Grandmasters EASILY Solve Our HARDEST Chess Puzzles in 10 Seconds 😰

We sat down with some of the GREATEST minds in chess during the Champions Chess Tour Finals 2023 to see if we could stump them in some more IMPOSSIBLE puzzles. See if Hikaru Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen, Wesley So and more can pass our test!
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[@Bill-ou7zp]

Magnus is the kid who sleeps in class and then gets a 100 on the exam

[@ericastier1646]

No he is a clutch player not a checkmate puzzle winner.

[@justsomeguywhoneverdies9210]

except he doesn't get 100

[@savitatawade2403]

😂😂😂​@@justsomeguywhoneverdies9210

[@daverobertson623]

Magnus not even pretending to care

[@Tehkenny1]

Because he's not good at this stuff. His brain is wired differently.

[@danielladhaliwal7452]

​@@Tehkenny1 yeah he's said in interviews that puzzles are the 1 things he doesn't like to do for chess, so he doesn't do them

[@KarlMarxBR700]

Quite the opposite, he gets annoyed because he's not that good at puzzles and he hates to lose

[@azazelorb6374]

@@KarlMarxBR700 No, he doesnt like puzzles because it is easy for him.

[@vishvaiyer1022]

What is insane is out of all the puzzles, it looks like magnus instantly crushed the second one, which, surprise surprise, is an endgame!

[@FiryaFYI]

Magnus don't solve puzzles. He solves the players.

[@isaacorlich]

That's the thing! Magnus have the best sense of how to beat players, not computers. Reason why most of the time everyone fails against him. Because they take the computer trainings too much. Not optimal for a human play. I remember the game 2 years ago against Anish Giri, where Magnus sacrificed his Queen for 3 pieces. And play the best Endgame I have ever seen. Anish said later, that move took him completely out of ''book'', because the engine never suggested such a move as a variant to consider in his opening preparation. Also you can see it on the evaluation bar as a ''bad'' move. The question is, bad for whom? It's bad between engines, not humans. So, many people are training as a computer now days with so much tech, but not as a human. And that! makes Magnus succeed. He knows how to beat people. And that's what matters on tournaments. Basically, his mind works just for winning, not on how to win perfectly. PD: Reason why he also have the skill to spot a cheater better than anyone else. IMO. That skill is also visible in some other Top players. But apparently there are some other without a clue. Cough cough, Kramnik.

[@guillaumelagueyte1019]

I see what game you're talking about, it comes back regularly on my feed and I watch it every time it does, what a beauty that was.

[@milannesic5718]

Oh, wow, already defending Magnus for not solving. You would be writing different comment here if he managed to solve all. I am sorry about your boy, but he was bad

[@samweII]

​@@milannesic5718he didn't perform at his best here, nothing new.

[@aliaesmail3020]

​@@milannesic5718yeah, he's terrible coz he doesn't need to prove anything to you....

[@INFINITY_99]

"and white looks totally lost" - Wesley is the best 😂

[@davidanoble]

So true

[@nabildanial00]

He's funny when he's not being a complete Islamophobe and being completely unhinged on social media

[@zaydmerhab6167]

@@nabildanial00it turns out he was hacked and that wasn’t him. He sent a message on Facebook saying he was hacked and he wouldn’t do such a thing so better to give him Benicia of the doubt.

[@Astrqx]

​@@nabildanial00 cry about it

[@disasterpiece7583]

@@nabildanial00 don't bring politics into chess

[@Mossbergg]

I love all the different personalities here LOL magnus not caring, hikaru finding excuses, wesley being hilarious and MVL crushing etc

[@lew3733]

Exactly :D

[@LizardManFromTheEarthCore]

GM's: yay, I solved it. Magnus: see you on the board.

[@RedDefender77]

Kramnik "See? Hikaru can't solve the puzzles, so he is cheating"

[@yusufonepiece]

"Interesting.."

[@Noah-1999]

That's basically what Hikaru did to Hans when he couldn't give a good recap after the Magnus match

[@hossainzunaid3960]

​@@Noah-1999some brainless people

[@AM_-wg1hj]

@@Noah-1999 In that game Hans was either cheating or he summoned his inner chess genius. I was following the game with Sesse at the time and let's just say his precise play was questionable

[@danielnery4054]

​@@Noah-1999those are random unusual puzzles, not a classical game he just played 😂

[@shlomodovrovitzer9134]

Magnus after half a second: "I don't know please tell me"

[@simpletimes2819]

sarcastically lmao.

[@vebjsand]

Imagine how many media things he has done with puzzles and stuff. I bet half of it was never aired somewhere aswell. Man's just in the video to collect a check.

[@flyingdusk]

I love MVL's rhythm when solving puzzles.

[@juliocadavid6640]

The best in this interview. Everyone here is good, the time was just hell límited

[@rotagbhd]

Solving? They're not solving anything, they are recalling solutions they already have seen. Or, in Hikaru's case, not recalling solutions they already have seen. You are confusing great memory recall with great problem solving, this was a demonstration of the former.

[@flyingdusk]

@@rotagbhd okay okay, maybe I didn't make it clear. The whole point I made was about MVL's body movements like he moved his arm with some rhythm which was totally irrelevant of you calling it solving or recalling😂

[@rocha7152]

​​​@@rotagbhdBut they also solve very well even in problems with no pattern, they are much faster than any other player, there is no point in remembering the pattern but miscalculating, taking the composition of the 1930 Russolimo, the other problems were not identical, most did not remember them all and they had to solve, the mvl didn't remember at first, it's humanly impossible to remember all the problems you did years or months ago

[@lukkamayer5935]

He‘s like Levon Aronian.

[@tookaysevon]

My jaw is on the floor from MVL solving the first one. He looked at it 10 seconds, memorized the position and rattled off this whole correct sequence. What on earth.

[@jasonyoungblood9359]

Yeah, that's insane!

[@Wtahc]

memorizing the position was not the impressive thing about that

[@tenningale]

MVL could consider a chess career one day if he keeps it up

[@sharpnova2]

it's not hard for me to have positions like these more or less "functionally" memorized at a glance. what i can't do is find the solutions without half an hour to think. anyone 2k+ should have absolutely no problem memorizing positions or playing blindfold. that is not difficult for a serious player in the slightest.

[@tookaysevon]

@@sharpnova2 My adhd brain is incapable of that. It's not just for chess. When I copy something from one sheet to another I have to look back and forth for almost every word. I'm handicapped.

[@Tropical_Tutorials]

GMs solving these ridiculous puzzles is my favorite content on this channel

[@DonLarryTT]

DEFINITELY

[@ripvanwinkle4344]

Same!

[@AlexGriffithsPage]

the host's energy makes it so good as well. love it.

[@cessactdm]

what a gem James is, seriously. such good energy coming from him. I feel like if I was having a bad day this dude could make it better in 10 minutes

[@heraldofv3379]

Nah he need 10 secs

[@stepanhrbek8151]

No

[@michaelbulls5872]

Yeah wow what a treasure that beast of a man is! He made me happy just by watching him hyping up the GM's!

[@2FadeMusic]

absolute tank as well

[@jediahpesu6673]

Yes! The one and only Canty

[@minervaselysium137]

Magnus has reached the "I hate chess" Bobby Fisher level.

[@vebjsand]

I think it's the opposite. I think he loves chess. Just wants to play and play and play. He seems fed up with media stuff, politics/FIDE stuff etc.

[@MrDylan102]

MVL is always so good at these

[@guillaumelagueyte1019]

Yoooo that solve was insane

[@adrien8572]

MVL is one of the best when it comes to calculation, he has perfect memory and he is so fast, that's just mindblowing

[@ChessChampions]

Hikaru in solving online puzzles: 😎😎 Hikaru in solving real life puzzles:😳😳

[@Frogesh]

Magnus was straight up fking drunk lmao he did want to be there at all. he just wants to drink some more beer

[@TinkletitsMcGee]

😂

[@4RILDIGITAL]

Even after knowing the correct answers. I need at least 10 mins to understand why, and they solved it in under 10 secs haha.

[@joohm]

Because of that they are gms.

[@emanuellucin]

I tried in engine. And the stockfish don't see

[@gabtheckid9868]

"I'm not suprised" said Fabiano about MLV solving complicated puzzle. That's a great way to compliment !

[@shadowbreaker6027]

He maybe was saying that he is not surprised by the fact they are all having trouble solving them given how hard they are

[@stephaniemroin]

No he cas DEFINITELY speaking about MVL. They are friends and know each other very well.

[@alessiobavieri620]

Magnus doesn't solve puzzles, he solves games from the beginning

[@Tehkenny1]

Well he said in another interview that he is not good at calculcation nor tactics. But he is good at evaluating positions. His mind work quite weirdly

[@oliseoseji8868]

At the beginning of the game magnus already sees mate in 47

[@juliocadavid6640]

@@Tehkenny1 positional player stuff, and tbh he does it very well, top class, for him to "not be very good at táctics and calculation"

[@milannesic5718]

You would be typing different comment here if he solved it all, like "I had no doubt..." "GOAT". and similar things. Stop defending him

[@samweII]

​@@milannesic5718looks like someone's trying to troll. Try harder. Do better.

[@valentinthieriot7506]

Mvl is a beast, even Rapport said it years ago that he is as good as Magnus and Hikaru in terms of calculations

[@Bruno08931]

Lol MVL is not Carlsen's level, he is for sure better. Carlsen in terms of pure calculation is only like top 10 or 15. Carlsen makes a difference in intuition, endgames, and of course mental strength.

[@udarajayawardena2018]

Joke of the Day 😂

[@juliocadavid6640]

​​​@@Bruno08931Magnus is very good at calculation, he just is slower, he's a positional player. MVL like Naka has solved a lot of puzzles while magnus doesnt like it, he doesnt see it useful

[@le_gus001]

​@@Bruno08931got a source or ranking for this?

[@Lucas_Stradeus]

​@@Bruno08931"Top 10 or 15"? Are you kidding me? Bro recently won a blitz and bullet championship against Hikaru... If he's not first, he's the second best bullet player. There's no way you're saying that...

[@chessidychess]

1:17 "ok that's literally insane" proceeds with suspicious activity that makes me question if he's human

[@HereCharlieRules]

Magnus keeping it low so kramnik and his math Bois don't go looking for him 😢

[@CanariasCanariass]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@Kingdrasta13]

not the math bois lol

[@MohamedMahmoud-ey9tj]

It's just basic statistics, some players getting 100% score in puzzles is just interesting

[@JamesCantyIII]

MVL got them all correct, this was so much fun though hahaha

[@TheInselaffen]

You can't expect much out of Hikaru is you don't let him use orange arrows.

[@vez3834]

He uses orange arrows to do everything in life. There's nothing that a few dozen orange arrows can't solve.

[@Toppengyu369]

@@vez3834 But how am i supposed to locate the orange arrows without having orange arrows to guide me ?!

[@vez3834]

@@Toppengyu369 A true chicken and the egg mystery right there.

[@zCqmbo]

"and white looks totally lost" had me dying 😂😂

[@jediahpesu6673]

Hahaha same here!

[@mon.hvn04]

JAJAJA siii

[@nza1804]

3:32 😂

[@thomsonjonus5006]

Magnus looks like he just sick of the cameras,shows and just want to be left alone😂

[@jeanswantay702]

He is a introvert anyway

[@vmst80]

I actually think it's that he just doesn't care about puzzles.

[@grgfrg7]

You know these people are operating on another level when they look at the puzzle for 3 seconds and never have to check the board again as they work on the solution

[@lgrhapsody6908]

Magnus doesn’t solve puzzles… he creates them for other players

[@NichtWunderkind]

Mvl is insane

[@LarcTzy]

The man that oftens defeat magnus.

[@kaidoChess]

Wesley’s hilarious personality is very underrated

[@disasterpiece7583]

can we have like the full version of this. I'd watch a 2 hour version of this video tbh

[@megselv6633]

That last puzzle was insane. I didn't understand Nf6 even after seeing it. And with Qf5 in the end... I could probably look at it for days without solving it, holy cow

[@Vishan24]

James is literally the best host, commentator and entertainer for these types of videos. He brings in so much positivity and bubbly vibes

[@juancarlosl4133]

True

[@gizmo3728]

It's way too much for my taste

[@nickbh15]

@@gizmo3728that’s because you’re corny

[@derekw1267]

hes too much. needs to calm his hyper butt down

[@zackabdihakim4404]

This is the content we need more of. Keep it going.

[@gabtheckid9868]

I'm sure Kramnik will find Hikaru's struggle interesting

[@zakibey7]

LMAO 😂😂

[@JasonMomos]

Every single one of these Super GMs have different set of skills. Incredible!

[@emmamc8592]

Yessss more James please🎉 Such a great personality!

[@TheChessGenie]

I absolutely love this series!

[@ZombieLincoln666]

magnus has said in interviews that he doesn’t like doing puzzles

[@kangvito9894]

Magnus doesn't struggling 😂

[@DuncanEduardo]

MVL in first puzzle was like supercomputer cyborg 🤯

[@beedatrottv8708]

MVL and Fabi are the guys for puzzles 😂

[@Tremaine26]

Wesley kept dapping him up 😂💯

[@klatchabobby]

I love Hikaru's unending lack of interest in puzzles

[@thesugareater8607]

Magnus sees multiple solutions and doesnt want to choose which one to do

[@emranahmed5711]

All puzzles hikaru saw but cannot remember the solution 🤣

[@johns6795]

They only showed him solving one, but he was 2/3

[@francesco5254]

0:04 the super "flamboyant" synchronized laugh had me dying 💀💀

[@waterhouse9693]

Flexley is the best nickname that James could have given Wesley

[@johnmcbane1016]

Magnus & Firouzja werent taking it serious....but I m kinda surprised Hikaru didn't do better here lol

[@stianaandal1488]

He didnt take it serious either

[@chronicsway43]

hikaru is the best at bullet followed by magnus/alireza i dont think thats a coincidence their instincts are better than calculation

[@Hunterhoneypackglazer1]

James dapping up chess GMs has to be my favorite part

[@rahmatillorahmonov7146]

Nodirbek is calm and solving every puzzle there

[@davidshatto7604]

If someone played that last sequence against me I think I would just quit chess

[@aadityasingh4582]

The 2 players with the least score went in the finals 😂

[@Lackadal]

I absolutely love these videos!

[@ssarka420]

Hikaru is the guy who can't answer when asked but destroys everyone when he has to write during exam

[@user-ob1sb1wf5p]

This is a great piece! Love mvl, wesley, and how carlsen instantly checks out if he doesn't immediately have the solution

[@user-ob1sb1wf5p]

Canti too! Huge personality

[@robertwalkden6950]

Magnus is too busy solving the next tournament he enters, no time for puzzles.

[@Levi06]

Magnus didnt give af Wesley seems chill tho

[@chrysanthus480]

Hikaru: "i've seen it" That's right, hikaru sees everything

[@mfdoomnyc1471]

Hikaru and Magnus acting like they been through some Dark shit

[@anonymousperson4466]

I love how music stops when hikaru is on screen everytime

[@KaninTuzi]

Wesley such a chill dude

[@_krasen]

I love how the best players actually had lower result.

[@useyourbrainjustthistime]

MVL is interesting.

[@SathvickSatish]

These videos are actually super fun to watch!!

[@simonvallee718]

The last puzzle, Bxe6 works too because the threat is to play Qc3 followed by Qe3# and there's nothing black can do to prevent it. For exemple if blacks play: -dxe4 Qc4# -Kxe4 Qe3# -Bxh4 + Kh3 Rf3+ Qxf3 followed by Qc3 and Qe3#. Black can't do anything. -Bxc5 (to prevent white from playing Qe3 after Qc3) Ng5 and then Qc3 mate, unavoidable.

[@Iran_saz]

Popular fact: Magnus has came by force

[@schizoframia4874]

Those puzzles are really cool. Even though I can’t solve them they are fun to try and then get them with hints

[@Paddy984]

Even when I pause the video, I still can't get any of them.

[@auspiciousjelly3919]

Puzzles in the video just test their memorization rather than tactics. However, the way Magnus and Alireza executes the puzzle perfectly once they find the pattern somewhat shows they are more of strategy based players rather than memorization. Magnus is not even paying a lot of emphasis on it. Just as Fischer said, Chess turning into a memorization game.

[@musical_lolu4811]

Here's the expert 🤡

[@DefactoDissident]

So every super GM in the room who did best was technically not a good chess tactician? What a way to cope buddy

[@merxellus1456]

Magnus literally is too lazy to solved them😂.. he prolly thought "how does this gain me? I dont have to prove anything"

[@AURON2401]

If there was a gold cup sitting infront of him he would solve every single one.

[@dreambigcricketfantasy1747]

As a chess novice Bg3+ is the move I will instantly play without having any idea of the sequence to follow

[@4rthurzz]

3:04 actual lol here hahahahaha

[@risinghulk]

Chess beginner here. Solved the first one. I was shocked because for some reason the sequence just jumped out at me. So when they kept saying they couldn't see it, I had to pause the video and pull up a chess board to see it in action. I also tried the other puzzles, but I had to give up. Guessing the first one was just a lucky find. Fun stuff!

[@rokanza2293]

Impressive for a beginner !

[@lordmusea]

Hikaru’s “no facial hair” arc is looking sleek!

[@GLu-tb1pb]

Normal magnus: I can make a slightly losing position winning Magnus when you throw puzzles: meh

[@iiREYteoii]

Everytime hikaru failed one i can only think of kramnik

[@user-ff9zg7wz2o]

I would like to see mvl vs aronian puzzle battle

[@merk13371]

hikaru and magnus so good they would never end up in these positions, therefore dont know how to solve the puzzle lmao

[@nealbansal1513]

I love how Canty just like dwarves the iPad in his hands lmao

[@grammarnazi9440]

MVL and nodirbek are very good at tactics

[@nuagor]

On the last puzzle, if one of the rooks takes f6, then 5 queen checks gives mate: Qc3+, Qe3+, Qf3+, Qg4+ and Qg5#

[@sebu1301]

4:00 MVL being noticeably uncomfortable with Canty's vibrant energy 🤣

[@Cuca138]

Great energy. Love it!

[@mansit3907]

Hikaru guy and mangoos carlstun guy should fight in ring

[@Toasty_93]

*Stares at board* Yes. Those are definitely chess pieces.

[@debajyotisg]

Man Wesley seems like a hoot to hang out with.

[@mhdl06]

James is the absolute perfect person to do these types of videos with the players. loved it.

[@stepanhrbek8151]

No

[@justinc102]

I love his energy

[@BobChess]

Hikaru forgot to do daily puzzles 💀

[@keorbats9429]

Wesley So doing a brilliant Andy Kaufman impression 8:31

[@adambrethour1154]

7:58 goes for hard slap handshake. Quickly turns into a soft love shake.

[@rosehit3886]

Wesley is so funny he should switch to streaming 😂😂

[@Tyler-nq8ol]

I saw the bishop move in the first puzzle but none of the continuation, they saw the continuation instantly

[@mjodyh]

I absolutely love James energy on this, great host!

[@Wodz30]

@1:30 LMFAO!!!!!!!! that is insanity! literally

[@Dopaminando97]

It's crazy because the other players do incredible things and when you look at magnus he's so chill, but he's actually the boss. It's like that fighters who makes a lot of acrobatics before a fight and then get knocked out in 5 seconds by the fatty fighter

[@spencerryan2937]

I love how Canty is hyping them up lmao

[@pedroakjr2371]

Magnus too busy being champion and shit

[@baraharonovich2926]

Man Wesley looks like such a good guy