Fabi Goes "ALL PREP" Mode, Garry Kasparov Is BACK, A 3 Year Old Will Beat You

[@Richard_Stroker]

Fabi is always in his prep! Imagine you are playing him, and for 25 moves, you are grabbing more and more material but he just keeps playing a move every 3 seconds. It's surreal. Half an hour later the position has become fiendishly complicated and he has continued to blitz out moves, evidently still in his preparation. Eventually you lose on time. You shake hands. He looks deeply into your eyes, smiling slightly, and you feel some strange inkling appear in the back of your mind. Anyway that was the last round so you collect your belongings and head home. Two hours later you are beginning to cook dinner and you finally realise. Fabiano Caruana is still in his preparation. The knowledge washes over you. He's still in prep. He planned all this. He knew what you were going to have for dinner. When is his crushing masterstroke going to materialise? You thought it would end when you lost. In fact, that end was just the beginning. He has bigger things planned. Later that night, you make love to your fiancé. You can't get into it. Caruana is still in his prep. He knew what you were going to do. Frankly, he could probably do it better. What you're doing is part of his plan. You feel that he will punish you for it, somehow. Months pass. Your fiancé leaves; there is no passion anymore. You know in your heart that Caruana planned that too. You don't tell her. Years pass. You descend into alcoholism. Your chess game suffers. By observing the world through the bottom of a bottle, you can forget that Caruana is still in his preparation. But every morning, you feel like death and he is still in his prep. You can feel it. Decades pass. The A.A. meetings have helped treat your alcoholism but have failed to solve the pain that drove you there. You learn to live with it. You marry and have children. You are a warm and loving family man, but sometimes those closest to you notice that you seem distant and sad. You gaze into the distance thinking inscrutable thoughts. If only they knew. Caruana's still in his prep. You suspect he knows what your kids will be when they grow up. Further decades pass. You become a grandfather and a godfather. You ask that your goddaughter is named Fabiana in the hopes that this will appease Fabi and his preparation will end. It does not. When will it end? He can't possibly have much longer to make use of whatever he's got planned. You will die soon. In a way, you long for that. You die of pneumonia at the age of 89. Your funeral is well-attended. Fabiano Caruana is still in his preparation. Centuries pass. Your grandchildren's grandchildren live their lives in a world you would not recognise. One of your descendants is an accountant for a firm hired to build a space elevator. Or at least, his title is ''accountant''. AIs do most of his actual accounting. Fabiano Caruana is still in his preparation. Eons pass. Humanity escapes to the stars. The sun gradually runs out of hydrogen to burn and expands into a red giant, engulfing the Earth in nuclear fire. Fabiano Caruana complains that it is making too much noise in the chess centre and disrupting his concentration. In fact, this is merely for psychological effect. He doesn't really need to concentrate, because he is still in his preparation. Time passes. ''Years'' become somewhat meaningless, since the Earth has been atomised and no longer orbits the sun. Yet if a count of them continued, so many would have elapsed that they would be reckoned in scientific notation. The particles we thought were fundamental begin to liquefy into a quantum mess, dissolving into the inevitable heat death of the universe. If Fabiano Caruana still sat at a chessboard, he would have had the time to set up the pieces in every possible configuration and manually play every conceivable game of chess. He is still in his preparation.

[@OPTImistic001]

PreppyPasta

[@IamPain190]

Love the grind ❤️

[@TheQuentinExperiment]

Beautiful. Hope Fabi sees this 😂

[@SharatS]

You go to visit Fabiano Caruana, curious to see what he’s been working on. When you open the door, the room is pitch-black, the only light coming from a chessboard in the middle. Fabiano sits there, his eyes fixed on the board, muttering variations under his breath. You call out, but he doesn’t respond. Instead, he reaches out, makes a move, and looks up at you with a dark, lifeless gaze. “Do you know this line?” he asks, a twisted grin creeping across his face. “It never ends. I’m still in prep. We’re all still in prep.” You try to turn back, but the door is gone. The walls close in, becoming endless rows of chessboards and unreadable positions. And Caruana’s voice echoes through the darkness, soft but inescapable: “You’re in my line now.”

[@batesthommie2660]

Please pin this hahahahahah

[@Sunsetjanice]

That's why Yasser filled up 90% of silence with his stories

[@totallyUnimodular]

Commentating chess, especially classical formats, is very hard. Especially when most of the audience is just following the eval bar. It is also tiresome for them. The first two hours of a draw-ish game during a mostly draw-ish round of a classical tourney can be painful to watch, despite the best efforts of great commentators.

[@icecreamguy553]

​@@totallyUnimodularThis wasn't classical though, 20 mins for each player

[@totallyUnimodular]

@ yes. I meant, in general, classical is the hardest to commentate. Rapid and bullet are easier because the inaccuracies make the eval bar move like crazy and many more games end in someone winning. Is tough to commentate classical games that are draw-ish by default.

[@VARMOT123]

​@@totallyUnimodularit is like the test cricket commentary

[@PDSeverus]

@@Sunsetjanice and it is wonderful to hear the recorded commentary at x 1.5 speed in KZbin 😊

[@check9094]

Going after arbiters wasn't enough he's going after commentators now 💀. Fabiano "95%" Caruana is a menace and I'm here for it 😈

[@bobanderson4722]

First he came for the arbiters, I didn’t say anything. Then he came for the commentators, I didn’t say anything. Then he came for me. Who’s next?

[@steelsteez6118]

Dark Fabi is my favorite Fabi.

[@dumbocow]

Another week another banger to listen to Never thought I would hear Fabi saying "yapping"

[@someoneelse293]

Needed a quit cut to levy starting one of his videos

[@thesamtomyfrodo]

Fabi, can you do a podcast about what it’s like prepping for a WC and also what it’s like actually playing in a WC since you’re one of the only active players to have been in one? It would be interesting to hear since the Ding-Gukesh match is coming up later this month.

[@nyztan0]

Good suggestion

[@fahadalghanim5618]

Second this

[@tede3e]

yes!

[@reedsexton3973]

To Fabi's comment about how few players have won a tournament in which Magnus played, and that they've all been current or former 2800s: Jorden van Foreest won Tata Steel 2021 and his peak rating is only 2715

[@VARMOT123]

That is why there are two commentators. One play by play and one analyst . Analyst stays relatively calm

[@Joseph55220]

Commentators in Chess need to be as prepared as the players to be good. Maurice was a decent commentator when he first started because he understood most of the positions and was in chess shape. Watching him in the 9LX event was painful - he kept hyping up the smallest blips on the eval bar and then would get himself hopelessly confused trying to wander through the engine lines with no underlying understanding of the position. Nazi Paikidze on the other hand (coming off her, admittedly underwhelming, performance at the US Chess Champs) was in great chess-shape and was amazing jumping from game to game and having a genuine understanding of the board-positions without ever looking at a computer line. Peter Svidler and Jan Gustafsson are both generally AMAZING commentors. You just can't hide behind the engine and hope to look credible. And when the commentators get themselves lost in variations they don't really understand is normally when they start babbling about random nonsense.

[@totallyUnimodular]

Maurice has always been like this. And to be honest, I kind of like it. I recommend their podcast with him, when Maurice talked when he was essentially commentating a world title match as if it was a football game and some people loved that.

[@shaolinsoccerisadecentmovi7232]

That's Maurice's style, he has more understanding of the game than Nazi

[@lollycopter]

Listen to Maurice's various interviews (C-Squared, Perpetual, etc) and you'll understand that he does this intentionally for a very good reason. He knows it's not to everyone's liking, but the reasons he has for continuing it are still very valid.

[@bernie4366]

I don't recall his name, but whoever was coaching Levy in that recent tournament where he bombed was amazing behind the mic. Quick, funny, understood everything. Ok screw it, I looked up his name. Arturs Neiksans. I don't know why he isn't working as a commentator, he's truly excellent.

[@t-spark]

@@totallyUnimodular I think this is sort of a New York thing. People here tend to yap a bit when they talk.

[@critical_analysis]

Fabiano is a great player, period! These "talent" narratives are built by some "chess media" for obvious reasons. They want to hype blitz and rapid formats because that way they can promote their site and earn huge revenues. If it is in their hands they will KILL classical chess. True chess lovers know HOW MUCH the talent is needed to be at a level of Fabi! Fabi will forever be remembered as one of the true greats of the game and also a very dignified champion just like Anand. No arrogance, no bragging, no insults, just pure chess and pure heart. I find many similarities of Anand in Fabi like how they ignore provocation and remain composed and dignified.

[@lollycopter]

It kind of amazes me that so many avid chess fans don't seem to grasp the importance of classical chess. However, the reasons shouldn't be too surprising: most avid chess fans aren't avid club players. Club players are the ones who know the intrinsic value of otb classical, and understand it is the best vehicle for improvement. There's a direct connection between club tournaments, FIDE tournaments, and strong FIDE tournaments. Those who focus *only* on blitz are missing out on unrealised gains - their loss.

[@truebeerus]

12:11-14:32 needs to be registered in chess history books! Legendary rant!

[@FongYukYu]

🥳🥳🥳 Yay! Another pod! Sad Christian didn't analyze the games or commentate live, but I'll take an episode with Fabi

[@quartzeye795]

I know Fabi said I think but Jorden van Foreest won Tata steel in 2021 when Magnus was participating, but Jorden hasn't reached 2800 yet. 9:58 to 10:12

[@dinosaurgardening2401]

Not to mention the Deep Blue hype with Gary. Honestly, I think he was a bigger deal, because mainstream media was bigger then, and chess was always covered in the newspaper. Gary was always a household name in an even bigger way than Magnus ever has been.

[@BMac7773]

Fabi was offended by Dubov saying that Fabi is just hard work and prep. Smokes the field in 9lx where prep isn't really possible.

[@victoriav4317]

A Caruana vs. Dubov match is in order, then. 12, 16, or 24 games. Who wouldn't want to see Fabs put big mouth Dubov in his place?

[@obitouchiha6980]

Bring back Svidler and evil Jan Gustafson as commentators. They are the best

[@user-wk8pe7by3n]

re: scheduling of fischer random WC: "Just random" "it's very random" "Why?" *cough* *cough*

[@pierQRzt180]

I have run the numbers on a collection of strong open tournaments - I still have to finish the article on lichess. Taking the top10 seeds as reference, as if they were a group, for the question "do top seeds lose rating as a group?". This because sometimes the top seed may play poorly but the others can play good or viceversa. So having a top group to control the rating gain or loss is helpful. Further if the group as a whole loses rating, then over time the top seeds lose rating (as even if the #1 always wins, then it gets harder and harder as the rest of the group deflate). well this top10 seeds group lose rating more often than not. Sometimes they break even or the gain a bit, but mostly they lose it. I have to be less lazy and finish the article.

[@baoboumusic]

27:40 12 hour jetlags are insane. Ive done it several times and it usually took me at least a week to feel normal again. Definitely take sufficient time to recover before playing, Fabi! Good luck!! (Also, consider to do the trip in 2-3 days with a couple hotel rooms in between, so you can get sufficient rest.)

[@bobanderson4722]

35:00 nice🐱Christian

[@catsare2cute943]

😻😻

[@leredrasscul]

Don't let this distract you from the Anna Rudolf Caruana rap

[@Najdorfc5]

Always great podcast

[@katoretest6079]

Fabi adds to the prestige as well I would say.

[@umarabbas3581]

With the commentator stuff he was talking about sagar lol kinda true tho

[@lollycopter]

Nah he wasn't singling out Sagar. It really is 90% of commentators. You could name nearly any one of them and they will be caught waffling at times. This is most evident when it comes to their understanding of the FIDE Laws of Chess. Study those laws yourself, and then watch any commentary for a while and you'll hear them speaking out of their depth.

[@paulgottlieb]

You say that the story of the first match with Karpov is well known, but that was 39 years ago! Many young chess enthusiasts have never heard of it, or Karpov, or Kasparov

[@prcbras]

I always enjoy the podcast even when there's not much to talk about, if there's ever a slow chess week and yall want to talk about movies or sports or whatever, i'll still be seated lol

[@samarthbhaganagare4926]

12:10 Fabi played a 2900 move 🤐😬🥶

[@andrew-m]

I think it's great that younger and younger people are playing chess and reaching such a high level, and that records are being broken so frequently as a result, whether it's someone rated 1500 or 2500. What isn't great is that they're then subject to insane levels of scrutiny at such a young age (such as when 9-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan played in this year's Olympiad and lost rating, there was an entire r/chess thread about her result, where some people boasted that they've never lost that much rating in one tournament while others called her overrated).

[@prodbykrayzeenas]

"You can't always say something smart" - Fabiano Luigi Caruana, who always says something smart

[@sorenwestwood1514]

The societal value of board games like Chess or Go, is that they teach us to be sensitive to concrete emotions, and to be able to reliably construct highly complicated and nuance cognitions. This is something beyond measure in value, and is something abstract board games seem to be uniquely good at teaching. When we use superlatives loosely, or rely on narratives to tell the game of Chess we're debasing the soul of the game. If we can't get it right in Chess, it's not looking good in other corners of the universe.

[@dayimshah3730]

"This won't be obvious to the regular person",but thats who commentators are for no , not super gms

[@synesthetically]

Fabi has been my favorite GM to follow for a long time. Love the show!

[@anthonycotham4346]

Hamburglars! That last bit of chat about home alone is where the gold is!

[@VARMOT123]

That 3 year old kid knows chess move notations and smothered mate as well 😂 wtf

[@PDSeverus]

@13:35 global chess league commentary- I had to watch it muted but then the gesticulations and mannerisms got me so I switched it off. If Fabi’s problems are the Indian commentators then I have the explanation - they can speak English but don’t know the usual spoken colloquial English ,so they end up using hyperbole and superlatives .For the same reason they have to use fillers that can’t be challenged- like - he must be thinking, he must be saying - when the bloke is actually sitting quietly. Naroditsky, Vishy etc have the vocabulary as well as the knowledge so they commentate differently.Swidler is good but he doesn’t think there are other commentators too ,so he just goes on till the next move and starts again 😊. Seirawan uses his own fillers to occupy time and so on. So, the Indian commentators end up as loud as the Latino football (soccer) commentators .Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal .

[@titashbanerjea4289]

Well, different ways to build up hype I guess, Sagar builds up hype by saying - 'OMG, they are playing the Petrov', Fabi is building up hype by saying arbiters are useles , then commentators are bullshit....😅😅

[@sekk157]

Could listen to you guys for hours. Can we please get a chess history podcast where you cover and discuss all of the world champions and challengers/notable players in history?

[@aitchtea]

i agree with fabi that tania’s high energy level elevates interest in each move.

[@answeris4217]

I am sure that if Levy Rozman wins against Fabi in Rapid or blitz that Kramnik will look at his eye contact.

[@neerajnambudiri9971]

Caruana makes excellent point regarding the commentary. And it's not just in chess, many other sports' commentary has similar issues. Superlatives and hype language should be reserved for rare ir unique moments. The other instances can be remarked and described normally, which only adds gravitas to the special ones

[@lollycopter]

The 2018 WC match was the first time I had followed top level chess online and because I backed Fabi from the start (based nothing more on his underdog status and good otb demeanour), I noticed a lot of Magnus fans pushing the "Fabi is not as good at classical/rapid/blitz, but he's extremely good at opening prep" narrative. These fans tend to forget about Fabi's top performances in classical, rapid, and blitz so the myth perpetuates. Contrast this with the other myth that Magnus is bad at opening prep, when in reality his opening prep is still extremely good and deep, but *also* very broad. Regarding Singapore: it's good that Fabi will be getting there in advance. The weather there will be like nothing else in the world - the *humidity* and daylight hours will take some getting used to (although maybe it won't be so different to India in summer). Obviously this won't matter when playing the match with air conditioning, but there will be times where going outside when not playing the games will just feel different. As for younger kids getting stronger - I think it's mostly a statistical effect of there being more kids playing these days thanks to more ubiquitous internet access. It's a similar phenomenon when it comes to women's chess: if more play, we would see more stronger women too. I think it was Mr Dodgy who remarked how there are no GMs (or even titled players) called Kyle in the FIDE database.

[@gelatinousjoe7979]

I feel like the “Fabi is bad at blitz” just comes from the fact that Fabi is the best classical player in the world basically (apart from that one guy) and in blitz/rapid he’s “only” like top 10 in the world. People have blown up the difference to way greater than reality.

[@rsr22.3]

I feel like this is a therapy session for Fabi where he lashes out his inner feelings against arbiters, commentators etc 😂 It’s reassuring to know Fabi’s harshest side is still logical and cool 👌

[@giaccomusic]

Are you telling me the Fischer Random World Championship is......RANDOM. 😂

[@cissmjg]

Peter Svidler is the GOAT chess commentator.

[@StevenStJohn-kj9eb]

I don't think it will be too long before we see a well-trained cat reaching GM level. (Fabi: "they barely have consciousness" made me lol)

[@stoutlager6325]

Around 14:50 I disagree. The major failing of a hack chess broadcast is trying to jazz it up with all sorts of BS from the commentator. It comes off as forced and insincere, which is exactly what it is. A good chess commentator will respond to the flow of the game. When it's dull and nothing is happening, that is the time for anecdotes and side discussion that may not be directly related to the game. Maybe some opening theory talk, maybe some variations to demonstrate each side's potential long term plans. When it's sharp and things are hanging in the balance, the commentator ramps up the energy and starts going in to tactical variations with the co-commentator (if there is time). Peter Leko is very good at this.

[@duelme1234]

I miss the chess24 commentaries. Svidler, Gustafsson, Leko, and Polgar. No bs, extremely educational, and makes me feel like I'm learning something.

[@Jordan-ud4qv]

The eval bar has made commenting a lot worse. It’s not longer commenting from their skill as chess players to unaware viewers. It’s now trying to explain the ideas of an engine to people who think they know everything because they see the eval.

[@IamPain190]

Dark Fabi slowly coming out 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@mohammadalqahtani6139]

When Mr. Kasparov told you to resign you resign

[@leonlim007]

WELCOME TO SINGAPORE~!

[@IamPain190]

Move 3 , fighting on 😂😂😂😂😂

[@TonyTony__]

Fabi you should really try more round glasses, for example the rayban 2180, or the rayban round metal. With a V shape face like yourself I'm sure it would suit you like a glove. Anyway, nice vidz boys. Keep up the good work 👍

[@santeriojanen8479]

Congrats to the 'talentless' Fabi 🎉 Impressive.

[@matteoblom]

I love Fabiano Caruana

[@tristan7720]

Richard_Stroker graduated in yapping

[@trevsmall3421]

A video after the world championship should be an awards ceremony like sports leagues do recapping the season

[@jmtx.]

Nothing wrong with Fischer Random being random.

[@skippingclouds]

Fabi really showing everyone who the mafia boss is.

[@zelareka]

the chess mafia kept hans niemann from coming and winning

[@ChrisVaust]

Welcome back to another episode of the Sea Squirt podcast

[@paulgottlieb]

I think that “Fabi has no talent” business came about because Dubov is not a native English speaker, and he was trying to make a more subtle point, but he couldn’t express it precisely in his second language

[@BeatsByZetan]

His point falls flat under any context when you realise Fabi is top 5 in all formats of chess

[@foobar5809]

Jorden has won a tournament where Magnus was playing though he is far from 2800

[@phdcmd]

There are commentators without bs: Jan Gustafsson, Judit Polgard and there are more. But the criteria switched and main broadcasters prefer commentators like Tania.

[@Forest_Knight]

14:45 If I were a producer I'd invite someone rated 2000 to commentate alongside GMs. Would be a much better learning experience for most people watching. The 2000 commentator would be thinking more like your average chess player, so let the GMs correct him/her and explain

[@Forest_Knight]

I'm 2000 and ready to be invited 😁

[@Forest_Knight]

I'm 2000 and ready to be invited 😁

[@BOORCHESS]

Just dropping in to mention that Pre-Chess (aka Benko Chess, Placement Chess) is a more intelligent and interesting variant than Chess 960.

[@stolenscar]

13:47 It doesn't even have to be about the game. Maybe it was just her body language. Her attitude after a tough loss could have been commendable. It aint that deep bruh! Its quite ignorant on your part to hate on ppl for doing their job and being good at it

[@stolenscar]

The commentary isn't just restricted to the board and the viewers only watch because they care about the stuff beyond the board. Most people who root for you do it because of your journey, your attitude, results,etc more than the number of people that actually love your games/ play style. Commentators only meet the demands of the viewers.

[@sergemerto256]

To be fair if the commentators do not do it then noone will watch chess (atleast the players who are not playing professionally). Commentators in all the sports have to fill in the less happening moments with bs just to keep the audience engaged. It's an art in itself. Sagar at Chessbase india does a masterful job of it. You know you will stop watching if the host gets low on energy

[@IamPain190]

Who is the player, who has won tournaments consistently for last 4-5 years in blitz , rapid , except magnus , hikaru , alireza ??? Ppl just don't remember st louis rapif Blitz and other tourneys. People just yap about fabi. Not arguing in online but otb fabi still top 5

[@GMSamvel]

I will be in Singapore on 8th of November for many months, if you will need any help/support I am ready!

[@evelynn4273]

Commentators also speculate quite a bit.

[@kennethwoods6525]

Congratulations to Ethan Pang and Anish Sakar! 👏

[@akashsinha2880]

Magnus fought and conquered stronger opponents all with access to modern chess engines. Better resources than what Garry's non Soviet opponents had.

[@brandonew2863]

Daniel Stern was the other guy.

[@ChessFanatic24]

Daniel Stern

[@bernie4366]

I notice Fabi is very careful to let his baby Tania Sachdev know he isn't talking about her lol

[@MaxIronsThird]

the 3 year old is higher rated than me

[@איילבןדוד-ד9פ]

There is a need for another title. The range of GMs 2500-2800 is too wide. Maybe Super GM

[@michalnovak5837]

I'm still wondering how he wrote down the moves... Is he also able to write at 3 years old?

[@CosmicGoat-d3o]

Guys, great content as always. One query I have is, how is it ethical to have your second/trainer play in the same tournament as you?

[@michaellacy8510]

Chess titles (classical, 9LX, rapid, etc.) are a bit of a mess. Maybe the process could be run more like professional sports.

[@HeySenthil]

For a moment i thought Fab is in a bathrobe 😂

[@tommychan3884]

How can there be a 13-hour time zone difference? Isn't the greatest 12 hours? Or do you also think there can be a 23-hour time difference?

[@no-one-in-particular]

People just on either side of the International Date Line have a 24-hour difference. On one side it is say 12 pm on Sunday and the other side is 12 pm on Monday.

[@Navs006]

Fabi should use some chapstick

[@simeon7450]

The commentators creating narratives out of thin air seems to happen in all (e-)sports. For instance, in counterstrike they often come up with believable narratives about players/teams that have no or little proven validity to them; consequently, the narrative is repeated over and over again until it isn't even questioned anymore. The narrative survives through out-of-context, anecdotal and/or selective proofs through time. Very similar to Fabi's example about his weakness in Blitz. If he loses against a weaker opponent it proves the narrative and it is sustained; if he wins againsts a weaker opponent it is only logical since he is Fabi.

[@tomkelley4119]

Fabi’s Home Alone joke at the end is as dry as the Sahara in summer.

[@AGT0M]

Perhaps he hangs around russians too much.

[@babyitsnatural]

I wish I could talk to Fabi. A lot of the stuff he says sounds like the things I would have said in my 20s - but then I got older and my perspective changed to where I started to have more appreciation for things that I used to think were "useless" and "pointless". Fabi... chess is not pointless. Commentators are not pointless! Yapping and banter is not pointless. Look - computers prove how stupid humans really are. Even humans at our most intellectual are just dumb animals trying our best to get by from one incomprehensible day to the next. Yapping by a campfire is how humans managed to survive to this point in civilzation. Back when things were really bleak in so far as just managing not to get eaten by animals or freezing to death. But now we have A/C and laptops and internet... but still... yapping to one another provides us a sense of safety and cooperation. IT's not pointless. In the fullness of civilation talking and wasting time with one another is very significant. Even if we only talked about science and math all day we'd still be stupid animals compared to AI and computers. Fabi just enjoy your humanity and all its foolishness while you're still young. Btw I love your commentary keep up the honesty I'm not trying to tell you to change I just wanted to share my opinion because you have fascinating things to say bro.

[@skippingclouds]

Honestly I do agree with you but also I'm such a cynic and pessimist that I just usually think everything in life is just so pointless and useless. I don't know if Fabi shares the same dysfunction as me(lol), but even though we can understand there is beauty in the small mundane things and not everything in life has to be the biggest most powerful life changing thing, we always fall into a cycle of questioning everything in life and just feeling hopeless and useless in general, so I get Fabi. But also, Fabi is going gangsta and coming for everyone in the chess world to show who's the mafia boss and I'm enjoying it😂

[@PlayerOne37]

If he really thought chess was pointless he wouldn’t get to this level. I think his point was that many people are lost in a fantasy and don’t see the big picture. Our world may be fantastic but its also deeply flawed, and many potentially World champion level players could have done better (in the literal sense) by actively helping people.

[@storyahee]

"The new Giri in town" 😅

[@Joseph55220]

I've always said that engine advancement cut Garry's reign much shorter than it otherwise would have been. He spent 30 years working out his opening repertoire by himself - writing his lines down with a pen in notebooks. When the engines finally surpassed human playing-strength I think Garry lost his desire to try to compete with the next generation. I don't blame him. It's got to be demoralizing to know that some kid with a laptop can come up with a sound response to a pet-line you've spent 15 years constructing in your spare time in countless hotel-rooms at night - just hoping that someday he could spring it on some unsuspecting sucker that wanders into his prep... and now, even if he gets the chance to use it, he can't be sure he's not going to be the first one out of book

[@hansmahr8627]

That doesn't make a lot of sense. Garry was at the forefront of new developments in chess, whether it was databases or engines. He had started working with engines in the 90s and they were a tremendous help in his opening preparation. He didn't write lines in books with a pen, he used Chessbase. Of course the engines back then were pretty weak compared to today and you couldn't trust them blindly but they were still a big help. Garry's retirement had nothing to do with engines. He simply had nothing left to prove. He was still ranked number 1, he was still winning most tournaments, he could have gone on for years. He just felt that staying at the top was getting a bit more difficult while his motivation was plummeting, especially after it became clear that there would be no rematch against Kramnik which was his main motivation after 2000.

[@paulgottlieb]

Young people can’t even imagine a time when people like Fischer or Kasparov would play the riskiest lines relying on only their own analysis and self-confidence. No engines to make them comfortable, just guts and brains

[@kennethwoods6525]

Am I being too much of an India homie for wanting Fabiano to acknowledge Arjun Erigaisi is rated 2799?

[@titashbanerjea4289]

Fabi actually has a lot of respect for Arjun 😊

[@kennethwoods6525]

@@titashbanerjea4289 : I have issues with the closed chess tournament subset of which Fabi is a part. This is especially true when we saw how Arjun was excluded and had to play many open tournaments.

[@tennisCharlzz]

@csqpod More Cristian cat, please!

[@alexd2249]

Fabi’s point about sensationalism is very poignant. While it’s nice to have energetic people describing the games and the moves…to someone that understands exactly what is happening…it’s so caricatured and odd. Sensationalism is 100% the better way to “sell” chess to people, but that doesn’t mean it’s not over the top and odd at times.

[@TheAluvisify]

It's not really about sensationalism. It's about projecting a narrative. You can give sensational commentary without trying to guess the player's thoughts and emotions nor trying to continue some narrative that exists outside of the current event.

[@evelynn4273]

Did Chris just finish reading a book on screenwriting or something?

[@3RAXFTW]

*Fabiano hires Dubov as a second* Dubov: "Repeat after me: 'I have no talent.'" Fabi: "I have no talent." Dubov: "'Mr. Dubov has all the talent.'" Fabi: "Mr. Dubov has all the talent." Dubov: "'If I'm lucky, Mr. Dubov's talent may rub off on me.'" Fabi: "If I'm lucky, Mr. Talent will rub his Dubov on my... Catalan." Dubov: "..." Fabi: "..." Dubov: "Whatever."

[@esbenandersen2168]

The Anish-always-draws narrative is another great example of a false narrative, but one that was more driven by the fans.

[@jaysheth7839]

All sports commentator around the world exaggerate to keep it interesting for viewers…. Most time it’s bullshit as only few moments in a game can hype up to that level…. Best moments are even rare

[@catch2297]

letss goo

[@lorenzo5687]

Funny how that GM said that Fabi was all prep and he is literally killing it in 960 which is the cleareast expression of pure talent and thinking at the moment not based on studying. Congrats fabi🔥🔥

[@avimir8805]

Why do you think that hard-working = only prep? One can study openings, sure. But what about tactics? Combinations?Positional thinking? Middle game? End game? Studying ideas (not only in opening stage) in games played by other masters? Maybe analyzing their interesting games, trying to find some similarities/completely new ideas. It is all prep. It requires a lot of work. And, allegedly, Dubov works much less than Caruana :)

[@System.Error.]

wait what

[@answeris4217]

Soon they will be arguing how useless chess boards are...

[@FongYukYu]

Can we talk about the white blazer Fabi wore on the last day for a sec?? An exciting departure from his gray sweater that's a uniform at this point 😂 Do I see a wardrobe glow up in the future? Excited to see what Fabi will bring to SG; it will be HOT and humid, but the food will be AMAZING. Vlog plz? 🙏

[@Chessmentor]

if they would keep ignoring Kramnik's allegations and videos like this kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWLLXoyqi7llrdEsi=msThW1mORo9N5x0z I am gonna lose my respect to Fabi, he is definitely an honest person but he needs to stop being so naive about Naroditsky. Also christian, you disappointed chess fans by laughing at serious allegation and not doing homework before you record a video about Kramnik's work.