GothamChess : Fame, Mental Health, Cheating, Hans As A World Champion | C-Squared

[@BrunoAxhausen]

I actually had to stop listening because you guys had such an amazing conversation that it felt a waste to "just" have it on while doing other things. I'm going to take the time and sit down with a glass of wine and enjoy this episode properly. Brilliant work on the whole podcast by both of you!! This is a huge gift to the whole chess community, thank you!

[@wilfroberts637]

This podcast is pushing longer form chess commentary to a new level! It's also fascinating to learn more about the people who are making this content and make them feel more human and less disconnected from the rest of us

[@aravindsfirst]

I watched this episode only because Levy is the guest, but my God Fabi and Cristian are such incredible hosts! To make me feel like the three of you are just catching up as friends and also talk about anything and everything in chess. You're gonna be the 5th channel I've subbed to with notifications turned on.

[@Tymczas]

True. But watch the first podcast ad admire how much better Christan has become!

[@morty7542]

fabi can you finish the podcast with a game against the guest

[@jw41538]

Would have been amazing with Polgar, for sure.

[@threethrushes]

Great idea!

[@stephensyariff1478]

This is an awesome idea

[@tobiasladdarn1959]

YES

[@lucmermans37]

Eh, it’s a bit weird. He’ll just easily beat every guest except the other super gms. Kinda weird to do that to your guests

[@thomasash1346]

1:27:40 - I love that Fabi was the chess kid dissing the Yu Gi Oh kid 😆

[@WesternPharaoh]

Wow, just from watching the first 20 minutes of this, I understand what you meant in the previous podcast on how professional Levy has become, not as just a content creator but his natural flow in front of camera. You can tell its the real him without any fake messaging, which was also evident from his Lex podcast. We should respect the amount of work that he puts into keeping himself genuine and balancing the heavy burden of being a public personality. Rare to find these days! Thanks very much to Christian and Fabi for bringing this together for us!

[@MrSupernova111]

He was a major prick (probably still is) when I tried watched a couple of his streams during the beginning of the pandemic. He would ban paid Twitch subs on a whim and has a history of shaming his followers on his youtube channel. He milked his viewers on his fake quest to GM and generally comes across as an insecure and washed up IM. After watching a couple of his streams a couple of years ago I blocked him from all the platforms I follow. I have zero desire to watch any of his content. I'm only here because I enjoy the podcasts from C-squared and I can skip through the bs to hear bits of the conversation which might be of interest.

[@maxfightmaster1338]

Levy is one of the hardest working creators in the chess space. Granted the space isn’t huge but still, no one can deny that levy has put in the work over the last few years & capitalized on the title wave of chess’ massive comeback to popularity. I’m happy for him, de truly deserves it. Fabi has been one of my favorite GM’s for a while now. I was super pumped when I found out about this podcast and am very pleased to see how well it’s doing. This is the go to podcast for chess, period.

[@kwhd559]

Fabi's comments are always insightful and well reasoned, his take on Hans is spot on.

[@rinapiplai4954]

I reaaally wish this podcast becomes infinitely more popular....love u guys for doing such a wonderful job

[@miroslavvasilev7543]

thats too much more popular

[@WuhSuhDood]

March 2020 lockdown I decided to finally learn chess. Hoped on Twitch and found Hikaru, then I found Levy, then I bought Levys courses and memorized his 10-minute openings videos on youtube. Went from 500 in March to 1200 by December. Still play online every day. Chess made the pandemic bearable. I miss the old Levy+Hikaru days

[@gaingis268]

What do you miss about the old days? Have things gotten worse?

[@WuhSuhDood]

@@gaingis268 they used to stream together on Twitch every day. Chess is way better now than back then, I was just referring to them together

[@gaingis268]

Oh I see Didn’t they have like a falling out? I forget why

[@lazyman7505]

@@gaingis268 I was asking the same question some time ago in comments of one of Levy's videos and someone replied that supposedly it was Hikaru's subs who hated Levy for not being good enough to stream with Hikaru ("how does this low level scrub dare to be in the same stream as our god Hikaru" sort of things) and it escalated to the point where Hikaru (and ironically also Levy) stopped doing any kind of collabs.

[@gaingis268]

Wow that’s crazy. Poor Levy

[@IIIAnchani]

Can we just appreciate how freaking nice Fabi is? He's just amazing and I'd love to see a commentary of Fabi and Levy. That'd be hilarious.

[@sid3645]

nice of fabi to ask his twin brother on the show

[@mateah83]

@@jire9831 Levy's looks have always been renowned for being Multiracial Magician that's also a professional poker player, depends on the shirt he's wearing. Depending on mood he's either Italian or Armenian

[@mateah83]

Fabi low key looks exactly like a grown up Millhouse, if he had blue hair.

[@IronLotus15]

Hell yeah, it's so fascinating to hear about the business side behind GothamChess. I'm very thankful that Levy did a podcast with people that understand both chess and content creation at an on par level. Also just seeing everyone "being human"

[@SharptonsRaceCard]

Levy is one of only two chess channels that I religiously watch (Agadmator's the other one.) I absolutely adore his passion for the game, something I've lost a bit of throughout the years. I'd kick a puppy for the chance to hang out with him and tell me how I'm disappointing him with my play. Here's hoping for Levy Rozman's continued success! Edited to add, this is the third channel that I'm turning all notifications on.

[@terribleteacher]

Definitively one of the best chess podcasts. Great conversation with Levy. Keep it up. Happy New Year Guys!

[@AlexBanzea]

Who’s watching this at 4 in the morning?

[@drjawad92]

Very interesting talk, varitey and richness of topics, loved it! Hoping you'd invite Levy again for a 2nd part:) P.S. That is a beautiful table, gives off antique and rusty vibes, like a family hand-me-down. Please use it more often :)

[@atillacodesstuff1223]

that was a really fun interview! i learned a lot about levy and his process, despite having been a fan for a long time.

[@IbnEmadAlmouaibed]

Gotham is such a must have guest on the podcast

[@sarcastaball]

He really isn't.

[@frustum7342]

@@sarcastaball he’s a great guy, not sure what your problem is

[@sarcastaball]

@frustum I'm sure you're a great guy too. But they doesn't make you a must have guest for this podcast. Of course you don't know what my problems are. I haven't told you about any.

[@frustum7342]

@@sarcastaball fair point, can’t argue with reason 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@sarcastaball]

@@frustum7342 sure you can

[@flipina]

This was an amazing insightful interview! Different PoVs in some topics and the conversation flows. The calm of Csquared and the braggadocio of Gotham. The KZbin discussion especially made me think of how the culture now can affect chess.

[@flipina]

Love Cristian's optimism on getting to the point that people will know Kasparov. It's a generational thing too. In the Philippines, younger new players know international GMs and are now rediscovering our older local GMs. You've all inspired local chess masters to create content. Revival and rediscovery are underway.

[@fbshiloh777]

8:46 heres a button to watch cristian knock the microphone over, replay at will

[@kc910]

I think the different commentary styles are both important. Chess24 has done a great job utilizing both over the past few years. By having 2 streams for Champions Chess Tour and other major events, they have reached wider audiences from novice to GM. The “beginner-friendly” stream with David and Jovanka makes the games easier to follow by avoiding notations & complicated “chess-speak” while also having additional fun content throughout the stream. And the 2nd stream with commentary by the likes of Leko, Tania, etc., is for the chess players who only want to hear about moves and the game. There’s something for everyone!

[@timcannon5384]

Great episode guys! Awesome job Levy!

[@WilliamSantos-pq3fp]

C-Squared Podcast é sem dúvida o melhor podcast de xadrez. Mais um grande episódio!!!

[@Chickensoup3113]

Hey, big fan of the podcast, I would love to see a Danya interview if yall are able!

[@Creesekush]

I totally felt that when Levi talked about the degrees of which you talk to people and coming across as being respectful to others. Around 19:00

[@Solvir]

Re chess as a TV sport: it already is in Norway, thanks to Magnus obviously. Every WC match he’s played has been covered live by the national broadcaster, as well as the rapid and blitz championships and other major tournaments. Even though Norway is a small country with only about 5 million people, the ratings have been surprisingly high. During the match between Magnus and Fabi in 2018, 734 000 viewers watched the tiebreak, which was the peak rating of that match.

[@varun_knife_sympathy]

They are all so empathetic and connected it makes me happy to have discovered chess. It's been a great sport to connect me and my younger brothers as well

[@biffboffo]

Chess has a lot of great commentators right now. It's difficult to judge who is best.

[@Tymczas]

Mad respect for you guys fro this! You are so good n every level that it is shocking that you are just a bunch of chess players (no offence) not professional interviewers. You are better to watch then famous talk show hosts produced by biggest TV channels! WOW I always liked Fabiano as person but here you all are just so fun to watch giving a real merit at the same time! This is the future of chess! Good players with good personalities.

[@AA-zq1sx]

The live-spectator-chess anti-cheating question is actually quite easy to solve - the players need to sit behind one way glass on the stage. The audience can see them, but the players can not receive any signals from watching conspirators in the audience.

[@arnoudh6203]

You know wireless communication exists right?

[@Stuxnet1914]

Shockingly to me....This was the best one yet. GREAT content!

[@Marihl4693]

"There's this kid, Patrick" hahahh Fabi still remember his name 😂😂

[@marcantoniosavelli1710]

42:30 Cheating online is super easy and is basically impossible to detect. Agreed. The first lesson is: stop pretending top level chess is going to become all about online events. That's where (presently) the money is, but that's not where the integrity of the game can ever be, nor now nor in the future. It's impossible even to imagine a technical solution to make online play safe from cheating. Just face it. Over the board is also at risk, but solutions can at least be tried.

[@bongclown9302]

It is actually possible to make online chess safe from cheating; at least as safe as regular otb supertournaments are. just arrange a few locations with physical checking, supervision etc, and let the players play from one of the locations.

[@marcantoniosavelli1710]

@@bongclown9302 I agree, but what differs between the solution you propose, and "over the board"? If they want to play on a chessboard made of pixels instead of wood, so be it, but they still need to show up in person to a given location, with a human arbiter to supervise, so...that is basically otb...

[@bongclown9302]

@@marcantoniosavelli1710 yest but it cuts travel cost and associated complexities.

[@OvercookedOctopusFeet]

I found this channel after hearing Levy recommend it. It is shocking to me that this channel doesn't have millions of subscribers... just baffling. It's high quality content here.

[@chadmacgargle5311]

Levy has an amazing energy. This was a really deep conversation, who lived life perfectly? Why do you devalue yourself because you made a judgement mistake? We all make judgement mistakes, that's a part of life. Experience is valuable. It's not how you make mistakes It's how you react to them. Consequences are a part of reality. Chess is a poem of life, we can all be thankful that actions have consequences.

[@jamesl6839]

WE LOVE LEVY HERE

[@bena.9440]

Been meaning to watch this for awhile and finally got around to it

[@atlayoguz8284]

The more you fuck around the more you find out 6th grade Fabi... It was such a hilarious memory

[@chadmacgargle5311]

Classical we need more "classic" time controls. Morphy time controls. 10 minutes per move, gives nice commentary time and moves the game along.

[@ZapOKill]

Max Deutsch is Dunning Kruger in action.

[@MrSupernova111]

At least he didn't cheat.

[@adamday5045]

i play a game with levy, i tune in to his stream to see how long it takes for him to bully someone in chat. his speedrun record is 8 seconds and longest has been 3 minutes

[@sleazeberg]

Anyone elses anxiety screaming due to the lack of coasters on the beautiful rustic table.

[@eugs4999]

What about Hess / naroditzky in two future podcasts?

[@jacobaagaard4409]

About signals and cheating. In the 2014 World Championship the photographers were all running to the playing hall to take a photo of Magnus after he blundered. Luckily Anand blundered back before they made it there.

[@foobar5809]

very good point!

[@Sellet_Vietnam]

wassup from levy's stream rn on Twitch!

[@ChessHistorian]

I prefer this setting for the podcast. The new setup may be more professional and less distracting, but this table feels more personal and homey and it reminds me I'm getting something special here.

[@ChessHistorian]

I also like the way it centers Fabi. Since Fabi is always centered in the viewers' minds, watching this podcast, there is a sort of mind-body symmetry to seeing him centered on screen as well.

[@toodle361]

Great episode once again guys

[@A73X4ND3R]

41:30 Hans cheating 100 times on chessçom *is* contested in the lawsuit. The chessćom report is referred to in the lawsuit as ‘the Defamatory Report’. It’s also contests more specifically that Hans ever ‘confessed’ to Danny Rensch of cheating online, and that Niemann ever lied during his post-game interview at St Louis regarding his extent of cheating.

[@davidbarnett8617]

Are you trying to argue that Niemann has not cheated at chess?

[@NotQuiteFirst]

@@davidbarnett8617 I think the commenter is just trying to clarify what Hans's position is

[@cricrimc]

The hype and quality of levy during the chessboxing event made me wanna learn chess and now i'm hook!

[@sleazeberg]

What about one way glass for live events? So the audience can see the players but not vice versa, along with the delays and other screenings, but would eliminate people giving signs from the audience

[@u.v.s.5583]

The spectators could still give signals, for example, by detonating thermonuclear bombs in certain patterns to signal that a certain move wins.

[@GeorgeEpting]

No levy you said it already right is how you learned it and it came about into its fullness and this is what happen to me to learn how to play chess from the start and never changed it's the only way I play and I'm still looking for games before 1976 that played backwards and side ways and up and down in a opening and style at once like an opening going into an open that never opens up but into a style😮

[@rikusfourie6179]

Gotham sent me. Think I'll sub. Love the vibe.

[@nscion7880]

Incredible thumbnail

[@ThisIsTBChannel]

Guys great podcast! From a podcaster, take care of the white noise, for those who noticed it, it's not pleasant. Keep pushing! :)

[@paulchristian8470]

i totally agree with this Indonesian scandal, i just blow up in Indonesia. Everybody talking like there's someone just pop. out and really good at chess. Finally after several days, he was lost 3-0 by an WGM in open match, but still he got around 7000$ for that game, what a shame

[@ronjohnson9690]

Great interview, guys!

[@jwildfry3283]

My dream team for live commentating would be Chirila on the touch board and Gothamchess with Yasser or Judit commentating. I watched the full commentary for the US Chess Champ because of the quality of the setup and Chirila on the touch board, but Gotham would have been a better debater with Yasser.

[@TheNiczal]

Incredible episode!

[@denispasanen9237]

Nice to see Italian brothers having a great time in your podcast

[@JustAPokemonCommentingOnVideos]

this podcast is amazing 👍

[@benoitranque7791]

One day they'll make an engine designed to win while looking lime a human player. Then it'll be really hard to detect cheaters

[@tobiasladdarn1959]

You should do a podcast suited for people getting into chess 1200 or 1500 below. In the episode you share any ideas on how to get started at chess, maybe books/how to research or best ways to improve. You also tell stories of your rise to grandmaster with a guest as well sharing him too. This would be something very inspiring, useful and cool to listen to. You could even have the podcast be seperated and have tips for each ”tier” of chess players alternatively. Something like this

[@456death654]

Everything on chess is for people below 1500, what are you on about

[@varun_knife_sympathy]

This is a really brilliant conversation. Also, as someone who as always been seen as intelligent or good at math/school/etc., being "bad" at chess and making blunders really does affect my confidence. So to hear Fabiano say that about Chess not being that measure of intelligence (in a way) really helps! That part of the convo was gold --- and I know this is like a year late haha

[@sheeperskipps]

Imagine though some day that Levy and Eric did play, I know Eric probably wouldn't do it but honestly, it would be so goated

[@paulverschuren5457]

A book you can read without board before going to bed ... I'm looking for that since a long time :) Cannot wait to buy it Levy !!

[@u.v.s.5583]

A constructive remark. In the end of the podcast a little game of Fabi crushing Levy would have been fun :)

[@renobgm]

8:00 we must differentiate chess podcasting as "pawncasting"

[@murodjonnormurodov6662]

I like it thank you for honest and brief opinions

[@najSWE]

Shit what a great program! High class on you as hosts! Hope you continue 🤗 Respect that you listen to the person you are interviewing and don't take over, but good that you bring your own stories 🤗

[@hellostranger2012]

Lets go Fabi

[@chadmacgargle5311]

I think if chess videos become popular enough we could see KZbin and affiliate sponsors joining in sponsoring tournaments.

[@Al-gv5uw]

We have chess from Gotham chess here

[@IVS86]

What is your all’s advice on how to start improving in chess play? Very very beginner, I know how all the pieces move and have the basics down but find a way to lose every game…

[@jamie49868]

Levy and a GM in chess-boxing...I see a candidate right in front of him.

[@mrebear9758]

Different weight classes.

[@jamie49868]

@@mrebear9758 That's the point. Levy in boxing, Fabi in chess...like the Botez match. I know Fabi doesn't need the gimmick or the money.

[@Em4gdn1m]

@@mrebear9758 not much...

[@stine7144]

@@jamie49868 I dont know if u are aware of how short and skinny Levy is, it'd be Fabi > him in both, so not a good match.

[@jamie49868]

@@stine7144 Look at the two of them again. Fabi is listed at 5'6" 135 and though I couldn't find the stats on Levy, he is talking about boxing someone 150-160. That is a huge difference when you're that small. Also, I don't know if you follow Levy, but he has been toting his workouts and boxing training and is many years younger. I'll take Levy all day, every day in boxing. Of course, Fabi is one of the best at chess, so that would not be a contest. Look again at the two of them.

[@shanathered5910]

Levi's not a legend because he's good at chess, he's a legend because he's Levi Rosen.

[@u.v.s.5583]

Not to confuse with Eric Rozman.

[@guillaumelagueyte1019]

Regarding getting super mad about losing at chess, but not at things like basketball, I think it's indeed because it's a purely intellectual activity (in the sense that it's something you do with your mind, little to no strength or coordination is required), but more than that, my personal experience is that it's something where you have perfect knowledge and information at all times, and yet when you get outplayed, you're mad at yourself because in hindsight it seems obvious. Not talking about a one mobe blunder, but like a 4-5 moves sequence where you end up down a pawn, and when you see it it seems like the most obvious thing in the world. I think that that's what's the most crushing about chess

[@iancunningham2440]

Especially when the move you missed is usually only missed by players whose elos are at least 100 rating points lower than yours

[@TheAccentPodcast]

Great interview! Someone needs to use headphones so you cought that Levy’s mic was too far.

[@domikatz]

HAS ANYONE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS?! Esports has soundproof booths for their games, why not in chess events create booths with like one way glass? sounds so extra but i feel like that would stop the one dude raising their hand and alerting case

[@Jannacek]

@Christian i did comment on the short situation 😅😅 tbh, it’s a change for the best :) looking fly! Keep it up ;)

[@JURITO1000]

Episode 2 please

[@erickLguzman]

“Kafka-esque” most articulate GM in the game

[@CherryMosley]

How am I just now finding out Fabi co hosts a podcast. Looking forward to more content!

[@BeyondFarStars]

Nice work. I forgot to say this. Love your podcast.

[@PrivateChannel-h4k]

Great content

[@rdilie2156]

Best way to stop cheating is to let the players play inside a glass room, outside people can see, but they cannot see outsiders. Next : that room should be signal free room. Or radiation/sound/signal such as Bluetooth, radio waves should be jammed.

[@Jasmineelaine]

Yeah but probably expensive to build

[@rdilie2156]

@@Jasmineelaine Not so hard. Its quite easy

[@Jasmineelaine]

@@rdilie2156 right so you do it

[@lovablemonty]

I feel this is a small roast on Trent 🤣 when they start talking about commentating the games.

[@apple-de8tx]

3:46 can't wait for tomorrow's chessboxing event! ( December 11, 2022)

[@venom-me3lg]

Great Podcast! Thanks for the content! I hope the Chess world figures out a way to counter cheating. Cause it is completely destroying the game, at least for me. But I really don't see a solution. Even bans won't fix it. People might still risk it. The only thing that I can think of is something like completely shutting down all engines. Which looks rather drastic. But I don't see another solution

[@rtheben]

The volume is a little low! I mean I can hear but if I need to raise it because of some background noise, I cannot do that compared to other KZbin videos

[@erickLguzman]

Best chess KZbin video ever!

[@realjames1]

I just realized, Fabi and Eric sound exactly the same

[@sprcow]

Bring back the shorts! (jk, I mostly just listen to audio only lol. Love the pod guys!)

[@Grandcapi]

Larsen said that rating would be the end of chess. Maybe the solution for cheating is ending the rating system?

[@rtt1961]

Intelligent and informative. Currently this is the best chess podcast.

[@Stupidtony21]

Levy I’m completely the same way with getting my energy from creation but still wanting to be alone. ENFP is a very interesting personality type as its nature is extremely idiosyncratic

[@natalieharris3869]

New chess YT meta: insert Hans' name into every video title no matter the content. I hope Hans is getting royalties from this!

[@iqmamm9714]

Ah i just know by now that fabi have a podcast

[@davidbarnett8617]

Interesting about how top players are jealous of Levy's success since he is not a 'strong' chess player. As he points outs, the majority of his audience are not even average chess players so it is his personality that is the draw. It is why Hikaru is so special in this space as he actually is a strong chess player.

[@andrius00911]

45:23 How to deal with cheating in chess? Shorter time control - harder to cheat.

[@u.v.s.5583]

Right. Play the classical world championship match in hyperbullet format.

[@amytg777]

fabi used to be one of my least favorite top 10/20 players (idk why, he did nothing wrong) but the more i see from him, the cooler i think he is. glad my country has him as a representative.

[@SLKCHESS]

Very interesting podcast