2023 World Chess Championship Playoffs Recap

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[@MrBonified66]

Ian learned an important lesson about trying

[@kdub1242]

Yep, the truth hurts. Two Wch matches in a row. Brutal.

[@lucasmatsuoca]

“The first step to failure is trying.”

[@willfulliam]

Always try. Except for one thing.

[@sungod9797]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the insane amount of things that had to happen for Ding, a player who wasn’t even qualified for the candidates (due to his bad luck not being able to play OTB qualifier tournaments), to manage to WIN the world chess championship???? Russia invaded Ukraine, Karjakin lost his spot for political reasons, and then Ding got the spot due to his rating and playing a bunch of games to get enough. Then, even in the candidates, Ding was doing poorly in the first half of the tournament, only to improve towards the end and just barely secure second place by half a point by winning the drawish final game against Nakamura. Then, Magnus announces that he’s not playing, and Ding is up to play the WCC. Then, Ding loses game 7 due to freezing in time trouble, and fails to win game 8 due to Nepo’s bluff… and right when it seems like Nepo is about to convert his winning position in Game 12 and effectively win the match, he makes a series of blunders that allow Ding to win that game and equalize instead. Then, in rapid tiebreaks, it was three draws, and Nepo had the white pieces in the 4th and final rapid game, and was about to make a threefold repetition, only for Ding to refuse the repetition, play for a win instead of going to Blitz tiebreaks, and then manages to WIN the final rapid tiebreak with the black pieces to become World Chess Champion, becoming the first Chinese player to win (or even to challenge for) that title. That is such an INSANE series of events that this feels like a movie where Ding is the underdog protagonist lmao

[@ImMarkiee]

It may be a little conspiracy brained, but I think Magnus wanted ding to have this shot, along with other reasons.

[@frederikmarohn6358]

@@ImMarkiee if you really want to get into conspiracy territory, im guessing magnus wanted to wait for the next candidates and pick up rating points that way. Either that or he literally doesnt care about playing the WCC anymore since its too much effort for such a cakewalk event for him.

[@ImMarkiee]

@@frederikmarohn6358 maybe it's my head canon firing on ultra, but I've been hoping for ding to get this chance since his 2019 victory in the champion chess tour as well as the sinquefield cup. I think losing that playoff, the undefeated streak, and seeing mvl get dispatched made ding a worthy challenger in Mag's eyes. I really hope Magnus will go to the candidates and meet ding in '25. Seeing Magnus get close to 2900 again would be sick, as well

[@DorianDracula]

Great comment. One little thing: it wasn't a bluff. Both players missed the winning line.

[@danielorr7124]

Opening to Hikaru's recap: "Welcome back everyone!" Opening to Ben Finegold's recap: Picks his nose and sniffs.

[@andrushkathegiant]

but wo love him not because of that, sukablyat🙏🏻🥳🍄🍀

[@pelicans456]

many call him the Slavoj Zizek of chess streaming

[@AG-ld6rv]

For a drinking game, take a shot every time a chess analysis says the position is either "equal" or "all zeroes".

[@IsaacBenevides]

What a match this was! The controversy, the drama, the nerves, and specially the chess. Different openings, interesting play, decisive results and a dramatic ending. And thanks for all the recaps, Ben. They're the best. Go recaps!

[@elcid451]

The downgrading of the Championship decided by Rapid Chess! Makes Chess looks cheap! Which is where it has been placed.

[@michaelemerson1949]

​@Angelfire 451 how you want equal scores to be handled?

[@elcid451]

@@michaelemerson1949 I want the Challenger to prove himself. If he can't then he isn't the Champion. It is NOT up to the Champion to prove he is better!

[@shashishekhar----]

​@@elcid451neither was the champion......so your point is ?

[@seanyager3177]

What an amazing match! They definitely have to make it into a movie considering Dings unlikely journey to even get to play for the championship

[@dank2476]

Now that Ding is the new WC, it's time for Magnus to return and fight for the title again. However, if Nepo had won he would continue playing poker.

[@AmongUsAcademy]

Thanks for all the recaps. Love the dry humour mixed with GM level analysis

[@pschneider1968]

Thanks for your coverage of the match, Ben! Much appreciated! This was the best and most exciting and spectacular Chess World Championship since the match between Spasski and Fischer in Reykjavik in 1972!

[@tomasz9429]

I did not expect for Ding to win, but I wished he would, because of one thing he said. It was after the first game in the match, during the press conference. He was asked who he would like to be if he were not a professional pawn pusher. He couldn't answer the question. There is a chance his grasp of English didn't let him, but watching him struggle I had a different impression. He seemed like a man who didn't actually have an answer. If that is so, imagine if he lost this match.

[@dannygjk]

Now we have a new meme. "Never play Kg1."

[@gmdwill]

Never castle kingside then

[@dannygjk]

@@gmdwill Kg1 is not the same as O-O.

[@panpan-vz3om]

Go Ding.

[@ilyaalexeev7845]

But stay the champion

[@roach6992]

He cheated

[@Nippleless_Cage]

But stay there.

[@user-ro9md9wp3j]

@@roach6992 cope

[@SgtMajorSkull]

Magnus is still #1 in the world. Officially and in reality.

[@AG-ld6rv]

Thanks, man. I hope your diet is going well.

[@jogzyg2036]

Apparently having the world championship return to a russian player has been a goal of the putin regime. So getting putin fanboy Karjakin kicked out of the candidates to make space for ding is yet another great acomplishment of their invasion of ukraine.

[@SgtMajorSkull]

Getting a chess player kicked out is not cool. Just as getting the #1 tennis player in the world kicked out of tennis championship because he's Russian is not cool. Stop being a whiny @ss!

[@tellahsage6477]

Stop trying to shove politics into chess. It's annoying. Besides, Ding has proven that he would have been capable of beating Karjakin anyway if they had met on the board. It has nothing to do with that nonsense

[@jozefserf2024]

Yes, stop talking about things you know nothing about. You're only revealing your own ignorance.

[@rickdynes]

underrated comment There's been one consistent war that Putin has waged for the entirety of his time as Russian Leader... a Culture War

[@f.d.3289]

that and as usual thousands and thousands of killed and injured people, families torn apart, and especially, children traumatized for life.

[@cooperjudson5807]

Thanks Ben for all your hard work

[@stuckontranslation]

Ding deserves this, Nepo lost when he played for drawing with white in game 13, like a genius sayd one time "Be a shark!"

[@LukePettit]

sounds like something an idiot like Mike Tyson would say

[@ngkktht774]

Why does chat have to write all the spoilers in there :(( ruined it for me

[@arupian666]

I watched all the games live, but still enjoy Ben's recaps. Some people don't have that luxury/time. Some people would want to watch Ben's recaps to see who won. To all the people in the chat that spoiled the results, you're all selfish wankers.

[@InfernalPasquale]

THANK YOU GM BENJAMIN

[@lordjaraxxus3864]

rapid games for the win is silly, just have best of 2 classical games after match 12

[@michaelemerson1949]

Draws be like "am I a joke to you"

[@thijsbeentjes4008]

The problem is that that can take way too long. We want it to be guaranteed that the winner is decided within ~3 weeks

[@Youtube_Stole_My_Handle_Too]

You look so nice after that haircut, Benjamin, like a cute boy almost.

[@drjanitor82]

stay there!

[@henryc.7778]

Ding was the real #1 in 2019, outplaying Magnus repeatedly. The 2019 Ding finally came thru in this final game!! Ding came thru at the most critical decisive moments in Candidates and this Match!! Nepo may challenge Ding again in 2 years. But unlucky for him, Ding's prep will not be leaked again! Ding and Rapport will prep together in Hawaii or Finland

[@johndoe-rq1pu]

It was a great ending but not such a great enian

[@JohnnyMcMenamin]

You’ve lost weight and it looks fantastic.

[@mcronrn]

Is Ben sick? It was a super exciting final game, and he has the enthusiasm of a mortician… 😳

[@seekthe9]

"react harder" reeeeee

[@user-ro9md9wp3j]

Yes he is sick as he mentioned in some of his recent videos

[@adriandurlej9266]

he is not feeling well rn but also hes always like this so idk 🤣🤣

[@kmarasin]

I think Ben literally doesn't care. Seriously, though, as a GM he had a different view of what happened than us mortals. Moves that the engine told us were mistakes (e.g.: Ra1, Qf5) are fine, and Ding just saw deeper than Ian, at the right place and time. IMO Ding simply handled the pressure better than Ian, and the chess came to him naturally.

[@kmarasin]

IMO lan didn't respect Ding. He tried to blitz him into submission and Ding came up with some historically brilliant moves (Qe2, Rg6, Qd3) to turn the tables. Never blitz your opponent. It's a good way to get a poor result.

[@puppetmaster579]

I don't think Ian was purposely trying to blitz Ding. He was lower on time by the end. It is just Ian's style to play fast irrespective of the circumstances. Sometimes it works - he plays very strong moves and puts his opponent under immense time pressure like Game 7. Sometimes, he makes mistakes and is punished for it. The latter happens very often, as we saw in games in both World Championships. Against Magnus, he turned even positions into losses. Here, it was more like Ian usually having a small advantage then turning it in to draws.

[@kmarasin]

Purposeful or not, it indicates a mindset that your opponent's moves are not worth a second thought. After the shocking Rg6, Ian took about 5 seconds to play the inaccurate Qf5 instead of the more accurate move order starting with h4. What that says to me is that Ian never learned to think twice; he's dominated his opposition to such an extent that he never self examines as a rule. His habits are bad, and that is a learned behavior that starts with not respecting your opponent.

[@gmdwill]

Hope chess is a beginner mistake. Does that make all beginners disrespectful towards their opponents? I wasn’t even rooting for Ian, but quit trying to do all these mental gymnastics to attack his character.

[@LukePettit]

An intriguing contest brought to an end in a rushed flurry of activity, nullifying all the great stuff we enjoyed before The Champions League being decided on a penalty shootout method Turns out NBA and tennis have it right. I'm glad Ding won though. He seems to have been the 2nd best player over the last decade.

[@henryc.7778]

Ding was the real #1 in 2019, outplaying Magnus repeatedly. The 2019 Ding finally came thru in the final game!

[@firstlast3946]

ding vs ben next wch .please note it. congr ding.

[@JPCPSeto]

Ben, did you care at all about this championship? Or about who would win it?

[@seekthe9]

what, about the championship for the game he devoted a large portion of his life to, achieving the highest title possible, and for which he did a recap for every game for? Nah he didn't care lol fr tho it's not like his best friend was competing or anything

[@wfcyellow]

No JPCP was right to ask, actually. Given this video.

[@user-ro9md9wp3j]

@@wfcyellow I swear, chess fans are some of the dumbest people on the planet. What you’re interpreting as “lack of enthusiasm” is Ben being sick as he mentioned yesterday.

[@JPCPSeto]

@@seekthe9 Don't try to be clever. Since the world champion wasn't playing, this match clearly was not of equal value to everyone. Also, it's pretty obvious that chess broadcasters will cover a world championship even if they personally don't care about it.

[@SkateSka]

Dingo Starr!

[@SgtMajorSkull]

China reigns supreme in another area. To use the pun; China is sweeping the board in more then just chess...

[@chadmacgargle5311]

I made it all the way to the place where the best Spanish player in the world yet again played into a winning position only to blunder into a draw or loss. What a gift.

[@akhileshvibhute7766]

Ding Ding Ding!!! 🇨🇳

[@hydoken123]

First comment just came here to say thanks for the content

[@Woodflooralchemist]

Yes!

[@spawnstealth5847]

Ian, made so many mistakes when he has got pure positional advantage over Ding, he should have prepared himself fully before coming into world chess championahip.Playing Qc7 on the last game and f5 in the 12th game shows his ratinh was like 1700 .Such kind of blunders hardly happended in the past.Ian has got some issue adjusting his chair frequently l,drinking lots of tea,going to the restroom to check the moves on computer screen.He was very restless otherwise he should have won this world chess championship.Conclusion:- lack of concentration and nervousness will make you lose the entire game from winning position keep this in mind.If you just take all the players who have become world chess champion they are so calm and composed. 35:58

[@elcid451]

Deciding the World Championship with Rapid Chess is Mickey Mouse! And I'm NOT a Nepo fan! Well done Ding Liren

[@TheWonderBreadAct]

It's like deciding the world cup with penalty kicks. Sucks, but someone gotta win in a timely manner. I hope instead of rapid chess right away they go to a bonus 2 games next time. Maybe 1hr per side games or something.

[@elcid451]

@@TheWonderBreadAct What is a TIMELY manner? Why not play 24 games as was NORMAL. There was a time when this was a standard! A World Championship decided by Rapid chess devalues the title! There was always plenty of time before! And in 1992 they played for $5 million not $1 million! The match could be played in 2 parts with a weeks break as was done as well. So your excuse is nonsense!

[@elcid451]

A match for the World Championship should be the best of 24 games with 6 wins winning the match and if it is tied 5-5 (let me add with less than 24 games played then) the current Champion keeps his title! Fischer had it right!

[@Chris.4345]

@@elcid451 More games, fine. Retaining the title by only drawing is less than ideal, however. Encourages cowardly play.

[@SgtMajorSkull]

@@TheWonderBreadAct Yea, I agree. That'd be better than a rapid or blitz to decide. Ding said himself that more games at classical would be good. It's also like deciding a UFC title match by who gets the first punch in or first take-down.

[@LimoNick]

Ding Schiling

[@SenatorBluto]

The CCP is very pleased with Ding's performance and they've bumped him another 100 social credits points.

[@puppetmaster579]

Firstly, it is the CPC (Communist Party of China), not CCP. Secondly, this "social credit" system does not even exist.

[@beaut7811]

Cry about it

[@SenatorBluto]

@@beaut7811 I'm not criticizing Ding - I'm glad he won - but I'm not a fan of totalitarian governments.

[@yotoober1]

WTF!? 🙄 HOW do you lose a WCC match rapid game tiebreak with the white pieces??? 🤔 Ian was supposed to have more "rapid game experience" And why isn't he playing under his own country flag? Kasparov was right! WCC match with "rated experts" 😏

[@ilyaalexeev7845]

It's such an easy information to find why he wasn't playing under his own country flag

[@jogzyg2036]

"Why wasn't he playing under the Russian flag?" Have... have you been living under a rock for the past year and a bit?

[@yotoober1]

Right! I'm trolling Ian for losing! 🤣

[@donramanayake1505]

​@@yotoober1 why are you doing that?

[@yotoober1]

This match was rigged. That's why Nepo played some dumb moves like a rated expert. Good thing I didn't bet a lot of money on this.

[@alhfgsp]

You could be right but we need more evidence.

[@yotoober1]

You could never prove it.. impossible. I just can see how you can make a move/s and go from approximate equality to -3.00+ ?? I guarantee you that I could make one move in that position that doesn't drop the bar that low. He's a GM, GMs eval bar goes down like a playground slide, when they are losing, not like falling off a cliff, straight down. Played like a rated expert, or maybe not even? 😏

[@hommelwijf]

Not sure if you're a troll or just very new to chess

[@undercoverspy20]

@@yotoober1 pretty sure it's just a troll. I don't know anyone who bets on CHESS matches

[@yotoober1]

According to stock 🐟 talking robot Ian didn't even play like a "rated expert" but worse?? Now go argue with Stockfish! 😏 kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4jReK2amtR8b5Y

[@joneichelberg6432]

The worst world championship match in the history of chess.

[@user-ro9md9wp3j]

Except for one thing

[@jogzyg2036]

So you'd rather watch 14 99% accurate draws than a wild match with wins for both players that ends with a declined repetition despite being down on time in a drawn position. Ok bud.

[@jimmyfuckthechainofcommand4332]

No disrespect to Steinitz and his opponents(maybe a little disrespect to his opponents), but no one ever taking that crown from those matches.

[@BMWE-hm7uz]

@Jogzy G may as well watch pogchamps with this championship match 🤣 games were fun, the standard itself was low

[@andrushkathegiant]

but it turned out to be as priceless as it should, sukablyat🙏🏻🥳🍄🍀