The 2024 World Rapid & Blitz (ft. GM Hammer) | Dojo Talks

[@Bruno-ry3pg]

Kostya trying to be employed at Take Take Take 😂

[@Ballosopheraptor]

Hey respect better to be employed doing chess, everything else is selling out. It's all relative.

[@superneenjaa718]

Oh two old friends hugging each other and sharing a trophy. How wholesome! At this point why not share it between all 10 1st place holders and say they were too tired to play for 5 days in a row. Wouldn't that be wholesome too? Lol

[@misterkefir]

Why not just share it between all the participants? Even the ones that would never stand a chance to win any World Championship title in any chess format.. wouldn't that be hecking mega wholesome to the max? Couldn't get more wholesome than that. Honestly what kind of talking point even is that? Sickening.

[@mfizme]

Absurd examples are not an argument, it’s bs

[@corley-ai]

Well, maybe when 10 players make the finals, and all play magnus, and come from behind to draw out, late on New Years eve, then yeah. Otherwise your example is dumb.

[@MrSauri1]

Kostya auditioning for Take Take Take

[@hobotogo]

Liked for Jesse's mad rant at the end.

[@akhilmt9731]

Nothing was wholesome about this whole fiasco of a shared title. The viewers are here for the game, not a friendship drama.

[@aaronadams7831]

Many fans watched for hours to see the finals. The games Magnus and Nepo played were amazing to watch. I have to imagine it was really good for the sport and could have been an all-time classic finals match. Suggesting/allowing this compromise made it a negative/discouraging experience for viewers instead of perhaps being an epic match.

[@corley-ai]

The games were fantastic. And it was getting late, new years eve. Heartwarming story all around.

[@vibhor5015]

Every time Jesse speaks, its like he is cooking. He talks only to cook. Nothing else.

[@EpicDreaming]

What was Magnus' motivation for asking for a split? It is pretty clear to anyone who watched the full match. Magnus had been losing momentum and was quite depressed about how the last matches were going. In each sudden-death match, he was the one under time pressure, and his position was almost always worse. In other words, he pretty much realized that moment he cant easilly convert it and there is a fairly high chance of losing the title.

[@todesque]

Hammer and Kraai are based -- the voice of common sense.

[@perpetualchesspodcast9143]

Good stuff guys, enjoyable throughout, and I loved what Hammer said about conceding a draw being the opposite of sportsmanlike! Just baffling behavior from Magnus a guy that used to be a shark, as Aagaard says.

[@corley-ai]

It's not baffling. It was late. They played a ton. They played great games. And they wanted to leave.

[@Heroball299]

​@@corley-aiOne more game and there would have been a result. 2 at max

[@ML-jm2qj]

​@@corley-ai didn't they just play 3 draws and call it a day? That's not playing a ton. Even Daniel and other GM's said they don't believe they were so tired that they couldn't play at least 15 games and if celebrating the new year is more important than the championship then do a favour to the fans and simply don't play. It's that simple. Don't disrespect the game and fans.

[@Zerotonin666]

i love Hammer, he was the reason i watched the WCC in T3 (no insult to the senseis, i love you too ❣️)

[@mrwilliamsingleton]

Sorry, but the high jump comparison is not valid (even disregarding the rule that the competitors can share the prize) - as there comes a point in the high jump where it might be impossible for either jumper to jump any higher and, assuming that both jumpers have the same maximum jump, a sharing of the prize is the only possible outcome. In Blitz chess this ceiling doesn't exist and statistically (especially between Nepo and Magnus) there has to be a winner after a certain number of games.

[@cutekitten9856]

First, Magnus undermined the authority of arbiters and FIDE with the whole jeans controversy. Idiotic social media influencers (including GM Hammer) fully supported him. FIDE eventually yields, throws arbiters under the bus and Magnus proceeds to publicly insult them together with Anand, Emil, etc. He wears jeans in Blitz just to rub it in. And then you expect arbiters to uphold the rules? Gimme a break. They probably called Dvorkovich as soon as they saw Magnus talking to Ian.

[@syonnain]

The arbiter was bullied by Magnus into being a useless puppet.

[@not_emerald]

I wasnt expecting Hammer :) He's my favorite commentator

[@Zerotonin666]

27:42 David discovered "Most respectful interpretation (MRI)" ❤️‍🔥

[@sricharan3218]

I want a champion after a tournament not the power of friendship quotes

[@jm52995]

No one cares what you want

[@sricharan3218]

@jm52995 well some dumb mf cared enough to cmnt abt it

[@liarmask1759]

​@@jm52995 You cared enough to reply though

[@syonnain]

@@jm52995 Best thing is, it was not even about friendship. Just Magnus' nerves cracking after 2 losses and not winning 3 more games.

[@MauricioBond23]

They should have told them they can split the silver medal instead.

[@elindauer]

I’ve always been a fan of Magnus but between the jeans and the shared title I’m done with this guy. He’s too selfish. I was sitting with my kid excited to see a world championship decided in blitz and he just doesn’t feel like playing? It’s disrespectful to the fans and the game.

[@wise_tamarin]

I agree with Jesse. Theres no proof Magnus is the best classical player anymore. Not a great showing in his latest classical tournament the Olympiad either. His #1 elo spot is something he earned years ago and is fast becoming as meaningless as Vishy staying in the top 10, while sitting on their ratings and staying inactive. Fabi/Gukesh had better classical tournament showings in 2024.

[@ApricotieHunt]

He is the best classical player until another player is clearly better. Burden of proof is not on Magnus here.

[@TheoTugnao]

Caruana actually held during his WCC match against Carlsen. Carlsen was stronger at blitz and bullet. The WCC classical match was not decided on a classical game. Go figure

[@ML-jm2qj]

​@@ApricotieHunt in fact it's the opposite. If you want to call yourself the best then you can't simply stop playing for years against other people after being champion for so long. How exactly are people supposed to prove they are better than magnus in classical when he won't play it at championship level?

[@peterfredriksson1857]

So great with your dynamic talks and Hammer's also really sharp! 👏👏

[@Saxeh]

I think that regardless of whether or not splitting 1st place is a good or bad thing, implementing such a monumental change in the rules suddenly near the end of a tournament was an extremely short-sighted and unwise decision. FIDE really screwed up on this one.

[@j-mo3129]

Rules should be followed. If you don't abide by them then don't have any and the players can just vote on who won regardless of records, LOL. FIDE could screw up a one car parade. They need to get their act together because it makes chess a joke as a competitive sport.

[@chesscomdpruess]

made me laugh :)

[@elena__sh]

Totally agree with Kostya. It was sweet in the context of New Year’s eve.

[@aaronadams7831]

Nepo had momentum and had a chance to win. He should have played it out versus taking a charity outcome.

[@compositeur8455]

He's a coward

[@melporean8394]

Ian cracked when playing in the classical world championship. Would have been great to see him finally hold his nerve. Ian took the easy way out.

[@leonidkz]

No…once it was offered by Magnus, the only correct answer on Nepo’s part was to say Yes. Just like it was said in the podcast, such offer messes with your head. Nepo would not have been able to sustain his momentum having this offer in the back of his head. Once such offer is made the only fair result is to agree to it. If Nepo lost, one would wonder if he lost because this whole thing just messed him up…

[@elena__sh]

No. The offer from Magnus was a sign of respect and friendship. Nepo figured also from a standpoint of game theory that cooperation is the best strategy.

[@melporean8394]

@@leonidkz I would like to think Ian is more mentally tough and let words from Magnus affect him so much

[@diells7396]

its really not a wholesome moment. I cant even understand Kostyas argument.

[@compositeur8455]

Yeah chess is a competition not a prom date between friends.

[@SR-fs2fd]

Good cop bad cop

[@FahimHoq]

I think he was only playing the devils advocate

[@aaronadams7831]

When Magnus is having a rough tournament or under stress about the outcome, strange behavior follows.

[@noidph]

This.

[@Alex-xk6md]

Kostya lookin for that take take take contract The divide in opinion seems generational. The other three didnt grow up in a world where all participants got a trophy Also- this dude hammer rules, appropriate name

[@ChessDojo]

So is Kostya looking for a contract or is it a generational divide 😂

[@Alex-xk6md]

@ChessDojo both? I should add that kostya is awesome his kings indian pgn was sick and this was a great podcast

[@ChessDojo]

Thank you 😊

[@haimkichik]

The insigth of Hammer is OP. Thanks for sharing.

[@lazydetective4774]

They were tired. Absolutely unreasonable that you have to work hard for at world championship title.

[@ukdirector85]

Been looking forward to this talk, and I knew you would have analysis on the drama. No one else is talking about this on the internet in your format great work! Its great you got hammer on because I watched the live stream and he wasn't happy with Magnus.

[@wise_tamarin]

People here pretending as if a sudden-death blitz tiebreak will go on forever. Unless the players themselves pre-arrange rhe draws, its highly highly unlikely to happen. All this drama with two manchildren "too tired" to play on and decide a champion, will now force FIDE to change a perfectly sound tiebreak system that exists in the World Cup and World Championship itself. At best, you can keep a fixed number of sudden-death games like 7 or more than 7 and then fallback to Armageddon. Highly highly unlikely even 5 sudden-death Blitz games will be straight draws.

[@michaeltaberner4079]

You can’t blame a kid for being “spoiled” and you can’t expect them to know they are spoiled. It’s like a kid asking for truffles on their eggs. They don’t know they are spoiled by their parents, they think its expected. No other player would have asked for that option.

[@wise_tamarin]

Maybe yes, it's best to treat Magnus as a grown up baby

[@michaeltaberner4079]

@ i dont blame him for asking, it was along day. People are saying that he wasn’t taking it seriously. The president himself wasn’t even there, they don’t care themselves.

[@syonnain]

@@michaeltaberner4079 13 blitz games a long day? Lol even TT has 11 rounds, and there are two TTs in a day.

[@michaeltaberner4079]

@ TT is about an hour to an hour and a half long at most. They were both playing for close to 5 hours that day. Online is so much quicker between rounds, and you are not getting hounded by fans and everything else. Maybe if fide had planned it out in case the games went on indefinitely. Like if when magnus asked about sharing, the arbiter should have had said no, we have X amount of games left to play today, then if still tied, we come back tomorrow to complete.

[@syonnain]

@@michaeltaberner4079 TT lasts exactly 2hours, and each includes 11 rounds of 3+1 games. Also, Magnus and Nepo did NOT "play 5 hours". Magnus played 14 and Nepo 15 games of 3+2. The rest were breaks.

[@RuckaPark]

Kostya's mentality is just...strange. Jesse & Hammer were terrific.

[@yefer-gz5vu]

i think most ppl agree that they shoudnt share the podium

[@DaydreamVacations]

This is bad for FIDE and Chess. This was an arranged Draw, not only of games to be played, but of the Match! Magnus, and possibly Ian should have been disqualified under the prearranged draw rule for even suggesting it to the Arbeiter. This will damage FIDE’s reputation with sponsors and damage growing the fan base. There is no World Champion. You can choose to end an event in a Tie. You can choose to split a prize fund. You cannot share a title. World Champion is singular, not plural.

[@mikem668]

World Open, Philadelphia mid-80s, Final Round, Top Board, two American GMs. (I won't name them because I'm remembering three and I'm old.) Agreed upon draw, split the cash, took a few minutes. I was in the audience. The "winners" were on the cover of Chess Life IIRC.

[@seop1721]

Fun fact, after Magnus mentioned the short draws, maybe 30 seconds after, you hear Nepo say, “I just can’t convert.” (He says what he would or could say to someone asking, “Why the short draws?”)

[@blohot]

Magnus is simply trying to protect his legacy. He is already out of Classical and is hoping to hang on to his leadership position as long as possible. Now, with blitz, he wants to go out with a bang. I feel that Magnus is pretty much done with chess and would rather become a businessman/promoter

[@redeyexxx1841]

Then tell me how did he win like 10 tournaments this year?? Isn't he almost done according to you?

[@Bruno-ry3pg]

​@@redeyexxx1841 I would suggest you reread the comment slowly and try to comprehend what it says. You could maybe even try copy pasting it into some AI and ask it to explain what they are saying, so you can understand.

[@betsychristina3509]

My thoughts align with Jesse.

[@TheBigGuppy]

Fun discussion. Splitting the title is ridiculous but I can’t seem to really care about the blitz title. Posted for the algorithm

[@Nemtomi]

Carlsen just spat in the eye of every single chess players - amateurs and professionals - who actually read the rules of each and every tournament they attend, and then attend and comply with those rules.

[@syonnain]

Completely with Hammer, Jesse and David on this! There should have been more emphasis on Jesse's point that the entire reason Magnus proposed to split the title was that he was losing his nerves... He had lost two games in a row and could not win three more... I think he would have proposed to split the title even with Naka at that point! Too bad China got a silver and a gold when both the women could have got the gold with this ridiculous strategy...

[@davidfranklin5426]

Jesse at 22:40 - “If it’s a world championship, there can only be one. Someone’s going to have to die if necessary.” Campomanes in 1984-85 - “Hold my beer.”

[@Bruno-ry3pg]

Karpov was the champion buddy. The match got called off and then restarted where Kasparov won, they weren't declared co-champions. Hope this helps.

[@davidfranklin5426]

@ Oh, I’m totally with Jesse and JLH. What Magnus and FIDE did in New York was terrible. My only point was that Campomanes didn’t make anyone play to the death in 1985 :)

[@NickMaovich]

Didn't expect Hammer to take this side of the conflict tbh but huge respect for him to do so. I hope Kostya is temporarily in "wholesome" stage of all the drama, because almost all of his takes are pathetic Jesse's mald at 48:23 is hilarious :D

[@mcawesome4150]

26:50-28:00 all the room temperature iq people who keeps saying “mAgNUS wAS jUsT JoKiNg” needs to hear that. Magnus was the one who first asked the arbiters to break the rules and then it was also Magnus who mentioned to Nepo that they could just played endless draws if FIDE refuses. That’s not a joke when you just asked FIDE to break the rules! That’s no coincidence! He was willing to break the rules and he was willing to match-fix!! Stop giving him a blind eye for it!!

[@janvysatya6595]

Love David

[@MrGoobegoobe]

If Fide did not accept the tie proposal, would Nepo / Magnus pursue a bunch of grandmaster draws ad nauseum? What would/could have stopped them from doing it?

[@t00mgoos]

that would have made them look ALOT worse. esp given the video that came out after

[@syonnain]

They would have been double forfeited for refusing to play chess, with serious consequences in the FIDE Ethics Committee.

[@elindauer]

I got a list, here’s the order of my list that it’s in. It goes Fabi, Nepo, Gukesh and Vishy…

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

@@elindauer I understood that reference 😄

[@wise_tamarin]

??

[@simonkim8646]

​@@IMKostyaKavutskiy is it a reference to that old veritasium video?

[@gautam-narula]

Garry from Russia, Duda, Carlsen, Ramesh, and Wei Yi

[@magikarp653]

Madlad rhymed Vishy with Biggie XD

[@PKSGalaxy]

If FIDE tournaments are run like this then think about the integrity of the Freestyle tournament....some sponsor will decide the winner .. I am sorry for the 300 players played in this tournament... Such a shame ...

[@wise_tamarin]

Check the rules. The freestyle tour is a joke. Worse than GCT, forget comparing it to WCC.

[@AndersHPhotography]

Who made Fide the owners of chess ?

[@blueguitarist]

He was arranging draws on camera. HE SHOULD BE BANNED

[@weevilunderwood149]

To be honest, my peak adrenaline dumps watching Magnus play in the world blitz was during the penultimate Sam Sevian game and then watching the INSANE quarter finals match with Hans. After that, I felt like I got my fill and didn't care too much about who won between Magnus and Nepo in the finals. I think had Alireza or Murzin made it to the finals against Magnus, I would have been GLUED to the screen, but Nepo, I've seen too many matches between Magnus and Nepo. I understand Hammer is taking a purist view of the situation, and he's not wrong. I'm just explaining as a fan who's been following all the players storylines, Magnus vs Nepo in the finals just didn't really intrigue me. Anyway, now Magnus can invite Nepo to his wedding ;) Happy new years folks.

[@chesscomdpruess]

Happy New Years!

[@wise_tamarin]

After looking at the Freestyle tour rules and how each Grand Slam is selecting their participants, I can confidently say it will be a much bigger circus than any WCC cycle. Even the GCT feels more legitimate than this new Freestyle Grand Slam tour. Maximum tour points will decide their champion, instead of a proper 1v1 matchup at some point -- 😂 what a joke. And the field in each Grand Slam can vary a lot -- which means the few constant players who play all Grand Slams will be the most likely to gain more points and win the Tour. Hardly sounds like a good Tour format, forget being a good Championship format.

[@BrajeshKumar-hm9sw]

Completely agree with hammer and Jesse in this shared friendship championship issue and so called " joke" or in real world it is called as pre-arranged draws issue.

[@MiddleClassCitizen]

What happened already happened. It is what it is. The right thing to do now is for FIDE to come up with a clear rule explicitly prohibiting the sharing of the championship. We should understand that the FIDE Rapid and Blitz championship titles are not there to carry and the term "reigning FIDE Rapid Champion" or "reigning FIDE Blitz Champion" is not a common usage unlike for classical chess where the Champion carries the title throughout the time he won the title until it is wrested from him and appropriately referred to as the "Reigning World Chess Champion." I respect a dissenting opinion though (like that of Hammer). But hey, after getting these criticisms from many GMs and top players, would that spur Carlsen to make a comeback (at least on classical chess) such that it will motivate him to work really hard to once again dominate the chess world and demolish everybody!

[@韩骏]

Chess became charity on that new year's eve. Depends who you play with, in the knock-out with Hans, the way Magnus slammed the King piece on th board, it's like he is telling everyone I finally beat the s*** out of this guy.

[@joseraulcapablanca8564]

I think it is important to aknowledege there was actually no rule break. the rules said jeans are generally not allowed. and the rules stated that if unforseen circumstances arise, one example the players being too exhausted to continue. Remember 1984. The problem was the rules which could in theory have them still playing next new years eve. in such unforseen circumstances the FIDE president can decide. At the end they were all suggesting a rule change by FIDe at the last minute, this of course would be impossible.

[@MMasterDE]

The tie breakers for rapid/blitz have been horrendous every year they've been required, and that is like at average almost once a year. The rating of your opponents??? So the highest rated player have a massive disadvantage... Only top 2 gets to play a tie breaker, when there's more than 2??? Etc I can just remember it almost every time being a total mess unless Carlsen won it outright. I prefer it being split than some dumb tie breaker, and there wasn't a good one this year either.

[@nmzindian]

trick or treat! "take the draw and I'll share the championship " says Josh Waitzkins

[@mcawesome4150]

Two rich friends sharing the world champion title, that’s a form of nepotism. It’s ironic that we also call him Nepo

[@RR-gm1fp]

Youse should have considered whether Carlsen wants FIDE to kick him out.

[@sambarbasa1643]

For hammer he cant never say negative about Magnus their friends. For me there is only one winner it's gonna be Nepo or Magnus.

[@CatherineLebrun]

thanks for sharing.

[@kimaboe]

Emil is either high on the Google sponsorship and asking a stupid amount of money, or he's jealous and demanding some control over the qualification process immediately. Magnus explicitly said they offered to pay money for the naming rights to the World Championship for Freestyle, so its not that they aren't willing to pay up. Should be simple. Give FIDE mid six figures and input on the next qualification to the Freestyle cycle, but let Freestyle run the current cycle as they have planned, and have full control over organisation and call it an official World Championship.

[@Phoenix.219]

Anyone saying they giggled/grinned as defense must be just too naive.

[@kuldeeppandey214]

I liked Hammer's analysis on take take take channel during WC, but never thought he would expose magnus this much bcoz he so close to him, loved that he shared his thought truly, In my view it was a clear match fixing :) he should have got banned for life but its ok

[@GWS-72]

Hammer is just envious that Magnus is so much better them him. Have been for years. On Norwegian tv when Magnus plays he show this when he is a live commentator. Kind of boring at this point.

[@LMR72]

You don't seem to understand the concept of match fixing...

[@kuldeeppandey214]

@@LMR72 ok then you tell me what is match fixing....lol

[@kuldeeppandey214]

@@GWS-72 In chess world everyone is envious to others....but he spoke truth...maybe you can't digest being fangirl....

[@LMR72]

@@kuldeeppandey214 Agreeing before the match on a certain result and then going thru with it.

[@endymion12321]

it's funny that Hammer thinks Nodirbek is better than Gukesh when he hasn't shown the same level of results across the calendar year. Expecting the youngest ever WCC challenger to play perfect chess in that level of pressure is tomfoolery. On the the title sharing topic: meh, what's done is done. FIDE just needs to make sure it fixes tiebreak regulations for next time.

[@misterkefir]

Tiebreak regulations were fine this time. It's just that Magnus and Ian acted like spoiled brats and FIDE allowed it to happen. Truly shameful display by all sides. They've made a mockery out of the whole competition. What FIDE needs to do is return to the old, pre-2021 format of 15 round swiss for rapid and 21 round swiss for blitz. No sharing for any places. Stop messing with something that works. That's it.

[@PKSGalaxy]

Magnus has Madness with chess. He wants to hold one active title atleast before getting into serious chess business. He got one now .....

[@MadaraUchiha-iu3ld]

And that too half of a title.

[@sagnikbarman1729]

Guys we are overthinking... He could have missed his wedding to play the World Championship 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@matthewglenguir7204]

blame fide

[@ivo28182]

Great podcast, thanks lads!

[@ChessDojo]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@DoctorLexus-4President]

There can be only one!!!

[@billjohnson7904]

Magnus is after money, its not complicated

[@ttcboom]

What if FIDE would of agreed to split... but both get silver medals.😏

[@jordanalford2825]

Fabi said it best. FIDE Should have more decisive tiebreaks. Why not just tell them to play an Armageddon or say you play this many sudden death games before an Armageddon decides it. The players just took Advantage of FIDE’s weakness and indecisiveness

[@Phoenix.219]

There was a Norwegian chess guy fighting me on Twitter under perhaps Aagard's or Susan's tweet about how I thought he wasn't joking about draws when I don't know him (he asked do I know him) & I said that you don't question ppl when they support Magnus. He was fighting simultaneously with anyone who commented anything that wasn't in favor of Magnus.

[@jalpp]

Jesse's talk at the end was funny 😂

[@synchronium24]

47:13 I have the same impression as Hammer here.

[@hermanjohnell2717]

It was a sad day for tennis when the tiebreak was introduced.

[@kartik15baloni]

Kostya is a snowflake lmao

[@zeus04]

This event have damaged both FIDEs and Magnus and chess as a sport credibility greatly. The precedent set by FIDE to allow certain players to change the rules in the middle of a game is going to haunt future championships for a long time. Now players know that rules does not apply if you are drawing large crowds or sponsors.

[@pedalersrant1977]

I have asked this in many different fora and as yet not got an answer. What would have happened if one of the eight quarter finals had become an twelve hour long match like that Isner/Masud Wimbledon tie that ended up 70-68 in the fifth set? It is all very well saying a final should go on until a result is reached, but what about a quarter final? Would both the womens and the open semi finals be put on hold until the marathon finally was over, possibly in the middle of the next day or something crazy. (And don't say it couldn't happen. Nobody imagined a tennis set could end 70-68 until it happened). Obviously some form of "rule breaking"would have occurred at some point from FIDE's side for the sake of the other players, venue bookings and broadcasters if nothing else. In my opinion, within the framework of this tournament's rules, Magnus was well within his rights to make the offer and Nepo well within his rights to accept it. FIDE should IMHO have said no but then "bent" the rules by saying you play 1, 3 or 5 more tiebreaks and after that armageddon. Just as I am sure they eventually would have done in my quarter final example. The tournament rules are the issue here.

[@melporean8394]

This is the blitz format - eight minutes per game. Many games are decisive. Highly, highly unlikely a match would take an unreasonable amount of time. Also the players were scheduled to play three hours of chess in an eight hour time period. There was lots of down time to use up if they needed more time in the quarters or semis.

[@wise_tamarin]

It is highly unlikely the sudden death Blitz games will go on, unless the players themselves were pre-arranging draws.

[@chesscomdpruess]

To try to answer your question: I imagine that if any match, QF, SF, or final, had truly gone on for a long time, someone from FIDE would have stepped in, and bent the rules as you suggest, by setting some limit. But I would guess maybe around 10-20 games, not 3.

[@Coredance1]

Kraai writing checks he can't cash...Hammer called it, no stability.. Give them time...

[@Nemtomi]

"Normal, non-oil companies sources..." What?

[@imeprezime1285]

All this because Fide didn't want armageddon . They will learn from their mistake

[@alvinchea7227]

Long story short, Arkady (FIDE president) basically begged Magnus to return to play the blitz. He obviously didn't want to anger Magnus a second time after jeansgate. When Magnus asked if they could have a split title, they had to call up Arkady, who for obvious reasons went along with Magnus' request and made that final decision. In an interview with chessbaseindia, Emil Sutovosky did mention that Armageddon was the favorable solution. But ultimately it was the president of FIDE who bent the knee.. so there's really nothing the rest of FIDE could do.

[@ClockCutter]

I'm with David. Disqualify Magnus and Nepo. Host another match between the other two semi-finalists for the title.

[@epictetuscasanova]

Honestly, to me, at the time that this was a mercy draw lol. The competition felt like it was dragging on after all the drama, the draws, and what not. I guess i don't see it as a big deal. Could also be that i am not attached in anyway to it at all, as well.

[@mfizme]

Hammer says Fabi agrees with the splitting title, because he had a similar situation. But that's misleading, Fabi didn't say that. Yes, he mentioned this situation, but he did not refer to it as an argument. He had other arguments, I advise you to watch his video, here they just spend an hour discussing why Magnus is sooo bad.

[@Zwellop]

Lol I love Hammer

[@mattwilliams7454]

As far as the tennis tiebreaker thing goes. Obviously it DID come up. And they changed the rules because of it. But yes they just should have prepared ahead of time. FIDE should have put the Armageddon rule in or something.

[@heety9]

Woah is that Woody Harrelson in the bottom right? 😂

[@MessiForever-q9l]

I love you guys but a bit disappointed with equating this to India at online Olympiads. It WAS NOT A BROADBAND ISSUE at players end. Cloud flare servers had malfunctioned and it affected many chesscom users, 2 Indian players were among the affected. This was organizers fault, not players

[@chicassoproductions8527]

Hammer 🔨⚒️🔨

[@nmzindian]

Searching for Magnus Carlsen, lol

[@ChessQuizToday]

You can tell Kavutskiy is from the generation that believes everyone should win a trophy.

[@tomekduresov706]

Yeah, Kostya is a snowflake..

[@BrajeshKumar-hm9sw]

Yeah. Exactly, Maybe they should given everyone championship. In that way Ivanchuk would not have cried.

[@Alex-xk6md]

And david is supposed to be the commie!

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Haha

[@wise_tamarin]

I don't think there's any such generation 😂

[@hashcr2]

Jesse is too old school.. we care much more about World Blitz and Rapid than classic, because is what we can understand more.. and because there is the Titled Tuesday vs World Blitz kramnik angle..

[@angelcow189]

Everyone in the comments crying because Kostya has a different opinion. Yall the real snowflakes

[@ChessDojo]

Forgive a guy for having an emotional response lol

[@steveholmes4174]

Magnus had switched his focus to getting married next weekend, and just wanted to move on from this banal world championship already

[@shadowside8433]

Ohhh, don't mention Chessable to us at this moment.... Grrrrrrrrr

[@travistucker4067]

🔥