Cool as a Cucumber || MVL vs Nepo || FIDE Candidates (2020)

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Maxime Vachier Lagrave vs ian Nepomniachtchi
World Championship Candidates (2020), Yekaterinburg RUS, rd 7, Mar-25
French, Winawer, advance, 6...Ne7 (C19)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. h4 Qc7 8. h5 h6 9. Rb1 b6 10. Qg4 Rg8 11. Bb5+ Kf8 12. Bd3 Ba6 13. dxc5 Bxd3 14. cxd3 Nd7 15. d4 bxc5 16. Qd1 Qa5 17. Bd2 Rb8 18. Ne2 c4 19. O-O Rb6 20. Qc2 Rh8 21. a4 Ke8 22. Rb4 Nc6 23. f4 Ne7 24. Rfb1 f5 25. Rb5 Qa6 26. Bc1 Kf7 27. Ba3 Rhb8 28. Bxe7 Kxe7 29. g4 Rxb5 30. axb5 Rxb5 31. gxf5 Rxb1+ 32. Qxb1 exf5 33. Ng3 Qb6 34. Nxf5+ Kf8 35. Qa1 Qe6 36. Ng3 Qg4 37. Kg2 Qxf4 38. Qxa7 Ke7 39. Qa3+ Kd8 40. Qd6 g5 41. hxg6 h5 42. g7
Thumbnail photo by Lennart Ootes / lennartootes
The 2020 Candidates Tournament is an 8-player double round-robin that will decide Magnus Carlsen's challenger for the World Championship match that's set to take place in Dubai this December. The 14-round event is being played in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Yekaterinburg, Russia from 17 March to 3 April 2020. The prize fund is €500,000.
The players have 100 minutes for 40 moves, then 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, then 15 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment from move 1. No draw offers are allowed until after move 40. A playoff (beginning with four 25-minute games) is unlikely as head-to-head, no. of wins and Sonneborn-Berger are used first to break a tie for 1st place. Official website: en.candidates-2020.com
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[@carljhonson4203]

Never play the french against the french

[@dal7774]

Noice

[@tycoon3228]

Spoiler alert

[@jetoptimusprime]

Sulekha Shukla don’t look at comments first, their loss 😅

[@ondrejtoman7433]

just dont play the french at all

[@edwardtang3585]

French defense is known to be a hard opening for black to play. Don’t play it unless you know for sure what you are doing

[@zubaerahmed8622]

"Because whoever heard of developing your pieces in the opening" - Agad 2020 😂😂 Man that was hilarious 😂😂

[@erforderlich5274]

at 6:40 "The improved bongcloud" :-D

[@qqsphere]

Chess humor... Considering agad is european, his english and sense of humor are both excellent

[@OzerBergman]

Agad has GREAT comic delivery.

[@johnangeloperez9866]

repeated listening to that masterpiece.

[@eccentrichorse11]

SInce Nepo played the French against MVL, he will play the dutch against Giri

[@johnwamsley1896]

Brilliant

[@exhainca]

Except Giri is as Dutch as Fischer was Russian.

[@lucasmatsuoca]

Giri looks kinda indian

[@maloxi1472]

@@lucasmatsuoca Was that racist ? I don't know; I need CNN to tell me

[@theknightwhosayn1]

@@lucasmatsuoca I googled and found his father is Indian and mother is russian .

[@sumukhhegde6677]

Hats off to MVL... I mean replacement at the end, with little time to prepare, he is playing like a beast in the tournament.... Respect🙌🙌🙌

[@slink66]

Maybe a blessing in disguise, cause no pressure for him. As we say in french, perhaps " a bad for a good " (thing).

[@sumukhhegde6677]

@@slink66 yup I love MVL... As an indian bit disappointed as Anand was not selected as wildcard... Kramnik was selected in 2018.. then why not Anand!?

[@lucasmatsuoca]

@@slink66 yeah, he had a favorable mindset, like, "alright, i didn't even know i would play this tournament, not much time to prepare, whatever happens, happens", at least i see things like this, but after all, what matters the most is the moves that you play, and he is doing very well.

[@isaacjacob3590]

@@sumukhhegde6677 because he isn't russian.

[@sumukhhegde6677]

@@isaacjacob3590 but why... Is russian considered to be great in such tournaments or something?

[@tw12121]

Nepo was helping in preventing the spread of covid-19 by making sure his king and rook were a safe distance apart

[@vijayaraghavan5635]

😂

[@Drumaier]

1:28 "because who ever heard of developing your pieces in the opening right?" Alphamator Zero 2020.

[@jasonkoch3182]

"You have to know what you're doing here." The great agadmator just diagnosed my biggest chess problem.

[@bustarogers9990]

I hear ya there bro unfortunately lol.

[@rohaanmanzoor3268]

2:38 Giri wondering how he can draw his game

[@exhainca]

Giri is a fucken douche.

[@lucasmatsuoca]

not so hard since he was playing Grischuk, who is not famous by his draws, but in this tournament he is doing a pretty nice Giri performance

[@edoardoprevelato6577]

@@lucasmatsuoca he's being more of a Giri than Giri

[@vahramarshakyan7663]

Well Giri is in perfect shape for Candidates now

[@aaliyan22]

Hope you have seen the second leg of the candidates.

[@fae5909]

2:38 Wild Anish Giri appeared!

[@buk1733]

Love Rain he saw the draw comming

[@hasanahmad1599]

@@buk1733 Hhhhhhhhhhh.😊😬👍

[@siswantoy7499]

Really excited every time the alpha zero pawn push is played.

[@Nisi1]

I want to start using it in my games. I'm bad so I'll probably do it at the wrong time and throw away the game, but still i will try it

[@TWW-zk9gw]

alphazero? Surely you mean @GingerGM

[@Charizardlison]

wow - that was quick.. also I enjoy the jokes you place more frequently these days! thanks for covering the tournament for us! & great game by MVL aka MVP!

[@neonlight1214]

Most Valuable Player

[@GautamSheth]

MVL showing why he's three times more eligible.

[@fahimp3]

With a better haircut too...

[@barrystevenyoung4818]

I think Max is the last undefeated player in this tournament. Good luck to him against Caruana.

[@Sota...]

@@barrystevenyoung4818 So far Grischuk is also undefeated with 7 draws out of 7

[@lamestraw6409]

Several worthy candidates. A very equal tournament.

[@jasonmichael3676]

The Candidates should be an elimination format. Not a round-robin. Nepo should have to beat MVL...not Alekstinko & Wanger.

[@ChessMasteryOfficial]

Play the opening like a book, the middlegame like a magician, and the endgame like a machine.

[@slink66]

Then beat Carlsen.

[@mazymetric8267]

​@David Santosuosso Alphazero played a lot of standard theory. It made a few minor tweaks here and there in SOME openings. But all in all, theory is very much the same.

[@mazymetric8267]

@Donald Trump Yup. it's a quote by Rudolf Spielmann or Max Euwe maybe.

[@matimbab]

"Nepo trying to intimidate Maxime with his Fancy rook to G8 move" - Agadmantor 2:30 😂😂😂👏

[@slink66]

💪 Go MVL ! 🇫🇷

[@rashawnb9965]

Nils D. Nope

[@martinslovak9767]

Nope.

[@martinslovak9767]

Go back to France MVL!

[@lukecash3500]

"That's some really impressive play by Nepo." Lmao, jesus Agad is definitely being sarcastic about how many tempos he lost.

[@juliatruchsess1019]

Antonio is the king of dry wit, I think a lot of it goes unnoticed.

[@magnafire1]

To us its lost tempo, to GM it is how you defend at that time. I've heard some rule about not moving the same piece more than twice in opening yet I've seen some Gms move the same piece about 4 to 5 times or bring their queen out in opening right away.

[@mandyrarsh7137]

Crazy how the "last place replacement" is at the top and the "wild card" sitting pretty on the last place😂🤦‍♂️

[@slink66]

So true.

[@UncleTola_]

As it should be

[@nantakumaran3155]

but..caruvana will or ding/giri will come back in second round bro...still early

[@UncleTola_]

@@nantakumaran3155 will? I wouldn't be too sure

[@bluedevil7250]

@@UncleTola_ Ding is done, he wont comeback Caruana has a chance but his play until now wasnt impressive

[@mercedesbenz989]

Nepo wanting to take MVL out of the preparations with Kf8, it's like they are trying to play all random to misdirect their opponents

[@rowanz74]

It's almost like a chess game being played between the players!

[@angelodiavolo3915]

MVL: I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me!

[@lecobra418]

Wow, you really did quote that horrible Hitman movie.

[@neojake9389]

@@lecobra418 dude he's quoting "Watchmen" roarsarch

[@plouischenu]

Rorschach from Wathchen, the graphic novel :)

[@Manning_Family]

“Let’s just enjoy that for a moment.” Agadmator

[@mohammadaminsarabi6207]

H4 alpha zero move works for everyone except fabi

[@cyrilpracchia7582]

Maxime was place 9th in the beginning of this tournament and was able to participe due to the resign of a player. I believe this opportunity gave him a bunch of motivation and I am so grateful toward him to have such a really inspiring person that show it is always possible and to never give up towards any challenge that is brought into your life.

[@kirkmason7079]

“The hunter became the hunted,” by cool hand Max.

[@foemon2345610]

AWESOME game by mvl. This candidates tournament has been really exciting so far. Still bummed about Dings losses but I'm rooting for MVL as the challenger now

[@mickyboyakari1502]

I've been rooting for MVL from the very beginning.

[@georgeray649]

I was rooting for Ding. But I really think he is worried more of his country although there are some good news that the situation is under control. Yes, you can see a smile on Ding's face after post match interview, it's not from his heart.

[@Sindor33]

@@mickyboyakari1502 Me too, but I'm french :D

[@mickyboyakari1502]

@@Sindor33 I am a Belgian francophile. Many of my relatives are French. :)

[@foemon2345610]

@@georgeray649 the whole situation is very upsetting and it must be stressful for all of them to compete under these conditions. I hope to see Ding have some better games like the one with Caruana even if his chances of winning the tournament low. Bummer because his games against Magnus are always interesting

[@shreechaturvedi4170]

Bobby Fischer : It's good moves that matter. Meanwhile Nepo

[@asashihara]

Hey agadmator! Long time viewer, thanks for all the content you produce. The reason I'm posting after all this time is that I have a suggestion: Could you add the list of the moves as you make them, or at least the move number somewhere on the screen, so that we can see it while you speak? It would be useful to see it. Thanks again for all the content you make, and all the best! Regards, A

[@CaioXG002]

Historical day here, agadmator mentions the bongcloud joke opening.

[@agusspp6551]

Agadmator already made a video of the "improved bongcloud" Carlsen played against Andrew Tang with that "sex change opening" he did in a bullet match.

[@lukecash3500]

Before we know it Agad might be literally blowing bongclouds, lol, if there's a nice dispensary near him eventually.

[@yommish]

Joke? The bongcloud is a serious opening played by top players.

[@MrCheckernici]

@@yommish No it isn't hahaha

[@d3dennis]

Been waiting all day for this upload. I watched the live show as well, but I enjoy this show more

[@ryanmcallister9164]

What a great tournament so far! Really brings out the best in the players when it's all on the line.

[@mogyorospusztai]

Very high level play. It was beautiful to watch, thank you.

[@kianal1465]

wow he just finished his interview, agad👌

[@slink66]

He knows everything before the game actually starts.

[@adrienheckner1561]

I always remember to upvote when i see his dog. Im crazy for dogs, so that always makes me happy

[@nesirsitsir]

HELLO everyone hope you are all thorougly enjoying quarantine and binging agadmator videos!

[@lawdogwales5921]

James T Bone!

[@vacaespacial]

MVL being so good at this tournament is more impressive to me than Nepo being first.

[@edoardoprevelato6577]

We're only halfway, and they lead only by one point. Anything can happen.

[@janjakobglasmeier5198]

A lot of stuff happening in the background today. Dog got very excited at the beginning, doors closing and some voices. Interesting distraction. :-) Great game anyways and thank you for bringing it to us again and again, Agad.

[@sujaysannyamath655]

What a great battle! Both Nepo and MVL would be exciting challengers for Magnus. Just anyone barring Drawish Giri and Caruana who lost his chance.

[@davide6679]

Nepo is trying to be fancy, imposing his game and not playing common chess to put opponents in difficulty. I respect that.

[@rokanza2293]

Le Cobra That's a comment a typical child would write...either that or you are an adult stuck intellectually on a kindergarten level

[@jericnicholeaviguetero7498]

Im waiting for this😊

[@onceapawnatime4121]

I think Nepo's mistake was move 1, playing e6!

[@hoola_amigos]

Agadmator is fast af in uploads! :P

[@clooliss6400]

Great vid! Seriously tho, u throw the best chess shade! "...who ever heard of developing pieces in the opening, right...?"

[@kratostv9366]

I can confirm that at 5:46 Nepo did indeed say "I probably had this position at home"

[@juliatruchsess1019]

Better yet, "I probably had something like this". LOL

[@paulmeyer1756]

Thanks for the analysis! I guess it's too early to call it a two-horse race.

[@electrickettle6141]

Because im really waiting for it

[@aashishkapoor295]

saw this game live ... was rooting for MVL and got to say was not disappointed .

[@EmirKilicaslan]

MVL is always fun to watch. Tournament is going great. I hope second half brings more fights

[@Atombender]

It's crazy to realize that this game is 13 months old already.

[@sarthakchoudhury9131]

Amazing

[@tomhejda6450]

1:28 the game hasn't even really started and you already made my day!

[@UncleTola_]

Great game by Maxime! Highly impressed

[@newfahlstrom]

Bien joué Max!

[@bitchhoenigga66]

Thank you for this channel, Agadmator. Could you please make a playlist from this candidate tournament? I would like to see these games from the first game to the last game

[@captainbanana6763]

a good idea for your videos would be putting an engine evaluation bar next to the board !

[@mandyrarsh7137]

Daaaaaamn antonio...you are fast!!

[@tycoon3228]

9:09 Just look at this game.....c d e and f file are completely closed....such a tough game.

[@douggieharrison6913]

8:00 "that's some really nice play by Nepo" LOL I fucking died

[@mclurr3197]

Those games are awesome I love seeing those wild moves trying to shock the oponent!

[@dorian7661]

Agadmator is so fast. I barely finish watching the game live and boom. Agadmator video notif.

[@maloxi1472]

What was Ian thinking, playing the French, then retreating like a Frenchman against a Frenchman ?

[@benoitloubens8286]

Retreating like a French man ?

[@Sota...]

@@benoitloubens8286 It's one of Ben Finegold's running gags (C'est une blague que Ben Finegold fait souvent)

[@kevinnick6475]

Just one crazy game

[@sanketpatil6711]

It happens again... Nepo be like:-- We were prepared for Radjabov MVL was out of syllabus..!!

[@digvijaybhingare4342]

Well how many of you noticed that agadmator just showed the wrong moves Nc5 to Nd7 instead of Nc6 to Ne7 at 7:57 . And agadmator Knight cannot go from c6 to d7😄. If you want you can thank me for being an excellent subscriber✌️😛🤘. And one more thing, let it be it happens sometimes. YOUR FAN❤️

[@sherifhamdy577]

Noti squad😎😎

[@slink66]

First. ☝️✨

[@WilliamJonesChess]

06:03 If only the Rg8 and Kf8 switched places. 12:06 Super King move to a5

[@aweadi11sun95]

"Because whoever heard of developing your pieces in the opening" (Chess Quote of the Century)

[@duchi882]

Anyone else doesn't like facing against the French Defense? 😅

[@mcterb7142]

I always want to leave when seeing the french :(

[@rap4ever476]

@@mcterb7142 I actually do it XD

[@goldyarora1977]

I also don't want to face French.

[@elephant1076]

"First Restrain, then Blockade, and lastly Destroy" is the motto against the French. Cramp black's position and defend your base of the pawn chain, then all should be well.

[@Litwinel]

Yeah. This is why I always go into exchange variation right from move 3.

[@superalkadias]

Damn I never thought MVL would take Ian down. He is really on fire. This tournment is really exceptional.

[@gabrielk2295]

One of the french commentator on chesscomfr is a reference in the French Defense . He said that Kf8 is a good idea but reallly hard to play. And c4 is most of the time a mistake in the French.

[@ibrahimseck8520]

You mean Kf8 ?

[@adriennottola5414]

@@ibrahimseck8520 In french "King" is "Roi" so yeah he meant Kf8

[@gabrielk2295]

@@ibrahimseck8520 Yes absolutely! I'm going to edit my comment. Thanks for noticing

[@Aezandris]

FAAAAAB

[@sinbadddx]

What a wild card!!

[@nicksince90]

You can also show the picture of resigning or the mutual draw pictures. #suggestion

[@stenakestrid]

I heard that one of the Corona symptoms is shaking chills. That would explain a lot of the back and forth moving.

[@shreechaturvedi4170]

A wild Nepo has, through hard work achieved immortality through anti - Castling, most probably after he saw Magnus Carlsen defeat Ding Liren in online blitz using the BONG CLOUD. But forgot that this wasn't online blitz. And circling your prey doesn't really do much either if the prey has anti-circular (square) glasses

[@davyblackfoot]

Does anyone know the significance of the letter 'C' on the blue "follow me" bird? Sometimes it is an 'R' or another letter or no letter. I will give you a couple of seconds...

[@wolfgangwilk562]

Maxime you beast! Go Maxime! So hope he wins the Candidates.

[@rickonstark5452]

Could somebody pls explain the idea behind h4 to me, or why it is played always these days, I couldn't find a video on it.

[@trollpeis]

Nais title of the video :D

[@chirangautam1497]

Damn that sarcasm at 8:07 tho...

[@pavels8890]

the circling prey jokes are certainly a good addition

[@serenitydream303]

What was Nepo's idea behind moving the king and knight forth and back? Just no idea what to play, intimidating/challenging MVL or a tactical home preparation? It's just that I don't understand it.

[@MarianoFreyreX]

I need a profesional explanation of this game. From GM. Where couldni get it?? I paid if u want. :/

[@piotrekz4032]

very interesting game

[@zebra3stripes]

A French player winning with en passant against the French. Now if only Giri had been wearing a beret and carrying bread under his arm when he walked by, it would have been perfect.

[@animesh92]

You are just too fast agadmator hats off

[@ALav-he9gr]

I liked before I watched the game

[@vrebds2484]

7:58 Not that Knight 🐴 moved back 🏇🏿 and forth 🏇

[@teretevaka]

What could happened if at 14:34 black moves Queen to F8? Maybe the draw option is still plausible?

[@seshagiribehera7951]

Well played MVL 👏👏👏

[@emd]

#1

[@sgg3808]

#suggestion Do a video in your natal languaje, use English just at the end (to thanks your supporters) (what is your natal languaje anyway? Croatian? Serbian? Slovak?)

[@zatw3643]

Hello everyone from Dallas Tx USA...we are on lock down because of COVD-19. Nothing like Agadmator and my fellow subscribers to keep me company!

[@jx14aby]

Greetings from Los Angeles. We're on lock-down too.

[@besseralsdu7070]

Trump is so dumb lol

[@koyaaanisquatsi]

greetings from NYC

[@zatw3643]

@@koyaaanisquatsi Man I've heard it's tough in NY right now

[@zatw3643]

@@jx14aby the police are enforcing the lock down here...what about in LA

[@nantakumaran3155]

cool game

[@felipeamaral8061]

Always wonder how this tournament goes if it wasn’t postponed after this round. Like with nepos history of tilt this could have been truly disastrous for him

[@jasonmichael3676]

Wow!!

[@0wenfox]

Why not B x h3 early on after rook move?

[@ajayganatra5252]

You didn't show head to head score between MVL and Nepo which is heavily in favour for MVL that may have played a part in Nepo not able to continue his fine form.. Some hidden scars maybe..

[@ME-kd1ko]

Wasn't the original title of this video "Fischer was right"? Why did you change it, or am I wrong?

[@subhankarpaul8719]

14:51 I don't understand what happened can annyone explain why the pawn capture that way??? I am new at chess

[@mohammadmahdishafi8902]

It was such a great defence ...even after 4 move that was just like no move Nepo was alright...but like Agad said after C4 center was just great for MVL

[@perkkie]

Nepo is having a godlike tournament so far and it's amazing how Maxime is the wildcard and might just take the whole thing. We're in for some great games until the end. I just feel bad for Ding, who's probably with his mind in his homeland. Tournament should've been postponed. Here's to hoping the players keep safe.

[@leeroyjenkins6061]

Maxime reminds me of a 007 villain. "That is checkmate, Mr. Bond."