Carlsen's Most Atrocious Opening Ever?

Is This Magnus Carlsen's Worst Chess Opening Ever? Magnus Carlsen played this in the chess.com Titled Tuesday event 1st August 2023. Epic chess as always and yet more Magnus Carlsen chess opening nonsense!
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#chess #magnuscarlsen #carlsen #epicchess

[@Pravinoz]

Magnus is playing these "bad" opening because not only is he taking his opponents out of book, but 10 moves in and with only 10 seconds used, he's really only a centipawn down. Is he really "losing" tempo when his opponents can't capitalize on it, and do so in a timely fashion?

[@epicchess2021]

yeah not even such a big deal with how he then goes on to outplay them

[@end.olives]

Is it actually just a centipawn tho? It seems to be very exploitable for more than that, but players simply arent expecting it at this level, so they blunder the counterplay

[@wconradjr]

This is what makes him the goat. Regardless of prep, he’s an endgame beast.

[@auntypha5958]

very troll strat. create a line that looks like 800 elo chess and play your moves instantly and get to an endgame with a yuge time advantage

[@wconradjr]

@@auntypha5958 How is that trolling? He takes them out of prep, and forces them to play on skill alone. Nobody thinks magnus is an 800 Elo player. It’s not like he’s fooling anyone.

[@kerryfry1857]

Loved the Ben Feingold reference 👏🏻👏🏻❤

[@PMA65537]

Was that really Ben? I thought it was FRANK!

[@kerryfry1857]

@@PMA65537 Stop talking.

[@LpSC2online]

Third!

[@kaldrazadrim]

Carlsen is doing what old Bobby Fischer said: get away from memorization and play chess.

[@erikb4407]

Exactly who i was thinking of. Bobby would maybe be proud

[@brickwitheyes1710]

Its so insane. I wonder if fisher wouldn't of gotten as bored with chess if he had the balls to play like this.

[@Isitonbabies1]

"there's a modern thing for you" lmao

[@advertslaxxor]

chuckled :)

[@deanh8438]

😂

[@SenatorBluto]

Thanks for documenting these Carlsen openings.

[@epicchess2021]

no worries glad you're enjoying!

[@TheJamesclementcook]

I must say I’ve been watching your channel with other chess channels and nobody is as entertaining and enthusiastically articulate about the play-by-play. It’s like watching a boxing match blow by blow or a premier league football match with the great announcer. Good job buddy keeps my attention, and, totally enjoying it. Keep up the good work.

[@edwardwalker6793]

Couldn't agree more.

[@olafslartibartfast5248]

Absolutely true, I already unsubscribed from two other, less entertaining, chess channels. I love this one!

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks very much really appreciate the kind words! Glad you’re enjoying

[@Chr15T]

Word.

[@chrisy1528]

“About to turn into a girl, there’s a modern thing for you.” Love the games, commentary and humor! Great job, keep it up! Your channel is indeed “EPIC”.

[@epicchess2021]

Haha thanks a lot glad you enjoyed

[@mmazz414]

One of the most underrated chess commentators and reviewers!! Fantastic as always.

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks very much appreciate it!

[@tricia3114]

Definitely…. I was excited at the recap….

[@steveshuffle]

He ain't underrated! He's highly rated by many of us :)

[@80-80.]

Disrespectful opening… I miss the old days when Magnus' live streams always ended up on youtube. I guess there is more money in Twitch or something.

[@epicchess2021]

there are still a lot about if you search for them on youtube

[@Klont123]

I can only appreciate Magnus brilliance enough through your videos. It’s impossible to see what’s going on for a chess noob like myself. So thanks!

[@Skafiskafnjak51]

exactly, for us noobs who never play the game its really entertain to watch this good explanation :D

[@raylambert7562]

Magnus is an end game genius, so these bots players who just memorized lines and they do not think are easy to ruffles on weird opening.

[@zenithmalhotra4172]

thanks for all the amazing content! Love your humor too. Cheers mate

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@mikecroke6078]

I felt that tiddley wink quote 😔

[@daviddurbin7682]

Carlsen and Hikaru each play these "bad" openings and their opponents have no ideas how to handle them

[@thomasrois7330]

In my eyes, all that Magnus is proving ist that most strong players are just walking databases with inferior fighting skills. My biggest weakness in chess has always been openings, since I lacked the ambition to learn more theory. Its just like football players coming from academies, with all modern knowledge and athleticism to boot, just to get utterly destroyed on the dribble by someone who learned on the streets. It's good strategy to take the opponents where it hurts them the most, Boxers or MMA fighters do just the same - try to take the game towards your own strength and away from theirs. It's why I like variations with heavy trading, since I know i'm better than most at my skill level at endgame.

[@PeterM8987]

What better forum to trial new opeings than in Titled Tuesday? Magnus is creating such openings to not only put his opponent in unfamiliar territory but to enjoy playing chess, IMHO. Don't for a minute think he hasn't prepared the majority of these opening.

[@raylopez99]

Yes but Carlsen is so good he could play even conventional openings and win. Recall edit: Capablanca defended --played-- the Marshall Attack of the Ruy Lopez against Frank Marshall, who was preparing this gambit for ten years just to use once...and won. Capa's Elo > Marshall's Elo.

[@Philiopantheon82]

Life is all good when i watch epic chess videos and its even getting better when its about Magnito effect. One thing sure about these strange opeings by Magnus is that his style is reminiscent of the former 8th chess world champion, known as magician from Riga, Mikhail Tal. While Tal was known for his material sacrifices and sheer brilliance, Magnus on the other hand is a sort of on the same page, by giving his opponent early advantages sacrificing position then eventually forcing you to make minor inaccuracies and eventually blunder the game. Both Tal and Magnus are working on the same principles but with different strategies.

[@raylopez99]

Makes you want to buy some of those books on unconventional chess openings, here's one published in 2020: " Unconventional Approaches to Modern Chess: Volume 2 - Rare Ideas for White By: Ipatov, Alexander .... Nowadays, in the era of computer chess, GMs generally tend to focus their preparation on looking for playable ideas rather than outright refutations. In his second volume of work, Alex Ipatov once again shows his expertise and creative approach in this regard. The reader is presented with an abundance of interesting ideas for White which can pose real practical problems for Black."

[@Philiopantheon82]

@@raylopez99 thanks, I will try if I can get a pdf copy

[@raylopez99]

@@Philiopantheon82 Wow, true...I see there's a pie rated copy at the usual sites... if I like the book I might buy it at Amazon. At the very least I get to see how GMs think when they see an unconventional opening.

[@Philiopantheon82]

@raylopez99 that is good, I have an old cannon printer at home with stacks of papers. I might just print the entire pdf tonight as I can't afford a hard copy from Amazon. Thanks for your suggestion again.

[@michaelmassaro4375]

Magnus has a penchant for creating passed pawns to beat people at the end game he does it with proficiency a mark of the Great player he is Thanks for the Game James enjoy your day 😊

[@epicchess2021]

yeah fur sure! Thanks Michael and you

[@Christoff070]

Carlsen chess is like a box of chocolates..

[@epicchess2021]

haha nice

[@speedyian31meale92]

Magnus Carlsen knows how to brake chess principles and win from bad openings if you give him the chance

[@mrpocock]

Take them out of book, then either capitalise on the first blunder, or hold on to an endgame. He's relying on them not having enough theory off-piest to avoid blundering and maintain their advantage into the endgame.

[@mikesteele5935]

OMG that was a beautiful game. No long combinatons just strategic play. Looks so easy.

[@iOnlySignIn]

Magnus's King marching to the front like Harald Hardrada.

[@andrewclifton9772]

Not sure what you're getting at. HH lost at Stamford Bridge but took so much out of Harold Godwinson's army that he (HG) lost the English throne to William of Normandy. 1066 and all that,

[@areezzy]

4:20 I didn't know Jeremy Silman passed away. The book Reassess Your Chess was one of the finest and influential book I have read

[@epicchess2021]

yeah sad news 😞 and yes the same for me

[@Jefuslives]

Take that, theory nerds! 😂

[@lennyvlaminov9480]

Another fantastic Magnus game, it's art really.

[@jeffw8057]

"about to turn into a girl!"...love it! Chess is the one place I support gender transformation!

[@epicchess2021]

Haha yeah just a random little one that popped into my head at the end there 😆

[@oad51]

I didn't realise that Jeremy Silman had passed away. RIP

[@jesus3268]

-Run , Forrest , Run!! Ha Ha

[@lonelysonofgod97]

"a knight on a rim is dim" ❤

[@basmeisters3]

Loved it! Horrible opening. But Emmanuel Lasker finally has a wurthy successor. About him it was said: It is very hard to refute Lasker's bad moves. Well, the same is true for Magnus. His bad moves are even more provocative.

[@pjkrill3109]

Magnus Carlsen tried to sell me crack yesterday

[@epicchess2021]

Ah I thought I was the only one, he told me I was special 😔

[@24B791]

Doesnt matter what opening you use if you're the man 😂 Have you seen the video of this dude vsing like 5 guys at the same time walking along just owning them all. Thats nuts and i know nothinf about chess

[@michaeltrain3958]

I was calling passed pawns girls long before viewing these videos. I think this fella just picked it up from somewhere and started using it.

[@olafslartibartfast5248]

I wouldn't be surprised when Magnus opens a game by sacrificing his queen for a pawn within 5 moves 🙂

[@paulmitchell5349]

Black has a lowly 2862 and was presumably bricking it, so didn't see pawn to A6.

[@GeezEU]

he plays "Fischer chess" on his own.

[@000aleph]

'Colour complex' certainly sounds more impressive than just 'colour' 🙄

[@pukulu]

Carlsen likes to play inferior, offbeat openings in blitz. He reasons that most of his opponents will not be able to find a precise way of punishing his indiscretions.

[@mickdonedee1]

I wish somebody would try that on Magnus and see how he responds. How hard would it be to prep a crazy opening?

[@bigbrady2244]

nosedive at the end, bringing up people's delusions. RIP, channel was good

[@epicchess2021]

lol, what's frustrating about this comment is I sense we both have similar opinions on the matter. My comment in the video was merely a throwaway joke, like I said, 'Tom Hanks about to turn into a girl because that's the "modern thing" now'

[@spirokaci]

@@epicchess2021 happy viewer,here. Keep up the good work. Love your channel

[@synupps877]

​​@@epicchess2021 Well, let's hear your opinion.

[@madamkirk]

I think I actually invested this opening by accident in the first week I learned!!!

[@primeobjective5469]

With these atrocious openings, Magnus is playing like a man possessed. 😅

[@paulmac1472]

the utter disrespect is emotional. hope you're feeling okay :)

[@majesticfloors]

You can see he is trying to mix things up and is bored with traditional chess

[@timwcronin]

Had to click after seeing the thumbnail position.

[@stephenr80]

When mag trolls during opening you should trade for his horses asap

[@joseraulcapablanca8564]

Typical Magnus malarkey. Thanks James.

[@kennethwoods6525]

You can't stop him. You can only hope to flag him.

[@gamelovergold]

The willingness to experiment and confidence in his ability to win in middle and end game is the reason why he is trying this type of openings. NEVER BEFORE CHESS HAS SEEN SUCH OPENINGS IN HIGH LEVEL CHESS. OF COURSE CARLSEN WILL BE BEATEN SOME TIME BUT HIS APPROACH TO CHESS IS CERTAINLY OTHER LEVEL. ONLY THING REMAINS TO SEE THAT CAN HE TRY THIS AT CLASSIC FORMAT. THAT WILL BE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR CARLSEN

[@johndelatorre4794]

James your last minute commentary here from Tom Hanks and the modern turn into a girl was pure gold, you are on fire in 2024 on your way from IM (impressive media) to GM (grand media)

[@epicchess2021]

Haha thanks a lot yeah you learn to relax more on camera and be more yourself the longer you do this I think, you’ll never please everyone of course but cool to hear that most ppl are enjoying. Cheers for the suppport!

[@AMplusPM]

8:56 but pawns are maids, so they are already girls

[@compromisedssh]

I didn't have "...and Tom Hanks is heading his way down into the corner, about to turn into a girl. There's a modern thing for you" on today's Epic Chess Bingo card. I won't be caught off guard again.

[@epicchess2021]

Haha I hope was enjoyable! Thanks for the support

[@petersiegfriedkrug]

Magnus Carlsen is an endgame study composer.

[@madzilla14]

Wedding hangover?? Withdrawal symptoms? We let these things interrupt our Chess? (YES!! 💋 ) The Endgame Of "Drunken Bunny" 🐇 🐇

[@epicchess2021]

Haha

[@BennyKleykens]

Magnus prefers knights in Blitz

[@CrankyDank]

"Big Black Centre" 1:26

[@dselect1383]

To quote the late darts commentator Sid Waddell -''Houdini covered in vaseline'''

[@epicchess2021]

Hahaha that is so good thanks for sharing I’m defo gonna use that one on a future video , I love little lines like that

[@stick8272]

You have the shakes form a game back in August... How cringe can you be?

[@epicchess2021]

Ah it gets worse than that I’m afraid ! Haha na what I meant was I’ve been covering Magnus basically every day but yday I skipped a day and did Duda so it’s been 48 hours since I covered a Magnus game and got a fix, poking fun at myself basically /making a joke

[@lynchstuart-e3d]

like the patter,most amusing

[@Aphixx]

eh his king/queen swap openings are the worst I've seen and significantly more insulting than this

[@epicchess2021]

Ah true

[@doitzmolloy7445]

Gotta love that big black centre

[@raylopez99]

"About to turn into a girl" Epic is gonna be cancelled! Unsubscribed! lol

[@epicchess2021]

Lol just a throwaway joke…

[@skavihekkora5039]

So it looks he does that to take opponents out of memorisation patterns into deep water of on the go computation where they basically loose on time pressure, otherwise should crush him.

[@classicalmusic1337]

"Big Black Center" 😏

[@edwardwalker6793]

Loving all the content. Informative, instructional but MOST of all, a daily fix for the withdrawals !! 😎😁

[@epicchess2021]

Haha thanks a lot cheers for watching

[@twinny619]

Was this the early or evening titled Tuesday??

[@michaelguth4007]

There was a TV appearance of Vincent Keymer in Germany. The moderator wanted Vincent to explain why those first ten moves don't require much time and thought, as many lines are prepared deep into theory. So the moderator played F4 as her first move and wanted Vincent to demonstrate it. Vincent was more or less immediately out of prep for this interview and had to explain that lines like this aren't considered serious enough to prep deep into. He would need more time to think about what he learned years ago and what parties he played against that opening in the past. Magnus knows this, and that's why he plays these openings.

[@epicchess2021]

Wow cool Story and perfectly illustrates the point! And although the openings look silly then often have secret venom !

[@Fiascopia]

Great video this one, good banter and it is great seeing Magnus conntninue to toy with his opponents. I for one am super glad if this is the result of him not playing world champion/classical :) I wonder if this sort of play allows him to store more ideas for when he really needs them.

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot glad you enjoyed! Yeah he seems a lot more freed up these days and is very entertaining to watch. Thanks a lot for the channel support

[@JoseFranciscoAlburqueque]

that game worsened my hangover... LOL

[@salimkania]

Porsche Carrera 911

[@cppoppin12]

You're truly the master of video titles

[@epicchess2021]

Haha thanks a lot glad you’re enjoying, cheers for watching

[@coniccinoc]

My favorite chess channel. Would love to see it grow north of 1M subscribers.

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@glengarryglenross7127]

Is there a "this one" drinking game?

[@epicchess2021]

Not sure haha

[@martijnheeroma5492]

nice was waiting for a MagnusEndgame

[@martinzone8153]

This channel is about Magnus?

[@epicchess2021]

Lately a lot yeah, just ppl loving his videos tbh!

[@stewiegriffin6503]

This was good video. On point. No deep lines. You improved from yesterday. But I will keep an eye on you for few more days. Just to be sure. You will thank me one day.

[@epicchess2021]

lol, considering you seem to enjoy the videos you give me quite a hard time!

[@stewiegriffin6503]

@@epicchess2021 I know :)

[@Arctic_Dude]

I lost my concentration when Frank suddenly appeared😅

[@epicchess2021]

😂

[@makkarapoikax1100]

Magnus knew you will come back for him xD

[@epicchess2021]

😆

[@JovitaMortel-po1gx]

❤

[@enzog1078]

Great channel man, keep it up!

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@jenbard7036]

love these!

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks glad you’re enjoying! Cheers for watching

[@RFGSwiss]

very entertaining.

[@stewiegriffin6503]

First !

[@ubernaffa]

Keep 'em coming.

[@nishusaif6085]

Second !

[@mcronrn]

How’s your chess coming along, James? Any Chess resolutions for 2024? 😊

[@epicchess2021]

Oh not so bad thanks, my ECF profile is here: www.ecfrating.org.uk/v2/new/player.php?ECF_code=274335J I'm hoping to get to 2200 one day so I can get an ECF NM title but a little way to go yet plus then gotta maintain it for a period of time. Defo improving though but I don't put too much pressure on myself. Running the channel helps but I wish I could find more time to study and practice. How about you? And sorry if I miss your reply, gets harder keeping yup with comments these days, especially replies