Blindfolded Chess - GM Hikaru and Gothamchess take turns not seeing the chess pieces

IM Levy Rozman ( @GothamChess ) and GM Hikaru Nakamura play blindfold chess vs subscribers
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#gmhikaru #chess #blindfoldchess

[@GMHikaru]

Hello Everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that the rest of the ScrubStomping Speedrun will be on More GM Hikaru. We had too many videos to release at once and we decided to finish the speedrun over there. Part 6 and 7 are up over there. Part 6 is kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3LKloVsrbyGntk - don't forget to drop a sub over there as once we're at 50K subs on More GM Hikaru I'll do a speedrun with eyetracker to 3200 - that's always been a request and I'm hoping I get to do it for everyone. Thanks for all the support!

[@stockfish2866]

Oh my god I am your fan Especially your premoves

[@inemanja]

Hello Everyone to you too!

[@Coco-qz7fn]

IIf these guys are scrubs i'm trash..lol

[@gregorm1178]

​@@stockfish2866 l0

[@upplsuckimcool16]

Not being able to calculate things while driving is a known human limitation, you should look it up, it's actually pretty interesting and strange.

[@someguyok6246]

"I can't do blindfold chess while driving" i dont think i can drive with a blindfold either

[@descendency]

I'm so sad Levi missed that. That was a pro-level of deadpan from Hikaru.

[@shamalamadingleberry7203]

@@descendency He meant he just can't visualize a game of chess and drive at the same time. Not actually doing blindfolded chess

[@petermuno1235]

monkaSteer

[@gabiblack]

@@shamalamadingleberry7203 it's a joke dum dum

[@shamalamadingleberry7203]

@@gabiblack it honestly isn't. Hikaru was serious about not being able to do chess in his head while doing tasks such as driving, missing levy's implication completely.

[@christophe2570]

I like how Hikaru still looks up or to the side to calculate even if his blindfolded..

[@cosmosDiv]

really good example for heuristics

[@jasperkra-caskey2048]

Engine on his blindfold that only activates if he looks up

[@Trathien-]

@@jasperkra-caskey2048 the ONLY logical conclusion

[@AydenA]

it's actually a common tactic for humans in general. Looking up does some science stuff to our brain and we remember better basically.

[@MincraftPwnzer]

You mean to tell me GMs dont actually see the pieces on the ceiling?

[@emilsadykhov123]

Hikaru’s victim blunders: “oh, I didn’t see that move!” Hikaru: “dont worry, I didn’t either”

[@nishantkeni447]

I like how you called him a victim 😂😂😂😂 tho at the same time its an honour to be playing against these legends

[@adfavelas]

Such precision on the ending of the 1st game. When he explained Re7 instead of Qf7... Daaang! That's why he's a SuperGM

[@emilianofernandez7399]

How tf did he calculated all that in a second?

[@EisonDoesEverything]

@@emilianofernandez7399 past experience

[@benyzamora9773]

You forget that Bishop e6, Rook takes Bishop and check, King d6

[@MrGreenBeanBeenBeanin]

Countless hours of studying books of opening and positions combined with constant chess since the age of like 5. Couldn't be me.

[@gilangramanda3643]

He saw clearer than me on 500 mg of caffeine

[@Massaphan]

Hikaru or Levi: "How did I not see that?" Everyone else: ...

[@jkingenglish]

[@nope8247]

@@jkingenglish just dabs🤣🤣

[@Heisenberg_962]

Underrated

[@alexanderpaulino1995]

Hiraku could prolly premove a whole game blindfolded

[@kr3xy140]

That would be a nice new gamemode

[@connorrose3283]

"Hiraku" Dollarstore Hikaru

[@andreerfabbro]

playing black: 1. e4 ... ok i won

[@gamelogic2235]

I feel like he did that during his first game lol

[@darkultron4856]

before his oppooentn even moved

[@knivesin2727]

My best strategy For white: Queen’s gambit For black: Sicilian For blindfold: Botez gambit

[@xeraphyx7903]

a gambit is not a set or fixed thing. it is a situation based trap for your opponent to fall in. you must have multiple gambits and attacks up your sleeve ready for any scenario. and if the opponent does not fall for it, it is up to your skill and experience tow in.

[@mickrobertson7782]

@@xeraphyx7903 Somehow I get the feeling you don't know what a Botez Gambit is

[@dhruviyer7743]

@@xeraphyx7903 r/woooooosh

[@EJS-jj8py]

@@jamesl.8853 exactly

[@batrongordeg]

@@xeraphyx7903 Botez gambit is blundering the Queen.

[@erosmandici6214]

Hikaru: *looks up at the ceiling with a blindfold* Levy: *wears glasses with a blindfold* Nothing wrong here I guess.

[@egaotamagao]

Nothing can stop hikaru to see to stockfish ceiling

[@helenaborovcak6495]

I mean it just feels weird not wearing glasses and it would be hella wrong to be still with head and blindfolded while thinking

[@noobiechessjxwyspl]

It’s so he can’t see clearer

[@afj810]

look at ceiling is more blood to brain and glasses are like google glass and have stockfish built in

[@noahlamb2839]

Hikaru: played more like a 1600 than a 1200 Levi: *calls a 1300 a 300*

[@Vesdus]

To be fair, he played like a 300.

[@vx3666]

19:05 Hikaru counting material blindfolded blows my mind

[@Nmc01236]

Came to comment this, realized I was 4 months too late, liked your comment

[@deathmeter7243]

@@Nmc01236 1 yr ago… yo u still play chess?

[@Nmc01236]

@@deathmeter7243 lol, yeah, every now and then

[@warlord212]

​@@Nmc01236 2 yrs ago do you still play chess

[@Nmc01236]

@@warlord212 yessir

[@alexanderying1558]

27:28 Levy: I‘ve played like multiple masters who can‘t visualize. Hikaru: What? Me who can‘t win against 1000s: Wow, what a noob

[@snes09]

6:38 blew my damn mind

[@artemis477]

How? I saw it too.

[@kyen2390]

@@artemis477 pretty sure u didnt have a blindfold on nor did you set it up

[@artemis477]

@@kyen2390 no I didn't have a blindfold on but I'm sure I would have been able to see it anyway. It's visualising the board in your head instead of right in front of you, which makes it similar, just more difficult to concentrate

[@zaxgn]

@@artemis477 that's the point bruh

[@karlcossaboon7072]

@@artemis477 cuz we are normal people not chess gods lmao also good job for seeing that

[@kekwe3088]

'Actually levy you are wrong' has to be one of hikarus favorite sentences

[@seantobin2162]

“Better to be white than black” 57:16 hikaru nakamura, 2020 😂

[@nickdawg1014]

Canceled

[@KelpyJee]

This joke was so foul 😂😭

[@hyalinduelist2527]

Chat:"cmonbruh"

[@Jartran72]

He is not wrong.

[@eliaskjrbo8142]

@@Jartran72 Touché

[@jaywalkinhippie]

Hikaru: Shows where he thinks Levy will move by hovering the piece or drawing arrows Levy: Makes a different move Me, who has no idea what the difference is between the moves or what they accomplish: "Lmao what an idiot"

[@evahelie7207]

Same

[@Trathien-]

The difference between the moves is that they are made by different pieces Hope this helps ☺️

[@shiro298]

@@Trathien- That isn't always the case :)

[@matthewsharp1357]

@@Trathien- not only that. but also they go to different places.

[@Tyler-bp4md]

@@shiro298 do the pieces not remain the same throughout? like you could track the moves back to the starting position and see that its the kingside knight for example.

[@slapdagger5693]

At 41:45 blindfolded Hikaru corrects Levy holy shit

[@howardlam6181]

And blindfolded Levy corrects Hikaru on the "forced checkmate"

[@badrabbit2313]

48:09 “We should just sit at a table without the board and pieces and just say the moves” Proceeds to laugh in high IQ

[@AlanGonzalez-ev6ur]

Hes 101 iq

[@deathmeter7243]

@@AlanGonzalez-ev6ur That’s average. To be exact that’s 1 above average.

[@geetarijal3007]

​@@AlanGonzalez-ev6ur this guy thought iq was capped at a 100😂😂😂

[@tugzplays]

Bros actually right he’s 102

[@forsenstunlocked5967]

@@deathmeter7243100 iq isn’t average, it’s slightly above average. I couldn’t find an exact figure but I’m pretty sure the average iq is somewhere between 95-100 worldwide

[@lulerogaming1694]

Hikaru: "I cannot do blindfold chess when I'm driving" Let's pause on this for a moment. I'm surprised Levy didn't jump on it.

[@7cpm293]

Proves chess players are smart in chess only

[@planetsheen1020]

@@7cpm293 I don't understand the joke, do you guys think he means actually having a blindfold on while he's driving?

[@7cpm293]

@@planetsheen1020 when you drive with a blindfold you will crash

[@Andy.3]

@@7cpm293 you do know that blindfold chess doesn't require you to have a blindfold right? 😂. It just means that you can't see the pieces

[@7cpm293]

@@Andy.3 ok

[@y1ink]

Hikaru randomly pissing himself laughing is hilarious

[@djderie]

13:24 When you see mate in 1 but it's actually a botez gambit

[@user-xr8ci1bh1s]

I love how hikaru just laughs at random things lmao

[@WaterYaDune]

29:57 Eric Rosen would be proud of that Oscar worthy performance

[@SeaShrimp]

This blindfolded guy is really good, he should play in tournaments...

[@ahcryz2543]

S U P E R GM

[@gc-wb5xy]

@@ahcryz2543 hikaru is a grandmaster and levy is im

[@ahcryz2543]

@@gc-wb5xy Hikaru Is super grandmaster, none bringed levy in

[@gc-wb5xy]

@@ahcryz2543 what's super gm I thought gm is the highest title

[@ahcryz2543]

@@gc-wb5xy Grandmaster that reached 2700+ rating.

[@eoghan.5003]

28:54 the problem with blind war (or whatever we'd call it) is that you'd have to give lists of where pieces are whenever a move gives new information.

[@BattousaiMatt]

56:16 out of context is hilarious

[@amirbahrun3098]

52:50 Hikaru trolling Levy lmao

[@snes09]

52:48 hilarious hikaru troll

[@jys5219]

How many of you view my content ONLY on youtube?

[@marcjameslevesque]

Blindfolded chess always kills me...in a good way. I feel really confident until e4 is played on the first move and then it's too nerve racking. 👍

[@entrace1]

This is insane. Like 6:32. Just insane how good Hikaru is even blindfolded. Its crazy. And Levy is like "wtf" meanwhile :D

[@bass7883]

KingslayerHD is reconsidering life right now

[@syl3r]

Hikaru says "yeah, yes, yes, yeah" lot cause he's pre moving levy's statements

[@selimselimi909]

Did he say he cant do blindfold chess while driving 💀

[@betsegg]

Well can you?

[@analuizafelixdesouza6336]

Only like a thousand times

[@wadevenerdi1060]

When Hikaru put his blind fold on again and Levy was putting his on... I was thinking, this is about to be epic!

[@nasreddinechajaadine6441]

The pre-move mate in Hikaru’s first game is pure genius! It just made me laugh so loud.

[@roro4787]

I do it all the time no big deal

[@fruitygranulizer540]

@@roro4787 good for you mr. grandmaster

[@user-bs1zg9nk3g]

I always love seeing Hikaru and Levi's collaborations, they have good dynamics

[@DeadSezSo]

That blows my mind that hikaru saw two different mates and instantaneously understood one was forced and went with that one so he could premove

[@neat2014]

56:32 Hikaru: 1.D4 Gotham: 2.Bishop...

[@joedorben3504]

22:38 Hikaru, after sac'ing a bunch of pawns for dubious, if at all existent, compensation, and still winning due to his opponent blundering 2 pieces, an exchange, and a *queen*, all almost consecutively: "I thought that guy was a 2000" All 2000s everywhere: "Am I a joke to you"

[@davidramirezrodriguez3373]

Well, yeah

[@gustavopinedaxd]

the queen was probably on purpose as a trick hoping his blindfolded opponent didn't see anything, and since it's a 5 min game the fork exchange blunder is understandable +2000s are trash

[@pen_g_win1027]

Anyone 300+ higher rated seems like a chess god until you reach that level and realize how not perfect it is

[@germaincasse]

I'm the guy at 44:42, that was such a pleasure :)

[@kyota9712]

Congrats man

[@gunnarscherman1563]

Good game my dude, you played very well

[@000PontusLoeksFan000]

Wow!! What an honor that would be!! I look forward to seeing the game!!

[@germaincasse]

@@000PontusLoeksFan000 Hikaru said I was really good 👉👈

[@kelvinmulungu]

@@germaincasse the pointy shy hands are never not cute

[@dipswewon4701]

very interesting to hear them talking about queen's gambit 2 years after it came out, knowing that it had such a big impact on chess

[@ruthxk7844]

Amazing! It's very relaxing to see you playing blindfolded - you both speed it a bit down, and gives more time to internalize... now I feel I wanna learn to play blindfolded chess...

[@jacksonglasser6743]

Shoutout to ludwig for buying high and selling low lmaoooo

[@Random_guyOnInternet]

Levy : "The Gidens Widen Hagen Gambit" Hikaru : "The Wat??" Levy : "a b c d" Hikaru : " Oh yea yea i know that one" timestamp : 18:00

[@Breelik]

a ruling just came in guys hikaru is officially considered a chess engine and is banned from pro play. Man this new tech just keeps getting crazier and crazier.

[@pahaihminen1]

Who misses Hikaru and Levy collabs?

[@vexztrinnity]

mi

[@ermmwhatdatuna]

me 😭😭

[@StevenSenjaya]

oh I love their collab so much I hope they will do this again even though it's unlikely

[@gm2407]

Hikaru: The only time I cant do blindfold chess is when I'm driving. Levy: Hikaru: The only time I cant do blindfold chess is when I'm driving. Levy:

[@user-rh6pi1qo4w]

Time stamp?

[@gm2407]

@20:30 says it once, gets no response plays the game, says it in a different way, then still gets no response.

[@mustelidify]

Hikaru chuckling at Levy's blindfold is cracking me up 🤪

[@eriszuny]

10:50 I legit can't stop laughing, lmao 😅

[@jordarrr]

9:23 best sponsorship shoutout ever. Them other streamers should learn from this

[@Pfillep]

The title should be: Hikaru reads mind of Gothamchess.

[@andrewr8800]

I just watched this entire thing and I don’t regret a second of it

[@stevemcintosh9381]

Hearing Hikaru ask "have you heard of that show 'The Queen's Gambit'?" and then levy talking about how the trailer seemed accurate, but he's not sure about the correlation of substance abuse and chess is so fucking wild months later, knowing that they've both talked about how good the show was, and how much it boosted the chess boom even more. That was a really crazy moment

[@DaisyZhangAI]

Yup, I’m thinking the same thing in 2022!

[@wonderwind2716]

it's actually funny when Levy said "queen h takes f3 check" because it's rare when you have 2 queens and you need to specify which queen to move

[@JamesConley1234]

You guys are my favorite two chess players. Y'all are both hilarious lol so glad I found your channels.

[@user-rx8qd3qu7q]

I always love seeing Hikaru and Levi's collaborations, they have good dynamics. 19:05 Hikaru counting material blindfolded blows my mind.

[@biscuitladd7979]

41:30 Hikaru is like stfu levy I’m check mating him

[@richwarega2584]

That forced mate calculation at the end of game 1 was awesome.. When you can see that sequence that quickly, you can even play on 5 boards blindfolded.. big fan of Naka the speed demon!!

[@mabo2469]

I would like to see a game where both Hikaru and another GM play against each other blindfolded

[@ompatelmusic2515]

Loved this series, we want more of this!!

[@pres6829]

levy: i hit 2988 yesterday ! hikaru: *unimpressed* mhm

[@moistsimba]

See I don't see why people dislike Levy so much. He's just very honest, and he's even more critical of himself so it's not like he's being hypocritical

[@hoebare]

I love the dynamic between these two! I think _this_ is what is bringing chess back into the spotlight.

[@guacamolelover454]

sekiro thumbnail 👀

[@moofta7219]

I thought nobody would notice

[@RustyKlowbi]

Blindfold Everyone: Hikaru: Sleep Mask Levy Rozman: Fantasy Night Club Mask

[@xfreference5055]

I love how they absolutely humiliated the second guy

[@siddhantkotak5094]

I like how Hikaru is trying to premove the levy''s move

[@vaibhavsrivastava9417]

How good do you have to be to be sad about not finding the optimal premove mating sequence

[@samayahone3497]

Not being able to visualise is a known thing, some people literally do not have the ability to see images in their head.

[@alejogranda2066]

I've never thought I'd seen a long footage of people playing chess blindfolded

[@ivanveselov9183]

The most epic moment of all time is when Levy asks Hikaru if he had already seen that new show called Queen's Gambit. That was the beginning of an epoch

[@samdasari1602]

"silence is deadly"

[@JTO1214]

I really want to see a blindfolded tournament now

[@Ressel_]

This is quite interesting.. For some reason.. i learned something. Levi is strong because he learns to play the game, basically studying the game like a book. memorizing all those stuffs and all.. Hikaru on the other hand.. is something else. He made some unorthodox moves, and.. i dont know what to call it, other than talented genius.

[@gustavopinedaxd]

the reason is hikaru likes to bully weaker opponents by playing objectively bad openings and lines and tricks sometimes since he's stronger he'll win

[@alejandroseal3513]

@@gustavopinedaxd pov magnus with the kings march playing GMs

[@alonsoACR]

​@@gustavopinedaxdHikaru once mentioned in a stream that he likes to get off preparation or book chess quickly so he gets to play "true chess" with his opponent. Magnus does the same sometimes. Part of the reason Bobby Fischer actually went insane was that he thought that chess was devolving into who can memorize the most openings and lines, instead of pure skill. So I'd say it's that. Hikaru wants to go his own way, making up an entirely new opening every time as soon as he can

[@darwindunn8812]

Hikaru- “I can’t play blind chess when I am driving.”

[@TheseusDaKing]

I laughed too much at the Ludwig catching the stray at 9:30

[@fnaelga]

19:04 when you count pawns blindfolded... you must be dreaming pawns at night.

[@GoldenMunkee]

Amazing stuff by Hikaru, but damn that 1200 in game 1 was really good. Props to him as well

[@Kelvinheng]

1:43 kudos to him for not playing en passant

[@davep7176]

"Can't do blindfold chess whilst driving..." Well you done well driving while blindfolded let alone trying to play chess as well.

[@MrMoptop47]

Come for the Sekiro thumbnail, stay for the God level play POG.

[@user-ne5lb5id8c]

im fully fouced in my 3rd day on chess still e575. while he just blinded and performs like gm just wow amazing player

[@husseinzein7251]

This guy still premoves even blindfolded

[@theharpy6644]

1:05:44 when you want to try new stuff with your gf

[@coreyburton8]

Seeing hikaru laugh so hard that he had to move off camera 😂

[@pedrolafosse9166]

This was really fun, Hikaru was crackin up the whole time and it's also amazing to see this guys play blindfolded chess

[@pallisakgisson9579]

What a great hour of pure entertainment. Loved it.

[@Wtahc]

is anyone gonna talk about how well the 1200 played

[@connerfinch2744]

I know right, im like 1330 and that dude would smoke me

[@micosair]

Nice to see Naka and Batman playing blindfold chess.

[@damianmackie7612]

But the van geet actually has some interesting lines, it’s just similar to the alekhines defence and Mexican defence where the is lots of slow manoeuvres to create and target weaknesses. Also you can’t really call the reti an opening. It’s like calling e4 an opening. There is so many lines that come from it, all with different names. There’s the kings Indian attack, the potato, lots of transpositions into d4 openings along with the c4, the classical variation with b3, the old Indian attack with d3, a transposition into the tennis on gambit with e4, the prisoner gambit, and e3 looking to play c4 later. The list goes on. To classify the reti as its own opening is absurd

[@itsluuk7058]

My guy even premoves blindfolded, meanwhile I'm out there hanging my queen 50% of my games

[@TheCharskeBros]

6:36 watch levis face XD hes like "im not blind howd he see that so fast

[@saipawankumar5297]

The first game was insane

[@jaguldom]

6:37 Me: "Yea this is complicated there might be a checkm.." Hikaru: 6:38

[@jayknot88]

Levy's eye covering is really quite fun

[@TheMarksT]

Yeah good games Levy and especially that one you were talking about! Great job, quite impressive. Ggs Hikaru of course . Lots of fun too! Thx.

[@littlekittyskulls]

oh my god, this is so impressive? being able to keep track of 32 pieces, each with unique moves, across 64 squares, visualizing every move, remembering every piece's position, being able to still see the best moves to checkmate someone?? like holy shit . theyre on a whole other level of chess i'm speechless

[@Baseball181]

Hikaru so busy laughing poor lev falling behind in time😂

[@yegor6425]

do a speedrun where you play openings from A01 to D99 in order