Dojo Talks: 2024 Olympiad Recap

[@agustinferrer652]

I know it s very complicated to get the three sensei together, but we need more dojo talks!

[@ChessDojo]

🙏

[@nk73]

All Gukesh matches have a pattern, his opponents attack him to take him out. Most top players havnt accepted that Gukesh is so good. They show up thinking today I will break him and quickly the opposite happens. Once the others players settle down, it will be harder for Gukesh to win.

[@NotQuiteFirst]

Regarding Jesse's point (around 14:20) about how the pure Elo is used for rankings rather than recent performance rating- There is a site which gives a running "last 12 months performance rating", and Wei Yi is actually at #1. Following him are Nakamura, Erigaisi, Carlsen, Caruana, Abdussatorov, and Gukesh comes in a #7 in the past 12 months. I think it would be good if we more normally talked about current performance rather than overall Elo, for which it's quite easy to just sit on a high rating for a long time (eg Vishy).

[@notjamsy9206]

This is an additional comment calling for more Dojo Talks. Please please more Dojo talks!

[@ChessDojo]

We'll try to cook up some more!

[@stillhere95]

The thing about Gukesh and Magnus argument is that Gukesh has to hold his level for a long time to be objectively at the same level as Magnus. I've heard about so many great players Anish, aronian etc who were in top 5 at some point but have not been able to hold it up. Not as long as Carlsen has. Longevity, at whatever level u are, is the key in Chess.

[@ChessDojo]

Good point!

[@Ap7-b4k]

Same as Fabi with his best performance in history which he did only once and never was cose to that level before But including the fact Gukesh is 18... You know where this is going

[@Sitbear]

Jesse’s rants are always the most entertaining, perhaps next to David’s weirdest hot takes

[@ChessDojo]

😂

[@ark3140]

Wow, you guys are so pleasant to listen to. Subscribed!

[@saturo_nipon]

my candidates for next candidates so far - 1) Arjun Erigaisi 2) Nodirbek Abdusatarov 3) Wei Yi 4) Alireza 5)Praggnananda 6) Caruana/Wesley/Hikaru 7) a surprise entry much stronger than Abasov. 8) Let chess speak for itself

[@G-chess_channel]

Pretty cool list. I’d just put Nepo in there.

[@saturo_nipon]

@@G-chess_channel probably couple of them between Caruana, Wesley, Hikaru and Nepo. Its just hard to imagine their motivation levels by 2026

[@odysseas573]

It's really hard to imagine Wesley getting in. He does just enough to keep his rating but not really anything else

[@saturo_nipon]

@@odysseas573 I am just wondering, assuming Gukesh may win, who amongst the older generation would still be motivated enough to challenge him? The idea that they had to go through the pain of gruelling Candidates, and even if they win, to then challenge the 20 year old Gukesh, i doubt they will buy it. I am guessing they might gracefully exiting from candidates, even if they qualify

[@G-chess_channel]

@@saturo_nipon I still think they’d find a way. Hikaru said he’d try 1 or 2 more cycles and well Nepo and Fabi are even younger. So as well. Think Fabi is still most dedicated tho.

[@HansHenrikBay]

Thank you, great talk. And off course India had won anyway, Gukesh and Arjun outperformed everybody including Nakamura if he had played

[@ChessDojo]

It was a pretty incredible performance from the Indian team!

[@priyanshgautam9971]

The Dojo talks sessions are great, loved the chess discussions.we need these more frequently :)

[@breakup266]

It was only half a year ago before the candidates you ranked Gukesh as 6th favourite to win. Now all of a sudden, he’s a favourite to beat Magnus and a contetion for best player in the world after 2 good tournament performance? The recency bias is real, Gukesh is strong but still has a lot to prove as he may just fizzle out as with many young prodigy before him.

[@odysseas573]

The last round game between Ding and Fabi is something I cannot understand. China was second before the round with very good tiebreaks. A medal is on the line. Ding comes in, plays into an accelerated dragon and just plays a three fold repetition in move 10. Why? That means that his team has the objective disadvantage of having more blacks than white. How can you let your team down like that? If you don't want to play or you are feeling too much pressure just don't play. You literally did it in the most important match of the Olympiad Vs India, why are you coming in and drawing in 10 moves after 20 minutes with a medal on the line. I get that he has issues but I would be so pissed if a teammate did that in a team competition. If you can't play just sit this one out. Why sacrifice a white so that you can just say you showed up?

[@sumeetdevrukhkar1808]

My theory is china team had plan to draw if one gets chance. You can see in their every game they r quick to draw. And may 3 and 4 board pushes for a win. I think that was strategy. I also didn't understand what happened between fabi and ding match . In last round one must battle when medal is on line.

[@sumeetdevrukhkar1808]

Chess dojo talks are always fun. On the point of chess dominating countries. I think we are seeing democratization of chess and we will see bunch of countries coming out if nowhere. One can see. After india and uzbeks. The turkish kids r good. Iran was probably good if not for political reasons.i wonder which country player will shock us. Any guesses?.

[@TheJoaovasco]

I want this on spotify

[@ChessDojo]

We're on there!!

[@TheJoaovasco]

@@ChessDojo I can't find this episode

[@ChessDojo]

Will be out soon 🙂

[@TheJoaovasco]

@@ChessDojo Yay

[@Kuribohdudalala]

I played chess casual since I was 4, but I only got into the tournament chess scene with the pandemic so maybe I don't have the connection to magnus you three do, but I feel like the magnus era has been over. Calling it here first, Gukesh destroys ding in classical and passes carlsen within the next 6 months

[@ChessDojo]

We can't wait to find out! 🔥

[@ultimateichigo]

I have the feeling that because the Russians can't participate they went off to teach in other countries. Like India, Uzbekistan and a bunch of other "friendly" countries and made them way stronger. They now have all this free time so makes sense they help their "friends" become stronger. Of course, they also need some way of making a living, so that incentive also helps.

[@egenverdi]

Hope they get rapid match as tiebreak next olympiad.

[@ChessDojo]

That would be cool!

[@titashban]

This is such a brilliant podcast, the way you deepdive into topics, yet maintain a casual tone to the conversation, kudos!

[@fundhund62]

I think you are vastly overestimating Gukesh. I think he would have a very slim chance of surviving against Magnus in a match, right now. In four or five years it would be a different story, but right now I don't see anybody who could beat Magnus in a match.

[@ChessDojo]

Magnus is a titan, for sure. No matter the result, we'd love to see the match!

[@fundhund62]

@@ChessDojo I'd love that, too! I don't think it will happen in classical, though.

[@halliluyahh]

A very slim chance ? 😂 Right now, it is a 50/50 chance at best for MAGNUS, realistically Gukesh is slightly favoured. In his current form Gukesh is the best classical chess player on the planet.

[@fundhund62]

@@halliluyahh Oh, wow. Better than Magnus? 😂 You people really need to relax. Every young player who has amazing results gets hyped into oblivion, but once reality kicks in, the disappointment hits hard. It happened with Alireza, too. Plus, what is "best classical chess player" even supposed to mean? Magnus is (by far!) the best chess player, regardless of the format. Gukesh can thank his lucky stars that Magnus is no longer interested in classical chess.

[@rreyv9721]

Would be nice to also discuss the women’s section. It was much closer there and much like Hikaru would also be good to call out the top 4 Chinese players not participating.

[@devashishsonowal1505]

Great session mate love it❤❤❤

[@ChessDojo]

Thanks! 🙏

[@akshar8160]

My preferred candidates for the next cycle: 1. Arjun Erigaisi 2. Nodirbek Abdusattorov 3. Fabiano Caruana 4. Alireza Firouzja 5. Wei Yi 6. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa 7. Hikaru Nakamura 8. Jan-Krzysztof Duda

[@sumanraj9394]

Does anyone knows wheres duda Haven't seen him in like last 9 months Dude has just disappeared Need to be active first before dreaming candidates, even in previous year he mostly played GCT rapid and blitz

[@techbae6157]

He had health issues, he withdrew from sinqfield cup last year. He starts playing GCL today(rapid format)

[@fundhund62]

Swap Wei Yi and Duda for Keymer and Nepomniachtchi. Or maybe even Mishra.

[@akshar8160]

Great podcast, loved your perspectives. I think it is a bit too pre-mature to call India the next Soviet-like chess superpower. Chess engines, like the Colt, has made the game a much more level playing field for the players. In the soviet era, people who were good at chess were primarily soviets and thus one needed their assistance and guidance to reach their level. It was all so concentrated. In today's era, it is no longer the case. Another thing to consider is the longevity of the soviet dominance. They dominated for like half a century or something. I cannot picture India dominating it for that long time in terms of both team-wise and individual domination. Team-wise, yes, they would be dominant, but to make it long term, they need the next crop ready in 3-4 years. These Turkish kids, Fausitino and others would come knocking on the doors of Gukesh and Arjun in like 2-3 years. India better have the next crop ready. On to the next topic: Gukesh VS Magnus. I think Magnus is still the favourite. I think the underperformance of Magnus in recent times is only due to the lack of motivation and not the lack of skill. If he really gets motivated then Magnus can still beat Gukesh, although the match would be very close if and only if the match happens within a few months. In 2 years or so, Magnus would have lost the opportunity and the edge to be the same dominant Magnus as he still kind of is. Maybe Gukesh is what Magnus was searching for in Alireza sometime ago.

[@ChessDojo]

Good points! It will be very interesting to see what the future holds in chess and for India. The time scale will probably shrink, as it seems to have shrunken or sped up in so many ways compared to the past. As for Magnus and Gukesh - it would be an incredibly interesting match!

[@MadaraUchiha-iu3ld]

Magnus is still an Alireza fan. lol.

[@manishbhatta7728]

Oh the next crop is already ready in India don't worry about it.

[@akshar8160]

@@manishbhatta7728 I hope so too bhai. I never hear about them but then they suddenly emerge out of the blue, as Gukesh did for most of the world.

[@akshar8160]

@@ChessDojo Yes, the key point to take from your comment is that that the timescale has shrunk/will shrink. The cadence of production top-class level players will be higher.

[@redox_3363]

❤

[@dastankuspaev9217]

Should have gone with niemann or Xiong on reserve board

[@ChessDojo]

That would've been interesting, too!

[@LR-jv2zd]

Anand is 54 and you want him to play? Magnus and Hikaru are complaining about being old in their 30s. Perhaps Gary Kasparov should play. He is similar age to Anand. Kramnik is younger, 49!

[@geoffreyevans6133]

Kasparov is 61 years old. That is much older than Anand. Anand is much more active as a player than Gary.

[@chesscomdpruess]

I want him to do whatever he wants. I think he could still play at a very high level if he wanted to, and I understand that is unusual for his age. But there are always exceptions.

[@LR-jv2zd]

@chesscomdpruess I think playing 12 classical games back to back is tough at his age. Whatever he wants though

[@LR-jv2zd]

@geoffreyevans6133 still tough to play 12 classical games back to back at this age. Upto him not my expectation

[@chesscomdpruess]

@@LR-jv2zd Yes. Note that in this context, I was suggesting being the reserve player for India. Since guys like Gukesh and Arjun love to play 11 games in a row, the reserve player, Hari, got 4 games (I think) spaced over 12 days. I am reasonably confident Anand could show a high level under those circumstances.

[@PocketFilms100]

In an interview, Anand gave this as his reason for not playing in Olympiads: that he could lose a random game against a lower-rated player and this would affect his rating. Basically, he didn't want to risk his rating in an open tournament. Today, he is pretty much retired and I don't think he has played a classical event in quite some time. The fact his rating is still on the FIDE list distorts the picture of the top 20.

[@happyhornet1000]

Magnus v Gukesh for the world title would be the biggest chess match since Fischer v Spassky. It would be amazing and we could see who was truly the best player in the world. Gukesh v Ding will be a complete cake walk for Gukesh. Sadly!

[@ChessDojo]

Can't wait for Gukesh v Ding -- but Magnus v Gukesh? 🔥 🔥

[@RogerAckroid]

Why would Magnus v Gukesh be so much more important than Magnus v Fabi?

[@fundhund62]

Bigger than Kasparov- Karpov?? 😂 Even compared to Karpov - Korchnoi it's quite a stretch.

[@Ap7-b4k]

​@@RogerAckroidcause Magnus is definitely better than normal Ding? And current Ding... This is a humiliation

[@RogerAckroid]

@@Ap7-b4k I said Magnus vs Fabi, not Ding

[@BharatXtreme]

Gukesh is gonna crush Ding and become the youngest world champion..then the world will really see the true cold killer GUKESH 2.0.

[@ChessDojo]

Here's hoping for an amazing match!

[@shikharsrivastava5020]

TBH I think gukesh magnus right now would be kasparov-anand 1995 all over again

[@ChessDojo]

It would be exciting to watch!

[@shikharsrivastava5020]

​@@ChessDojo no denying that for sure

[@blueguitarist]

Meaningless because Russia wasn't there

[@dastankuspaev9217]

Didn't have chance anyway

[@halliluyahh]

Russia are awful nowadays 😂😂 Wouldn’t of even came top 3

[@_sayan_roy_]

Russia wouldn't have beaten this dominating India team to gold. Hikaru said the same thing and that best players aren't from Russia anymore. He even said that even if he himself played in the US team, India would still have got the gold, as India team was that dominating.

[@dunno23]

Haha… Russia has only 1 player in the top 20