Hikaru Ranks Himself - Ranking the Legends and the GOATs Part 2 | Tier Maker: Greatest Chess Players

GM Hikaru Nakamura and IM Levy Rozman, aka @GothamChess discuss the games and rank the legends, goats and theorists from Nimzowich to Carlsen to Kasparov to Anand. They start Part 2 with The Warlord himself.
VISIT AND SUBSCRIBE TO MORE GMHIKARU ON KZbin: / @moregmhikaru
Please watch and follow IM Levy Rozman of Gothamchess ➡️ / @gothamchess
Watch his live shows on Twitch ➡️ / gothamchess
► Follow me!
Watch my live shows on Twitch ➡️ / gmhikaru
Play chess on Chess.com ➡️ go.chess.com/hikaru
Support/Tip/Donate to the channel ➡️ streamelements.com/gmhikaru/tip
🌟 Socials 🌟
Follow me on Twitter ➡️ / gmhikaru
Follow me in Pictures ➡️ / gmhikaru
Join our Discord ➡️ / discord to stay in contact and join our community
Become a fan on Facebook ➡️ / gmhikaru
Join our Reddit for the MEMES and to make it to Reddit React Videos ➡️ / hikarunakamura
🎥 Edit and Thumbnail by: Jaron / jaroniscaring
👌Channel Management - Team Hikaru
📧 Business inquiries only: [e-mail]
#gmhikaru #chess #

[@MeTriviSlipKlokDriva]

Hikaru: "Oh you're gonna put me at number 1 spot? Oh I wouldn't do that but it's up to you" Levy: "Okay yeah we can put you at number 2 then?" Hikaru: "Nooooooooo that's okay lets move on"

[@mowbrayfelix2041]

Lmaoo

[@mychessbest4162]

Lmfao

[@Gymantis]

Goteeeeeeeeeeem

[@agakath]

LMAO. 3:05

[@arielromotoro3951]

He did put himself in legend tho, at 52:33

[@evanmaier2551]

Me who knows nothing about chess history: Yeah that seems reasonable

[@agustincarrizo3899]

understandable have a great day

[@farinthefuture2178]

@J E uhm.. what? haha

[@chrisiver8506]

@J E Levy didn't even know Kan Pepelaugh

[@akasypher1556]

@@chrisiver8506 he didnt even know all the world champions in order either OMEGALUL

[@chrisiver8506]

@@akasypher1556 S OMEGALUL BAD

[@scottshaw8864]

Levy: puts Hikaru in God tier Hikaru: not sure if I'd put myself there but you did so it's fine Levy: well I could put you lower... Hikaru: oh it's fine lol

[@cMaslow]

Hikaru is legend at best. But hes entertaining and has potential to become world champ.

[@Sapientiaa]

@@cMaslow He’s above that.

[@lionellow105]

In the end he puts himself in legend tho

[@dreamxxx333mmm2]

@@cMaslow nice joke world champ hahahah

[@robya8513]

@@cMaslow I agree. Hikaru is not a genius and was never above all others during his career, so that eliminates him from god of chess. He was also never #1 so not the second tier either. Hikaru is an impeccable player regardless and deserves to be placed in the legend tier. Plus he and fabi are basically the same in terms of skill

[@chvse1]

You and Fabiano should be in a "legend but unlucky" because you guys are legends but have to compete with Magnus

[@stanleytime9193]

You can't rank Hikaru with Fabiano

[@juanpablosanchezaveleyra6454]

@@stanleytime9193 why not?

[@stanleytime9193]

@@juanpablosanchezaveleyra6454 because Caruana is so much better than Hikaru.

[@stanleytime9193]

@Prepare your ass because pablo yes, but that doesn't really count. Fabiano almost never plays any speed chess

[@stanleytime9193]

@Prepare your ass because pablo that's fucking stupid, no it isn't. Maybe in your 900 blitz only world

[@NB-wl5wl]

“Everybody always says I kiss your ass so lets dispel that fiction” Puts him in God tier.

[@x78340]

Hahaha true

[@tomwallen7271]

Are you allowed to be above Undisputed #1 if you never got... #1? Oh well. I didn't make the list.

[@GMBethHarmon]

In terms of performance, Hikaru is Great + Unlucky, but since they're using influence as a criterion, that could bump him up a tier or two.

[@katalysis]

The only God tier with a straight 0 years as world champion

[@VideoPrens]

@@katalysis Well Judit wasn`t world champion either. She was class though. Don`t get me wrong

[@hirambodon7086]

Nakamura: Karpov underrated. *proceeds to underrate him*

[@bobobsen]

long have we waited

[@Millipede666]

God of chess imo... he totally destroyed everyone for a decade and was top 2 for another 10 years after that.

[@Feisty123]

Ikr, how is a 6 time world champion not an automatic god

[@arkos1179]

@@Feisty123 he was under kasparovs shadow since 85

[@Electronite1978]

Karpov is God no doubt about it. 10 years as dominant world champion. Also in his world championship matches (5) against Kasparov Karpov won 19 games lost 21 and drew 144. Basically Basically the playing strength difference between Garry and Anatoly was miniscule. Also Karpov is the God of positional chess like one else.

[@ameeshupadhyay]

"whether Im a god or not, i dont know" - humble hikaru 2020

[@stanleytime9193]

He should know he isn't lol

[@vikram4007]

@@stanleytime9193 true

[@Phoenix-nh9kt]

@@stanleytime9193 hikaru's face is one of the most common images that come up in your mind when someone brings up 'chess'. He is definitely a god if not a contestant for being a god of chess. In terms of playing chess, he might not be #1... but in terms of helping chess become more popular and making the game of chess what it is, he definetely deserves to be a god of chess.

[@stanleytime9193]

@@Phoenix-nh9kt yes but it's not in terms of that is it.

[@LolLol-fi2tx]

@@Phoenix-nh9kt then even agadmator should be on that list and xqc. 😂😂😂 Let's just put xqc on god of chess tier and call it a day. 😂😂😂

[@danielhwang4960]

He technically said that he and 2 people were unlucky cause magnus exists lmao

[@nilarnabsutradhar8649]

XD lol

[@kantrust219]

if only magnus were born later right

[@whynotbhavya8028]

Yeah that's what he meant bcz he is real good of chess and undisputed No 1 bcz he is not beatable so hikaru and fabi are good enough but still misses what Magnus has

[@cruelworld1902]

He didn't say it technically, he said it very blatantly

[@evelynn4273]

I'm sure Karpov feels the same way about Kasparov.. although a little less so.

[@mk_6]

"He died in Vancouver, just a fun fact" - Hikaru 2020

[@brysonlozano7]

😂😂😂

[@SonicsniperV7]

That wasn't very fun, Hikaru :c

[@whereswaldo7852]

Yeah super fun fact lol

[@pedrochalaco1]

So funny...😅😅

[@hanneshaanpaa8446]

He died in Helsinki....

[@cristhianmorales9175]

Levy:”maybe we can put you on undisputed #1 or legend” Hikaru:” nanana let’s move on” lmfaooo

[@kardsufur2966]

so cringey dude

[@cristhianmorales9175]

@@kardsufur2966 who?

[@kardsufur2966]

@@cristhianmorales9175 hikaru

[@gruntgobshite]

Watch the whole video. He relegated himself.

[@cristhianmorales9175]

@@gruntgobshite ik

[@SilencedButNotForgotten]

Karpov was literally n.1 for 16 years...

[@AthosJosue]

So?

[@beri4138]

@@AthosJosue stfu

[@underwood9584]

22 years actually. Well documented.

[@cazorla82]

@@AthosJosue wesley so?

[@shilpaprajapati4801]

Magnus can break this record

[@thizlam4810]

22:00 “Wait, Levi why are you laughing at that?” Meanwhile hikaru laughed about someone dying from syphilis, laughing about someone dying by a chicken bone, and called someone’s death story a “fun fact” 😂😂

[@jonathanedwards8549]

Hikaru has that interesting blend of autism and narcissism. Reminds me of Neil degrasse Tyson

[@thizlam4810]

@@jonathanedwards8549 That’s a very apt description.

[@TheNekruss]

that Japan for you

[@crystalmeth1789]

Mikhail Tal would fit in each tier perfectly

[@rafif1706]

Not in theorist, he broke all the theory that exist on that period

[@Raghuveer2798]

*Except theorist

[@viniljoel2175]

Well, a player must be an exceptional theorist to break theories.

[@druida5773]

Magic..

[@maxkho00]

@@viniljoel2175 Not at all - you could just have great instincts, which was the case with Tal.

[@venkateshbalakrishnan4717]

Karpov not being God-tier is too much, when Kramnik is there

[@villyexplorer9482]

@ensayofr tbf he did put himself as legend instead of god in the end, he also finally put carlsen top 3

[@inemanja]

@ensayofr you must be a very young - he certainly is a legend!

[@alteragnostik]

Although I love Levy and Hikaru's shows, have to admit they are terrible at this kind of ranking, I agree. May be they just need to create hype around this video. Abolutely zero seriousnessness in the analysis. And terrible knowledge of chess history, specially shameful for such a top player as Hikaru. I have read like 10 chess books, and I understand the real quality and strength of players of the past, much better that these guys do.

[@G0Crazy1]

@@alteragnostik you’re just wrong you don’t understand history better than either of them lol just say you disagree with their takes

[@qs4177]

Was Karpov the one that was on top for like 30 years???

[@Chris-if1di]

Using a traditional tier system: S: Kasparov, Fischer, Carlsen A: Karpov, Botvinnik, Anand, Morphy, Capablanca B: Tal, Steinitz, Lasker, Kramnik, Alekhine, Caruana, Nakamura C: Spassky, Smyslov, Petrosian, Ivanchuk, Korchnoi, Rubinstein D: Topalov, Keres, Bronstein, Polgar, Euwe, Anderson, Nezhmetdinov E: Pillsbury, Tarrasch, Nimzowitch, Philidor, Khan, Fine

[@donkbonktj5773]

This is mine tier list based on chess play and talent: S: Morphy, Fischer, Capablanca, Kasparov, Lasker A: Carlsen, Alekhine, Anand, Karpov B: Petrosian, Steinitz, Botvinnik, Tal, Ivanchuk, Pillsbury, Korchnoi, Bronstein, Anderssen, Nezhmetdinov, Keres C: Kramnik, Smyslov, Spassky, Tarrasch, Nimzowitsch, Khan, Euwe, Polgar D: Topalov, Rubinstein, Nakamura, Philidor, Caruana E: Fine :) I respect your list, we just view it differently :) I know this is harsh, but Euwe is probably the worst world champion in chess.. I'm not trying to be mean (he's for sure better than I'll ever be)

[@jaymthesn5981]

Dude got shit on by a kid, has to cheat to win... BUT he is GOD and she is rated almost the lowest possible. Okay.

[@secretoftantra2279]

@@donkbonktj5773 Nezh is way too high rated

[@donkbonktj5773]

@@secretoftantra2279 Looking back on it, yeah I agree. Maybe around D or at best C category.

[@thebettafish3239]

@@IgorCapablanca why

[@jzkramer]

52:35 is where Hikaru lives up to his legendary status and redeems himself from Levy's brown nosing.

[@silverwolf5460]

Hilaru is great plus unlucky not a legend

[@silverwolf5460]

Fabi is better who is a legend

[@gabrielgm3640]

Still overrated, maybe he didn't want to offend Levy

[@filippobortolotto7176]

he is still number 1 on blitz

[@lythd]

@@filippobortolotto7176 a lot of people have been number one, im a huge fan of hikaru but i think the great + unlucky is a lot better fit

[@MagnusAnand]

Karpov was number 1 for 10 years. Definitely a legend, right behind Kasparov

[@omarlugos]

16 years..

[@caleblima0142]

Magnus and Fischer are 100% above Karpov

[@someone-xp8ii]

21 years

[@omarlugos]

@@caleblima0142 nah.

[@tiffanygood8595]

69 years

[@victorsalinas3891]

I think karpov should be a god of chess. He dominated during his prime years

[@jesusthroughmary]

If not for Kasparov then Karpov would have been #1 and world champion for like 25 years

[@siphillis]

In terms of all the games they ever played, Kasparov has only one more win over Karpov. They drew constantly.

[@lukahj]

Either way, Karpov is more of a god of chess than Hikaru is

[@bobbobbity463]

Not only is Karpov one of the best players ever, he is probably the greatest gentleman in chess, and a real example of how players should conduct themselves. Even more than I wish I could play like Karpov, I wish I could lose like Karpov.

[@arnieus866]

@@bobbobbity463 Viktor Korchnoi might disagree with the "greatest gentleman" comment.

[@nicklegh-smith4891]

Hikaru: "fun fact, he DIED OF A HEART ATTACK"

[@nicklewis2826]

Crazy thing about Sultan Khan is that Indian chess had different rules with castling and pawn moves. So he learned a different game of chess and got to the top. It’s crazy. He gets legend for me.

[@christiang5209]

Not only that, there are other special rules for pawn promotion, winning by stalemate, beating the last figures and not moving the king before the first check.

[@Skyhigh-hu6rf]

Man didn’t know read or write and still dominated a totally different version of chess against people speaking a language he didn’t know 😭

[@DzFarid]

Just by how long the speech Levy gave about Hikaru you can just tell that he expects nobody to believe it 😂

[@bobbobbity463]

"Just to prove I don't kiss his ass, I'm putting him as a God of Chess"

[@kernadan000]

@@bobbobbity463 ikr

[@hypnos2794]

lmao

[@coolexio]

Karpov is absolutely a God of chess.

[@abhijiththampi]

Karpov battled 2 gods and it was never taken for granted that either of them was going to walk over him. Definitely a god.

[@mittumohanan]

I agree

[@Artaxerxes.]

Yeah this tier list is trash. Also women in chess haven't been as good as men. That's simply true. It will change by the next decade probably

[@jonatanassefha3938]

If Hikaru and Judit is god of chess, so is Karpov lol...

[@TW-sh2un]

Artaxerxes Yea most women in chess aren’t as strong as men but Judit was. She was the 8th best in the world at the time. Anyone in the top 10 of their time is already a legend. Also she refused any Woman’s Fm or Gm titles and only went for the real ones because she didn’t need the easier versions.

[@nuwandalton]

Karpov not in the God-Tier? Pleeeeeeease! Smyslov, Spassky: Great but lucky? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

[@murtazahamid6141]

Meanwhile magnus describing hikaru - "decent"

[@porus3655]

Hikaru knows every chess player's cause of death and its very cool.

[@applemoose9675]

Including those yet to have died

[@fluffygiant9060]

Including himself,that's what makes him immortal

[@kyotosunsetdreams6105]

Yeah he’s the one who wrote their names in his death note ☠️

[@davidanderson_surrey_bc]

And each one's cause of death is another fun fact!

[@omgwerockhard]

Hikaru is secretly dracula he has been around the block a few thousands of years

[@NouzenJ]

where is my boy agadmator, he calculates like an engine and he knows what is on the mind of the most of great chess players

[@shivamkoli7197]

Because he use an engine. Lol

[@shivamkoli7197]

He lost to 1100 rated comedian samay raina on stream

[@blablatruc2307]

@@shivamkoli7197 he is joking man

[@smmshoe]

Agad is a very good player thiugg

[@ajayyadav6728]

Agad>Leela Chess>Stockfish>Komodo>>>>>>Carlsen

[@SentadoenlaCama]

Everytime someone sacs a piece for attacking chances, somebody say's "a Tal's move"... He is a god of chess!

[@rafaelriosperalta717]

Levy: "Karpov was number for 20 something years!" Everyone: "And number 1 for 9 years! 1. He beat a 29 year old Anand at 45 (for the FIDE World Championship) 2. Was world champion for 9 years 3. Has the highest Elo performance rating in history 4. Beat Karjakin in a blitz match while being 71 years old. 5. A positional GOD. 6. Number 2 for 2 decades

[@dracandros]

and has won more tournaments than anyone in chess history🏆

[@lepiota1074]

Kárpov is a legend...

[@EIIlast2791]

2:15 “if you took all three of us and there was not Magnus I think all three of us could be world champions” Damn is Magnus really that good and that dominant?

[@EIIlast2791]

Marx Carl I didn’t, I don’t usually follow grandmaster games on my own as I’m only 1740 blitz strength on lichess so a lot of it goes over my head unless it’s presented by say an international master who explains everything like Eric Rosen but I guess youre saying even if I don’t understand it’s irrelevant because I can see Magnus won all of them. Didn’t hikaru win two tournaments vs Magnus?

[@user-ic6nm4ol4r]

Hes a 3x world champion hes one of the greatest of all time had he not existed yes theres a chance anyone of these players could've taken the title but Carlsen is just crazy

[@crazyinsanechessplayer2208]

@@user-ic6nm4ol4r he's a 3 time WC but otherwise you're right

[@theo7371]

@@EIIlast2791 Of course even Magnus doesn't win every tournament he is in. There are many variables when it comes to tournaments. But he always finishes at least top 2-3 (though he mostly wins). His consistency is incredible. He never has a bad tournament or a tournament where he is in the middle of the pack. Also, Magnus seems to have another gear in him. There are many tournaments for example where he doesn't do that well but then gets 2 wins in the last 2 rounds to tie for first. Or in the world championship match against Karjakin he lost a game close to the end but then almost immediately won one back. And against Hikaru for example back when he was a serious threat and Magnus always brought his A game against him he smashed him more than he smashed any other player. In my opinion Magnus never played anyone as well as he played Hikaru back when Hikaru was a contender. And even though Hikaru probably doesn't want to admit it I think Magnus is a large reason why he does not work so hard on his classical chess anymore. Hikaru in my opinion is an Anand-level talent. In some ways I kinda wish Magnus somehow loses the world championship match (maybe lull him to sleep and win game 12) because if that happens I think we'll see 2880 Magnus again for a couple of years till he gets it back. But on the other hand that would hurt his GOAT argument.

[@legueu]

yes

[@qwertz111]

Karpov definitely a God of Chess

[@zvonimirtosic6171]

Anatoly Karpov - 12th world chess champion, - 3 x FIDE world champion, - 2 x World Chess Teams Champion member, - 6 x champion of Chess Teams Olympiads as a member, - then CONSISTENTLY within top two players (regardless of chess organisation) for decades, - the most prolific chess TOURNAMENT CHAMPION IN HISTORY! He holds over 160 titles (!) while the second-best barely has 100. Karpov is 50% more prolific tournament player than anyone in history. - first time fell below the world top 100 rank .. after 40 years (!) of holding the GM title. All this shows superior consistency, that no other player in chess history has matched.

[@isaacfernandes560]

Then he met Kasparov and became number 2 for 20 years never able to regain his title back. :)

[@zvonimirtosic6171]

​@@isaacfernandes560 And .. ? Kasparov is 12 years younger, it was expected to happen. But the man stood in the top 100 for over 40 years, which is an enormous feat. But have a look at Kasparov now; 12 years younger than Karpov, and he is not even in the top 100 anymore. The oldest in the list are Anand, Shirov and Adams, born in 1969, 1971 and 1972. Top 100 is not the club for old men …

[@leonardocanovalima]

Chuky loses a lot of matches, but that happens for a reason. It doesn't matter what is happening on the tournaments regarding the score of the players he is always trying to play good chess. That's the reason he has so much briliances, he is always taking the risk. While other players usually are trying to have the best score possible on tournaments, he just does not care, he is always trying to create things. Personally he is my favorite chess player of all times because of his courage. I know he has acompplished a lot and he doesn't have to prove himself anymore and that allows him to do what he does, but i find his will beautiful and inspiring! For that I think he deserves to be in the Gods of Chess categorie.

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

I love Ivanchuk's games. He's like chess' greatest wildcard, capable of completely destroying or losing to everyone. He doesn't just play a small set of openings or try to regurgitate theory; he plays chess that is interesting to him, and that is wonderful, and almost mercurial. I can't help but enjoy someone who plays in a way that they enjoy instead of just doing what everyone else does, and I bet there are many great players who wish they had the guts to play that way.

[@Eldobbeljoe]

Oh man. Karpov is God of chess! He was WC for 10+ yrs, winning almost every tourn in that period too with legendary positional chess.

[@duaarondu]

xqc isn’t on the list

[@95vinoth]

He is the embodiment of Chess, God of Gods, the ultimate creator of chess.

[@lunchexlizerd3927]

Calling him only a god of chess would be an understatement and an insult.

[@zephaudi]

he transcended lists

[@Faust4541]

Wooden shield

[@AbhiramH]

If Hikaru had scrolled up we would've seen the "Father of Chess" list with xqc occupying the whole row

[@x78340]

16:56 What an amazing analysis on Kasparov’s legacy on chess by Levy!

[@thomaslarkin3307]

"Everyone always wonders whose gonna be the person from the next generation to dethrone the champion" Yeah it was Magnus.

[@quelqunx7470]

Levy simp'ed for Hikaru, but who doesn't.

[@EIIlast2791]

How

[@RockAli22]

Rueflu he clearly said that if it weren’t because of Hikaru’s influence in the current chess boom, he wouldn’t rank him there. Of course Hikaru is not a better player than Magnus or Bobby, but he will probably have the same influence on the young players as them

[@dylanblack8714]

Roman Edouard what does race have to do with this

[@RockAli22]

Roman Edouard I feel like comparing chess prowess from different generations is not fair. It’s like saying that I am more intelligent than Pithagoras because I know calculus and he didn’t. Bobby is a legend because during his peak he was undoubtedly the best player in the world. If he were to live during the present time he might be better (or not, we wouldn’t know) than Magnus. If Hikaru played Bobby with his chess knowledge today, he would probably destroy him, but Hikaru has a big knowledge advantage. Personally I prefer his play style than Bobby’s, but I don’t think he is comparable in the chess prowess category considering his pairs

[@RockAli22]

Roman Edouard also my gf is Asian so I wouldn’t choose Bobby over Hikaru probably

[@arkaroy9827]

19:09 Yeah that's definitely a 'fun fact'

[@Sakr711]

Tal is not at the end of chess gods .. he is the ultimate chess GOD

[@jonathanfrakes1284]

This is just Levy kissing Hikaru's ass hahaha. Seriously, this is awkward.

[@SpiceWeazel]

A little uncomfortable to watch for sure. No chance Hikaru belongs above Great + Unlucky. You could maaaaaaybe say he's a legend, but God Tier? What a joke.

[@Ryotbh]

Hikaru and Judit at God tier… and Judit higher than Magnus… why? On virtue of her gender? I think their politics is showing a little.

[@SpiceWeazel]

@@Ryotbh I understand putting Judit in god tier (though not higher than Magnus) because they're taking into consideration how much each person has done to spread the game of chess. Judit has been hugely influential in getting more women into chess, and challenging the idea that only men can be great chess players. She was one of only like 4 chess players I had heard of before getting into the game (the others being Magnus, Bobby, and Karpov). Obviously she's not as good at the game, but she is an absolute icon and did a lot for the game.

[@horaciobrown9754]

@@SpiceWeazel what? She's not Good at chess? Do your research she beat 10 world champions.... Wtf

[@SpiceWeazel]

@@horaciobrown9754 Not ~as~ good, I said. And by that I mean not as good as the others in God tier. At her peak she was ranked 8th in the world. Still a phenomenal chess player, but not as dominant as the others in that group.

[@Ippikiryu]

20:42 Hikaru's face when Levy admits to not being able to name all the Chess World Champions in order

[@t-rexkalita1379]

Ya why is levy like he was forced to play chess??? He seems to be not interested in chess at all.

[@Ostrich16]

if TAL wasn't put in the god of chess tier we RIOT!

[@adamya1639]

yeah....... i mean agadmator and everybody basically worship him

[@Cnut_the_grape]

@@adamya1639 and for very good reason.

[@albuspercivalwulfricbriand5363]

Cnut The Grape yep, I agree. No one ever sacrificed so much and actually won on the top level chess. Ruthless, straightforward, brutal in some way. In fact, if I could bring anyone from history to play in our era, it would be Tal.

[@ahmadshokry5945]

A fan of both Tal and Khabib? Are we brothers or something? 😃

[@mfthrsln]

@@ahmadshokry5945 yes we are :)

[@zimcoder]

I can't believe you guys would doubt that Tal is God of Chess?

[@kohlidhoni1591]

Mikhail tai ?

[@isaacmillen8789]

Same with Morphey, both are legends

[@gxfr795]

He isn’t a God of chess. A lot of his wild sacrifices were unsound and he never became world champion. Most modern GMs would cream him. So if Fabiano etc aren’t gonna be God of chess, why should Tal

[@akshan2866]

​@@gxfr795 Tal became world champion in 1960, what are you talking about??????? And also the fact that modern GMs would defeat him is absolutely irrelevant since chess changed a lot during the last 2 decades, let alone 50 years when Tal was at his peak. It's like saying that Newton was a bad physicist because all modern scientists know more than he did.

[@gxfr795]

@@akshan2866 That wasn’t Mikhail Tal that was Michael Tall, he was a French Canadian grandmaster you silly muppet. Get your facts right before you talk to me

[@Irfanhill]

Hikaru is definitely great + unlucky, it was weird to hear you guys argue for ranking him alongside the likes of Anand, Carlsen, Kasparov... He's not in the same discussion, sorry. Love him though.

[@Baddaby]

I agree, but the discussion also involves their influence on chess and chess players. In our present time, Hikaru is undoubtedly bringing up and teaching a HUGE number of new players.

[@gnikdroy]

@@Baddaby Sure but you also have to consider the timeframe. If you give hikaru a couple of more years, sure, he might reach god of chess, if he continues to have as much influence. But currently, I don't think he is in the same discussion as Kasparov, Fisher and Carlsen. A legend at best. Edit: Additionally, it is criminal not to rank Karpov as a god of chess.

[@Jealod24]

“I wouldn’t put myself there but you’re the one who made the choice, so it’s fine”.

[@Bruno-ry3pg]

"We could move you to undisputed #1" "No no lets move on" 😂😂

[@GeorgeNCy]

He changed it later thankfully

[@hypnos2794]

hahaha

[@apsonshoibam1546]

This tier list is just the opinions of Hikaru and Levy. Don't take it too serious, viewers.

[@alkinooskontopodias5919]

Nevertheless is very insulting to see Hikaru higher than Karpov on a list. There is a limit in comedy.

[@kevinjay296]

@@alkinooskontopodias5919 did you watch the or you just based on the thimbnail?

[@alkinooskontopodias5919]

@@kevinjay296 i saw the whole thing. He "corrected" the list. Still he has himself over Spassky, Smyslov and Topalov.

[@name8329]

@@alkinooskontopodias5919 so you get called out and then change your complaint. 👌

[@alkinooskontopodias5919]

@@name8329 what? It is still rediculous. Are you an idiot, or pretend to be?

[@chalesbergca3754]

Hikaru is just legend, let's be real

[@simplicitas5113]

I mean in blitz rapid no 1 for sure

[@songoku-jx3cb]

@@simplicitas5113no way bro magnus would smoke him in both if he played seriously

[@simplicitas5113]

@@songoku-jx3cb Well they just did couple weeks ago

[@songoku-jx3cb]

@@simplicitas5113 i know which you are talking about thats why i said when he is all out serious with rest

[@simplicitas5113]

@@songoku-jx3cb Yeah he is just waiting until he is 50 to release his true power. For real, mortals like me under 2K have no idea what chess really is anyway so idk man

[@nyulbela]

Karpov is the greatest of all times, most people just don't appreciate his playing style

[@mnp3a]

Spassky’s position is weird: not only did he beat petrosian for the title, in candidates matches he beat korchnoi, tal and keres .... all of them were ranked higher here!

[@acedjgaming6779]

Spassky was definitely a legend if only for the fact he got beat by Fisher and was a cool guy

[@maxkho00]

Steiniz, who single-handedly ended a century-long epoch of chess and revolutionised chess forever, also seems to be in a weird spot below Botvinnik and Judith. So too Tarrasch, who was world champion and one of the strongest players of his time, and Philidor, whose dominance was uncontested in the 18th century. Also a good freaking argument to be made that a 6-time world champion who has stayed at the top for many decades is worthy of being in the God tier. I'm speaking of Karpov, of course. Here is how they should be positioned: Steiniz - 4th in God of chess after Kasparov, Bobby, and Morphy (revolutionised the game and was an undisputed best of his time for a long time) Karpov - last in God of chess (was strong enough to warrant being in the top tier but didn't have the historical importance of others in the list) Philidor - last in undisputed #1 (hard to assess if he was really an undisputed best, but his impact on chess as a theoretician springs him into the bottom of the tier) Tarrasch - last in Great + lucky (certainly stronger than the other theoreticians, but lucky to live in an age without too many strong players)

[@blueaardvark5458]

There are some things strange. With all respect for Vishy or Kramnik, Judith but Alekhine or Lasker not in the first category? I think they dont wanna have beef with the living masters so rather are strict when it comes to dead ones. :D Tal or Petrosjan are unexplainably high rated in comparison to Lasker or Alekhine. Steinitz is often seen as the inventor of modern chess. Steinitz = God = no-brainer

[@lukepuque8410]

Hikaru is a good player but he doesnt appreciate chess history that well. And as for Levy I do not think he is qualified at all so this is absolutely stupid.

[@mnp3a]

@@maxkho00 i think Karpov was specially unlucky: in NOT playing Fischer he was "denied" of matches that would have elevated his game while he was still young. For example, a young Kasparov tried to take his usual game strategy to the first Karpov match and it backfired heavily: he had to adjust and it made him a much much stronger player.

[@dimitridimitri6994]

I personally think Hikaru is a Legend but not God, he said it himself in the video. it was levy who put him there so don't be harsh on Hikaru. He is a God of chess in speed chess though. I would choose Hikaru over Magnus anyday from blitz to bullet. Edit: Hikaru put him in the legend category later on. sorry.

[@Lamb666]

Watch the full video before commenting

[@slajmy]

@@Lamb666 yup spam the same thing over and over

[@ameykadam5195]

he is theorist

[@RanEncounter]

@@Lamb666 Why? People have seen the stream already.

[@Chris.M]

Great+unlucky

[@Ausnapify]

Props on doing this. Very enjoyable.

[@tomohawk52]

Philidor absolutely is a God of Chess. The man's understanding was literally a century ahead of his time.

[@brendanglascock332]

Or at least undisputed #1. He was the best player in the world for almost half a century.

[@toziassmitt]

No way

[@filipefernandes8669]

Agree for the most part, but c'mon Karpov was a God, i remember being a kid a knowing very little about chess but whenever i thought of chess 2 name appeared on my head Kasparov and Karpov. He dominated an era, and kept being among the elite for a very long time, gotta give him more credit than for example Judit who was never number 1.

[@hitechj5057]

Right, Hikaru is a god but Karpov is? Lol

[@Rude_i_Wredne]

Yeah, Karpov and Steinitz were done dirty. "He was considered God amongst man in his time... so bottom tier 2 it is." Though I wouldn't necessary criticize the placement for Judit, being 50 elo ahead of the second woman on the list and over 100 ahead of third , even ignoring rating devaluation is crazy and she definitelly earned her legacy. If anyone, maybe Botwinik should go one tier lower, as he wasn't as dominant as a world champion and maybe Tal (don't kill me, but I don't know if funny playstyle is enough, considering he held top 1 for only 2 years)

[@proudkinglion2215]

@@Rude_i_Wredne Are you joking? She never be top 1. Heist her place is top 8 and that's it.

[@abdulazizalbiladi7250]

I am sorry but putting Lasker who was a world champion for 27 years in an inferior category to Judit whose highest ranking is 8th in the world is weird.

[@chrisiver8506]

SHES A WOMAN THO

[@abdulazizalbiladi7250]

Chris Iver Chris Iver . Women and men have the same mental abilities. It is not a handicap being a women however if u mean the difficulties that she faced as a girl in chess against. I would make a strong argument for Khan who didn’t get an education he was literally illiterate for ffs.

[@chrisiver8506]

@@abdulazizalbiladi7250Srry to confuse I was just being sarcastic, Judit should probably be in legend or lower the only reason shes even on this list is because shes a woman.

[@abdulazizalbiladi7250]

Chris Iver i thought that ur being sarcastic. But i took the extreme case which is u were being for real. Totally Agree

[@lunchexlizerd3927]

I tend to agree althoughjudit is the greatest female player of all time by a margin who kind of went up against it in a male dominated field and inspired woman to do so as well. Not sure whether that justifies her to be quite in the god of chess tier but it is what it is.

[@gyaneswarpanigrahi4070]

I see a lot of comments here that are unfair to Anand, some even going to the extent of calling Hikaru better than Anand. Firstly Anand has played the most people on that list for the World Championship, over a period of 20+ years, Kasparov, Karpov, Kramnik, Topalov, Carlsen. He lost to Kasparov at his peak and of course to Carlsen. He lost to Karpov once, but the match was a farce. While Anand played 20 matches in 23 days to make it to the final, reached the venue 4 hours before the scheduled start, Karpov was waiting there all the while, having been directly seeded in the final as the defending champion. He has beaten Kramnik everytime they have met in World Championships. Also defeated Topalov. Anand has won world championships in Knock out, Tournament and Match format. Regarding Rapid, Anand was unfortunate not to have Rapid world championships at his peak. Pre 2012, there never used to be regular rapid world championships. He played the rapid world championship once in 2003 and won it. From late 90s till 2010 he was the best rapid player in the world, even better than Kasparov. Also he won it in 2017, aged almost 50, in a field containing the best players in the World. Prime Anand is a match for Carlsen, even in rapid. In fact even in his late 40s and past his prime, Anand manges to win Rapid championships and Candidates tournaments once in a while, an era which everyone agrees is the toughest due to a whole lot of quality players ie Magnus, Aronian, Caruana etc. And lastly, the claim that if not for Carlsen, Aronian, Caruana or Nakamura would have been world champions is preposterous. They might very well have become world champions, but they would have needed to get past Anand, in fact a more motivated Anand given that he is the one protecting his turf. If not for Kasparov, against whom Anand was a bit intimated TBH, and before Carlsen, Anand would have even better results, since he had better head to head and better form in World Championships as compared to Kramnik, Leko, Topalov, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Shirov his likely opponents in that era. He still is a God. Whether he was better than Tal or Botvinik is up for debate. Definitely better than all the players he has played on that list, except for Kasparov and Carlsen. As for impact, no one on that list even comes close. Coming from a country, which almost had no Chess culture before he burst out as The Lightning Kid!

[@samme79]

Which comments dude? Like 1 out of 100? Stop it

[@syintigs5543]

did u forget bobby fischer

[@Ianthe22]

It's difficult to say. I think it is rated more like playstyle. For a period Anand's defensive plays were considered "peak" of how to play chess. Some people also ran around for years and said that Carlsen's offensive plays wouldn't be able to beat Anand. But it has shown now to do. In terms of accomplishment and strength, you may be right. But since Carlsen is reigning and these other players you mention who play this style that is more in line with Carlsen's playing it does give the impression that they could "be able" to beat Anand. Look, i don't want to offend any one side, but i feel like it is more a question about trend and how the game develops, partly. Look at it this way, it's not so much about who is stronger, but more like what type of chess playing is in! Nakamura also mentions it several times in the video, none of the people on this list are weak in terms of playing. And it also implicates that many of the players pro's in terms of their strengths in playing haven't been mentioned. So there is no need to be offensive about Anand's representation. Or that is how i am perceiving these two videos. Personally i don't think at all that he has been misrepresented. So all is well my friend.

[@nidhiprayanshu8874]

@@Ianthe22 i completly agree hikaru has good record against him

[@AAYLV]

"No one on that list even comes close..." (exept Gary and Magnus) this is also a preposterous statement dude.

[@zanshibumi]

It's fascinating to see the world of chess through the eyes of Hikaru.

[@mridul7772]

"GOD of chess-hikaru"......lol🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@gniewomircioek6845]

XD

[@Rude_i_Wredne]

Hikaru later insisted of putting him in Legend tier, which is the most accurate for now. To be fair, I can see him achieving the status of chess God, but only time will tell that and I wouldn't rank active players because of that.

[@julian0939]

@@Rude_i_Wredne Hikaru is a legend, not a god.

[@Rude_i_Wredne]

​@@julian0939 for now, yes. However it's hard to tell how big of an impact he'll leave. He still has 10+ years of career + becoming an e-sport, which Hikaru advocates towards might turn out to be the gamechanger for chess. 50 years from now people might remember him as the main force in online chess and the same argument which worked for Vishy, might work for Hikaru. I said might, not will. I said "I can see him achieving" not "I think he will achieve". What is the right ranking for current active chess players, only time will tell.

[@Electronite1978]

@@julian0939 I agree. Hikaru at the moment is a living Legend no doubt and I liked he demoted himself from God tier to Legend. There are only few players that deserve that title and at the moment Hikaru does not belong to that category.

[@joedorben3504]

Realistically Hikaru has to be a Great + Unlucky/Lucky or Legend at most, there's no way in hell he's "God Of Chess" caliber

[@EIIlast2791]

they are not only measuring their chess ability but their impact on the game so in that sense hikaru is up there but it isn’t really what they should be measuring in my opinion this should purely be chess strength. but to be fair they never specified in the categories what they are measuring so “the god of chess” could be measured in terms of a couple things and one of them happens to be the impact they have on chess.

[@chrisiver8506]

the ass kissing was real lol

[@gautamgautamsuresh1218]

He can be considered legend because of his blitz rating , its mental that he is 3000 rated

[@jeffreydelossantos8667]

I think he's more on Undisputed #1/Legend. saying Hikaru is in "God Of Chess" is a lame flattery

[@xgrizz8516]

@@gautamgautamsuresh1218 he is not 3000 rated lol. Nobody was ever or will ever be 3000. He is 2900 FIDE rated

[@ionutradulazar8984]

Lmao chat going wild when levi ranked hikaru you can see "Levi check your paypal" xd fucking legends

[@Timinator2K10]

Very interesting and entertaining! Might have helped if you both had quick fact sheets of the players to refer to but, it was a good production. Thank You Both!

[@galactic9238]

Anand is also there for being 5 times classical world champion. Hikaru does not belong there. He could be on "American god of chess". But in the USA, there is always that slight confusion between World and USA.

[@Lamb666]

Watch the full video before commenting

[@adeshkantha7034]

@@Lamb666 time stamp please?

[@leadnitrate2194]

@@adeshkantha7034 he placed himself in legend.

[@MrTVx99]

@@Lamb666 Levy thinks Hikaru left an impact on chess because he just got popular on Twitch recently lmao. Barely ever being 2800 rated, barely ever being near the top in terms of standings, never really challenging for the World Chess Championship and basically never in any real contention. While he thinks World Champions like Karpov who dominated the game for many years, remained relevant in the chess scene for over 40 years, people use to study games, people looked up to, people think about when thinking of chess, are amazing ambassodors of chess, are somehow not leaving an impact on chess because they didn't stream on social media. Newsflash, you can bring in new people to chess without hosting social media tournaments while being a terrible ambassodor for the sport for most of his career. What a joke. In terms of impact, it is not even close, in terms of what they did for chess, it is not even close, in terms of chess dominance, it is not even close. The fact that Hikaru was at one point above Karpov is just stupid. The fact that Hikaru puts himself in legend above so many World Champions that taught, inspired and brought in the next generation to chess, is just as stupid. Hikaru shouldn't even be on the list, and if he is, he should never be above people who are World Champions or in contention for World Champions because Hikaru is neither.

[@IZn0g0uDatAll]

The fact that he is on this list is in itself a joke, the god of chess stuff is grotesque. Hikaru is maybe top100 of all times and has zero business being ranked next to Fisher, Kasparov or Capablanca. The fact that he is popular these days on twitch and youtube won him that spot? Seriously.

[@swolejszo]

Chuky is probably the player that everyone else on the list would fear playing, assuming they were alive to do so. Completely erratic and wildly inconsistent, but 100% capable of beating anyone in the world when he is on his game.

[@adnanmalki678]

I just watched this video to see putting tal on top and you didn’t disappoint me at the end

[@garrusvakarian3944]

My father played a game against Topalov 30 years ago. Topalov wasnt even looking at the board and was talking to other guys and just said whre to move the pieces. He won in like 10-15 moves. :D

[@gxfr795]

That’s pretty badass but super disrespectful lmao

[@garrusvakarian3944]

@@gxfr795 Not at all. I would love to be disrespected like that by a Super GM. Okay that sounded weird.

[@williamtaittinger4529]

your stepfather must have loved every second of it

[@rexomaster9428]

I love hikaru, but it feels SO WRONG to have him in the same pool as the world champions, comon be serious.

[@maiguelguti6818]

They were considering his influence in chess comunity

[@joao-xj2zv]

55:35 look were he is around here... he puts himself down in the middle of the video

[@Krizlyyy]

@@joao-xj2zv it was the right decission altough i think undisputed #1 would have been alright.

[@joao-xj2zv]

Krizlyyy Krizlyyy yeah... he could be ranked pretty high in my opinion. the quality of the game of chess has improved a lot latterly and hikaru is a brilliant player.

[@joao-xj2zv]

Krizlyyy Krizlyyy but they were including other aspects besides just quality

[@sooooooooDark]

poor levy has to walk on eggshells on everything he says with u and chat 😂😂

[@vagua1993]

In the Opera game, Morphy did not capture the pawn because he wanted to win the game quickly so that he could watch the show which was about to start. This way, he chose to attack

[@julianjuez]

I had a lot of fun watching this video. Thank you.

[@amrsameh1087]

Hikaru in god of chess... above Karpov and Chuck? Hell nah. I love Naka but this just absurd.

[@Jadpon_]

where is Thomas Wilson Barnes

[@peel8043]

He ascended past god

[@nekosalad8308]

he is Kratos

[@ahriman935]

Belongs in the "terminator" category, not in this video though.

[@lunchexlizerd3927]

Barnes makes attackers like tal look cowardly

[@mmmmmm2619]

It was very sad for me that Mammedyarov was not on this list, but anyway. Maybe he does not meet the criteria to be here, despite winning more games than Fabiano Caruana in the game against Fabiano Caruana, which was in the legend section. It is also strange to put Judith Polgar in the section on the god of chess. What he said about the Polgar family also applies to the Mammadyarov family.

[@Obi-WanKannabis]

Hikaru above Karpov, that's a yikers.

[@daverowe1081]

6:02 Levy basically describes Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru's career trajectories from 202-2023 eerily well Ian is the consistently highly ranked player consistently competing for and losing the WCC Hikaru is the one who drifts from classical a bit and becomes more dominant in the blitz scene

[@Vanguardw]

I'm sorry, but Hikaru is legend tops, too many gods actually.

[@Lamb666]

Watch the full video before commenting

[@zicokahuroa3660]

@@Lamb666 Even with the twitch boom hikaru isnt a god of chess with the likes of fischer and carlsen. Legend for sure but god? nah

[@RP-kr2mg]

@@zicokahuroa3660 Watch the full video bruh. He moved himself to legend later. And imo if Fabi is legend according to him, then Hikaru is as well.

[@destux]

With that logic, you could also argue about anand, but they said themselves that their influence of the game also matters a lot, and hikaru did influence enough people to finish 2 succesful tournaments so...

[@theo7371]

I think Hikaru is above Levon and Fabi though. He is an Anand-level talent imo but unlike Anand he had Magnus in front of him his whole career and that made him give up on classical after a while.

[@Unrevealingexistence]

i would also like to see a list purely based on chess strength

[@adeshkantha7034]

Its on the fide website

[@EIIlast2791]

Agreed

[@adeshkantha7034]

@Immanuel Kant i would've ranked him great+unlucky ot legend

[@EIIlast2791]

Immanuel Kant most likely not given he already admitted if Magnus wasn’t there he would have potential of becoming world champion

[@Gilvids]

@@adeshkantha7034 lol was gonna say the same thing

[@mitchelldevore5958]

Listening to yall talk about Ding now that he is world champ is really heart warming. He's put so much work into the game.

[@captainphoenix]

The thumbnail is GLORIOUS and the editor has BALLS.

[@mustafasahin2157]

These thumbnails are legen.... dary

[@myspink]

But I'm lactose intolerant :(

[@mathematicaltricks8300]

Barney Stinson is happy..🙂

[@SunilSingh-zp9wu]

Legend has it that alot of the gods of chess are looking at the chessboard in their photos

[@ryvi6887]

I suggest we let that one marinate

[@cattycats4]

one look at Giri's wife will tell you he would definitely be in the category Lucky+Bastard lol

[@gamespotlive3673]

Bobby deserves first place because even outside of his country he's the face of chess all around the world.

[@masoudsakha9331]

Kasparov is much better. No comparison

[@disasterpiece7583]

dude there is no way hikaru ranks higher than alexander alekhine like wtf

[@noneofyourbusiness6269]

dude twitch lmaoo

[@nightcorequeen1074]

Bro u is big hater Hikaru is one of best ever top 5

[@disasterpiece7583]

@@nightcorequeen1074 hahaha ok fanboy... Hikaru is not even top 5 now. btw i like nakamura but i'm not stupid enough to think that he is better than some great chess legends

[@NoudvanHarskamp]

Nice to see Morphy seing ranked that high. He motivated me to play chess and started to love the game.

[@TheBilalblanco]

Nakamura is not God of chess, for sure. Levy put him there for his own benefits

[@luciancibu6877]

true

[@joshhfletchh4841]

@@luciancibu6877 he just went toe to toe with carlsen - the best ever.

[@RMF49]

Legend. Undisputed #1 you have to be #1.

[@marnix3437]

Disappointing and embarrassing but not from Levy Update: only now I see Hikaru rearranged the end of the video and put himself back to legend. Also happy to see him putting Carlsen in the top 3 despite the fact they're not friends. He won back my respect. There's a Dutch saying which translates to "Better to have turned half way than completely gone astray" which is perfectly applicable here.

[@lenks0]

Yeah, I can't even watch this series after that. Completely ridiculous. He was barely a top 10 player for a decade, and a bad ambassador. Rude and disliked by most people. Now he's barely top 20, and wants to be put in God category because just recently he's popular on twitch? Completely ridiculous.

[@Kraterlandschaft]

Hikaru 2020: Kramnik = God of Chess. Kramnik 2023: Hikaru = Cheater!

[@noname-rb8kk]

This one is goddamn funny 😂😂😂

[@Ripthatshitsfr]

Hikaru you made the choice to put me at God Status Levi: well I could move.... H: let’s just move on 😂😂😂

[@AAYLV]

Levy*

[@harshrajbasant]

Gothamchess simping for Hikaru just as the video starts😅

[@chou1767]

he is bias

[@EIIlast2791]

ch ou or he’s not? The metric they are using is the impact on chess combined with chess strength, levy even said if it not were for hikaru starting the boom he would not god tier instead maybe legend or unlucky great

[@harshrajbasant]

@@EIIlast2791 yes..but the reasons he mentioned like impact on US chess as compared to Wesley So and Caruana and being World no. 2 or being looked upon for becoming the next world champion arent the reasons that justify that...Caruana and Wesley had their own impacts...Caruana even was a challenger in 2018..he has been world no. 2 for as long as i can remember...Wesley on the other hand is an absolute gem in Fischer Random Games..so the reasons given by Gothamchess seemed pretty much forced....not that i am saying Hikaru is not one of the best ever..He absolutely is...specially in shorter time controls...but he cannot be placed on the same rank with say Anand or Magnus or Capablanca or Bobby(although later he puts himself in the legend category..so thats fine and who are we to judge anyway...we are just chess fans and not like some Super GM😅😂)

[@EIIlast2791]

harshraj basant yes I get all that but you have to understand what you mentioned is in terms of chess strength which is not really what Gotham was talking about he was talking hikarus contribtuitons to chess so if you think that’s a silly method then fine you should argue against that but that’s wasnt simping given he was just using a different metric

[@harshrajbasant]

@@EIIlast2791 i get that....in terms of contribution every chess player on that list has had some sort of impact...and that alone cant be the deciding factor...but yes..Hikaru is defintely a legend..and maybe 20 yrs from now it will be more apt to place him among the Gods..but i guess everyone has their own opinions..its all in good spirits...chess is bigger than that...(and simping was just a joke..sorry if that seemed inappropriate to you)

[@davidegallo2185]

I'm beginnin to feel like a chess god, chess god, all my pieces move all over the board, all the board...

[@valentinrafael9201]

I think Fischer said in an interview ( it’s on KZbin somewhere “ that he thought Morphy could beat anyone alive ( alive during Fischer’s time ) if he had access to their current theory. Also, Andersen, when asked why doesnt he play so briliant against Morphy, Andersen answered “Morphy wont let me” ( Morphy had a huge plus score against Andersen )

[@casdomdomcas5214]

morphy also studied Chess. Its like saying LeBron doesnt practice Basketball if Morphy didnt studied chess.

[@writamchatterjee4676]

Morphy studied with the best, time could offer him.

[@jamiedimond9419]

Naka definitely top 1000 of all time

[@Scientist93]

I'm surprised no one here has mentioned Geller even once... That guy was a razor-sharp legend, one of the greatest theoreticians of all time, and even had a positive score against Fischer! I think only his poor health ultimately prevented him from becoming a World Champ.

[@SunilSingh-zp9wu]

Legend has it that alot of the gods of chess are looking at the chessboard in their photos

[@jasetran2186]

"Hikaru Ranks Himself" - *proceeds not to do that*

[@dravendfr]

I love how quickly people went from laughing at Kasparov being put in theorist to them being triggered because you put him above Fischer, it’s an opinion people and a very well educated one at that.

[@bryantimothy8616]

"Fabiano, myself, and levon. All 3 of us would be world champion if it werent for Magnus's existence" 😆😆😆🤣🤣🤣 Edit: Timestamp: 2:10

[@sebastienkadoche4541]

Levon and Fabiano, sure, but I don’t agree with Hikaru putting himself in there, he’s never gotten close to winning the candidates, surely people like Karjakin, Mamedyarov... are above him in that respect

[@thelastkraken]

I would've put him right next to fabi heck he might be even great but unlucky

[@dominiks5068]

@@sebastienkadoche4541 the comment was simply delusional tbh. anyone who has followed classical chess for a few years knows that Hikaru was miles away from being a serious world championship contender. still a fantastic player though, obviously

[@sebastienkadoche4541]

theMoonrider actually yes, the video should be based off how good they were at classical chess, these are pro chess players, classical is the only thing at matters, especially back then when blitz was extremely irrelevant. This “popularising” chess shit is stupid when included in the conversation, these are pros and there job is to play the game, that’s it, they didn’t care about that stuff, does this mean that agadmator is a god of chess? He’s done more for popularising it than anyone? If we made a football tier list would we not put messi in god since he doesn’t have a KZbin channel where he tries to incite people to play football???

[@mohak2915]

So why couldn't he just win the candidates,atleast Karjakin and potentially Nepo/MVL qualified for the World Championship Match and they aren't even on the list

[@timothyhufker3565]

Agadmator explained nc3 in the opera game best: “qxb7 is a butchers move, but morphy was an artist”

[@sandeepwangde269]

I am incredibly partial to Tal. His sacrifices stun me every time.

[@NEO_FromTheMatrix]

Hikaru on the god list felt like the clown & soldiers meme 😂😂😂

[@frozenmoon998]

Hikaru: I am a LIVING legend, so put me in the Theorist category.

[@Op1asPharaoh]

I would say he is a legend for sure for all his contribution to the community of chess. He still needs to prove himself worthy against Magnus on a classical match to be considered a god of chess.

[@AAYLV]

Liston, a lot of player beat Magnus in classical chess. "God of chess" is beyobd "Legends". Nakamura simply doesn't belong there.

[@Myrslokstok]

Ask people on the streets and if they know someone it might be: 1) fisher 2) garry 3) magnus

[@rokanza2293]

True

[@Dippitydee]

@ef hbd Where I am from (former Soviet Union country) he is very well known. I think I can safely say that Bobby Fischer is one of the most famous players of all time according to people in CIS. I think part of it is due to the fact that he beat Soviets and also big part of it was due to his eccentric behaviour

[@IronResistance]

as someone who didnt like chess at all, only played a few games growing up for fun. The only chess player i'd ever heard of was Magnus. Maybe its my age group and that in the uk chess isnt everywhere. I remember something about a magnus chess bot at one time, then i learned about Hikaru when he didnt the collab.

[@masoudsakha9331]

it is maybe in the USA. In Iran, all know Kasparov, Karpov and Annand

[@shahidafridi528]

Depends on the country and continent

[@user-ym6lc7pk1e]

Hikaru a global ambassador to the game? Sometimes these KZbin heads never leave their channels and think that Earth rotates around them too much. Total respect to Hikaru.

[@mavon2147]

I feel like people that played during the Magnus era will be "Great but unlucky" based on skill alone, just how Hikari treats the number 2s in the past. But this list does incorporate impact, and yeah first big grandmaster to stream steadily, red bull sponsor, etc stuff.

[@florianm9693]

@@mavon2147 no one in Europe knows Hikaru while Carlsen is pretty well known imo. That Hikaru seems to have such a big impact is only due to the twitch and youtube bubble

[@gnikdroy]

@@mavon2147 Dude the guy doesn't have even a tenth of influence Bobby, Kasparov, Carlsen or Anand have. Anand changed the game's face for an entire country. And there is not a single chess player who doesn't know about Fischer, Carlsen and Kasparov.

[@Joe-og6br]

You could start saying Levy is god level chess because he has a massive channel of KZbin..... It's pure ability and record. Hikaru is legend at best.