@jsardi56]

Hey, everyone has a bad day once in a while.

[@pac1261]

I agree that a world champion should not have missed Nxg7. That kind of oversight might happen in severe time pressure but that wasn't the case here. However I disagree that Ding should have played on after Rxe6. He will be forced into a Q versus R+N position, plus his King is exposed, plus White has extra pawns, plus Black has no source of counterplay, plus White has plenty of time on the clock. Any Grandmaster, or for that matter any 2200+ player, wins that position 100% of the time. Resignation was appropriate. It's not a lack of fighting spirit, it's facing reality - and saving energy for tomorrow.

[@pakipower123]

@agadmator , i wished you should have analyzed for bishop f4 to h6, it wins instantly, if black captures with pawn queen h8 and so on,

[@ChessShaastra]

1 min of silence for those who think Ding can hold onto his title against Gukesh!

[@manu-singh]

​@@WhiteAustraliaFirst2Don't spread false rumours, just enjoy chess

[@dixonmathew7170]

Cheating in chess? You must be really mad about him winning aye? Lol

[@truthboom]

it's still possible, maybe Gukesh isn't familiar and can't take advantage of the blunder

[@nabadipchoudhury1100]

I think Ding will lose against anyone in the title match. Not sure about Nepo though

[@rumaulia2709]

I'll take Ding

[@LeviAckerman-gu9lx]

We believe in King Ding, he will come back and rise higher.

[@dr.sivavignesh664]

It's not hard to miss. I'm about 2000 in lichess and the threat of capture is blatantly obvious at that point. Either bishop or knight might capture one of those pawns and if it's classical you have to calculate all of those captures before playing a move. If it's blitz yeah captures is still obvious but hard to calculate all the captures.

[@joshpinchuk7061]

I would not have seen Knight takes g7.

[@ronniesapp4469]

Champ just gave up. Hes the damn World Champion. One should be at the level as the WC to get out of a move that was a blunder that wasn’t the end all. Very disappointing.

[@insolentMinx47]

hes the WC with an asterisk.

[@fourtime7]

Ding going be fine.

[@Mississippi_Jack]

Yo, don't go disrespecting GOT season four. The Purple Wedding, Tirion's trial, the death of Tywin, the Watchers on the Wall, there were some great plotlines and episodes.

[@_Listen_to_Solar_Kama_Sutra]

We all know season 8 is the best

[@chessman88]

Im not sure what you talk about - there were only three seasons

[@thesilenthero422]

I found the move but I wasn’t 100 percent certain, and didn’t calculate it as deeply

[@suhasrajachandragupta6809]

I was able to spot "pause the video" move. I would have expected World champion to spot it. 😅

[@miswaa3088]

Its hard to be a world champion nowadays. Since you will be casted by the shadow of a former super champ. You’ll be compared and that will portray a huge gap between their reign. In my opinion, no one will come close to the legacy of Magnus.

[@straightfacts5352]

I shall be betting my entire bankroll of Ding to lose his crown. Easy money necessitates an all-in bet.

[@thorbjornhansson4520]

I feel very sorry for Ding. He’s such a nice guy, but at the moment way behind his title. Hope, he’ll recover until November when it’s all about to defend the title.

[@amitk79]

I found that move even before you asked. And I can't even share my rating since it's so low it's embarrassing.

[@matejtopic826]

Hey Agad, nice Got referencexD. Yeah, pause the video moment was very easy. Found it in a few sec. Ding is fragile far too long.

[@davidanderson_surrey_bc]

Richard Nickerson: I too am not a crook.

[@justinlange888]

Your comments seem fair enough, thank you for your honest assessment.

[@frustis]

The fact that Ding won the world championship is a canon event. It's definitely one of the most unexpected and incredible victories in history. He's very emotional and that has a toll on him sometimes. He broke down several times throughout the championship, and yet he won above every other candidate. Other players seem stoic, unbeatable giants in comparison. But all except for Magnus lost to him last year. Don't underestimate him

[@mubaraksenju7521]

Yup. These people be judging Ding based on this one match is freaking hilarious. They don't realize how good Ding actually is. Well....even Magnus just lost to Pragg. We humans make mistakes. Why are people being so mean??

[@northshores7319]

Their is a history of World Champions not playing like a World Champion after they win the Crown. Botvinnik was one. His fellow Soviets left him off an Olympic team as they thought he was not playing well enough to compete. Petrosian and Spassky did not live up to high quality play except when Spassky beat Fischer in their clash in the 1970 Olympiad. The struggle to win the Crown really takes a lot out of a player. I think Kasparov said that it is harder to keep the Crown than it was to win it. Looks like Ding has gone dong.

[@royprasad]

As we analyze positions, I think we sometimes get locked into thinking along certain variations. After White played Nf5, the threat of Nxh6 is very obvious and even an 1800 player would likely see and analyze that threat. If there was a Bishop standing on g7, most players would analyze Nxg7 also. But with a Pawn on g7, Nxg7 is a less obvious threat and a lot of players would likely miss it. But would a strong grandmaster, let alone a world champion have a blind spot for Nxg7?! I don't know, I'm not a super GM... Someone should ask Ding. He is a very nice guy, down to earth and approachable. If you have a way of reaching him, you should ask him. Perhaps we will find out then.

[@davidholland4713]

Nxg7 was an obvious move even for me, so for a former 2800 world champion to miss is a devastating blunder. It does happen, even to the best, and the test of mettle is in how you respond going forward. I hope to see a resurgence.

[@panda4247]

The players' mental state is hugely affected by the pressure they perceive. Hikaru kinda "retired" and became a streamer and now he plays better chess than ever, once he "stopped caring". Ding on the other hand must feel immense pressure being champion after Magnus, plus the pressure from his government, plus the health problems he had,... I hope he gets better!

[@irengig8362]

I believe Ding do all of this just out of formality. His heart and mind are set to the WCC and to face Gukesh later this year

[@dougbroome8596]

what about the Stienitzche saga agad? I'm past ready for it. His influence on the game exceeds even Tal's. is that blasphemy?

[@itox85]

while i did see knight take g7 as a possible move but i am not seeing the win there at first since its basically 2 minor piece for a rook

[@gpv007]

TBH, I found it just like that. Unbelievable that Ding couldn't. Anyhow it happens when things are not at all going in our way.

[@blundertimechess]

I found the move straight away, but I thought it wasn't it because it was too easy, so I kept looking for 5 more mins. I didn't find anything so I sticked with Nxg7, and that was it lol. You even gave a hint when you olayed Rg8 before, defending the pawn

[@nobody1841]

I saw it instantly, he dang well should've seen it too.

[@BO55]

@agadmator's Chess Channel, #suggestion can you cover 1st match of Vaishali Vs Koneru of Norway chess 2024? The way in which the queen was trapped was quite great.

[@RR-hl8hq]

Add the tag #suggestion to your post and maybe he will

[@popodori]

Its a Ding Gambit, we are not competent enough to understand the brilliancy

[@gagarigabinalayefa3617]

That wasn't hard to miss. Like I'm not even a 2000level player and I saw it

[@EnterStranger]

Great GoT analogy, although you’re being a bit harsh on season 4