Isle Of Man, Kramnik's New Blog, Hikaru VS Alireza in Candidates Showdown

The Isle Of Man Grand Swiss has finally started. The boys get talking about Kramnik's new blog, the difficulties of getting to Isle Of Man, and the upcoming fight for the last candidate spots. Enjoy!
The episode was filmed on 10.24.2023
#chess #fabianocaruana #cristianchirila #magnuscarlsen #hikarunakamura #chesspodcast #gothamchess #chessopenings #queensgambit

[@maniniescobar244]

Came for the chess, stayed for flights and prices

[@davidhale8034]

😂😂😂

[@boxofcans461]

You forget the baggage

[@jakeb.2990]

of course the prices are out of control, Americans have voted for a party that actively wants to thwart the consumption of energy in America and ran on that platform, and they also love the idea of phasing out ownership ("you will own nothing, you will have no privacy, and you will be happy") the international situation, in which I'm not going to debate responsibilities from that same people, only accelerates those process

[@Lonelypressplay]

20 seconds in, already hit the like button. Fabi's humility is so endearing.

[@samarthbhaganagare4926]

Fabiano caruana records at last 2 fide grand swiss 2019: Runner-up (tied for 1st place) 2021: Runner-up (2nd place) 2023 : loading...... the man,the myth,the legend, love you man 😍😍

[@flipina]

0:51 - Luggage debacle 5:06 - The Squeeze 7:21 - Fabi's Chessable course is live 8:04 - Chessable reviews 9:19 - Reviews for Anish Chessable course 10:27 - Spain trip before Isle of Man 11:55 - Hot new blog 13:17 - Boomer callout

[@andygrickman]

I actually found the discussion on airline issues and inflation very compelling. You guys are doing a great job.

[@martinhh763]

Fabi i see another 7-0 sinquefield cup run here at the grand swiss. You're in fantastic form, good luck!

[@Janet_Airlines802]

Fabi heating up just in time for Candidates, closing in on crossing 2800 again. So glad to see him Back in form.

[@sgc3594]

Christian's water bottle 🤣I don't think I could even lift that with one hand.

[@shouldersofgiants4649]

Looking forward to seeing Fabi in "All in podcast" discussing inflation suppression strategies

[@TheMg49]

Very interesting conversation, as usual. Thanks and thumbs up.

[@JohnPaulCauchi]

13:10 Fabi calling Vlad "a bit of a boomer" has to be one of the best moments of the C squared podcast ever hahahahha

[@austinmonroe3894]

💯😂😭

[@seanhunter111]

It’s great for chess that Fabi is getting back to something like his 2018 form. Also: the way to avoid lost luggage is to never ever check bags. Always take hand luggage. If you get to the gate and they won’t take your bag on the plane, gate check it. It’s not quite as good as hand luggage but it still goes on the plane you’re on.

[@MrSupernova111]

That doesn't work for travel that lasts 1+ weeks unless you wear the same clothes everyday and take very minimal equipment with you. Often times the airline forces you to check in the carry on luggage anyway.

[@seanhunter111]

I have taken trips in excess of 4months using this approach. You just need to pack thoughtfully and do laundry. I use a soft bag so never get asked to check in even on the smallest planes but as I said, if you do, gate checking is preferable to precheck in that you get your luggage back quicker and it doesn’t get lost. I have travelled literally millions of miles using this approach and only lost luggage on two occasions both times when I decided to precheck against my better judgment

[@MrSupernova111]

@@seanhunter111 . Those are good tips. But I think most of us will never have that level of efficiency. Otherwise, I fully agree and at least for shorter trips we should all be avoiding pre-check ins as much as possible.

[@baklavalover90]

I like that Fabi scrolls the chess subreddit and gets annoyed at randos in the comments. he's just like me fr

[@luckbeforeleap]

Fabi is my fav player-pundit combo. Love his takes on whats happening in chess. Would love to see him win the WC next time.

[@ChavaM88]

Looking at fabi the entire pod was like- POV: You're the guy who lost Fabi's luggage.

[@knivetsil]

Hats off to the editor for popping in those relevant headlines!

[@Sorare-m7p]

Thank you for the photo today Fabiano and Goodluck in the rest of the tournament

[@A.Autrix]

Hah, these photos are absolutely 🐈‍⬛ purrfect 😹

[@نوافرشيد-م8د]

Hopefully, Fabi's performance and his nearing goal of 2800 will inspire Magnus to refocus and reignite his passion for classical chess.

[@Engr.Strang3]

Exactly what I want to happen honestly

[@cherrycritmeu]

Carlsen's passion for classical chess is over. Infatuation is over.

[@tabletlenovo6443]

​@@cherrycritmeufat yo mama

[@golendorfjules1838]

@@cherrycritmeu because he has no competition, if fabi reaches 2850 or even 2820 but enough to be #1 in the next three months magnus would be jizzing on himself about classical chess, same reason he said no to WCC except if it were firou, he needs the challenge and he said (in private) there's absolutely no challenge from fabi or nepo

[@FellowHuman18]

Go Fabi! Next world champ.

[@cofics94]

17:49 Based on some quick research, I think the player Fabi was referring to as consistently destroying him online was Matthias Bluebaum. Checks all 3 boxes that he mentioned.

[@invincible_29]

I was looking for this comment. Interesting.

[@dragosbalan1738]

I also noticed this and found 3 matches in TT where he simply destroyed him...

[@Sunny-sh4cw]

I love how much yall have been posting 🎉

[@teyfel1]

Don't really understand how such a genuine and high quality blog has only got 55.9k followers (?) Many thanks for the honest discussions and superb analysis! Guys, your videos are just simply 5* outstanding. Good luck Fabi

[@qazedctgb19]

Some people only subscribe to the audio podcast

[@australopigreco4225]

Fabi can we get some reference of the games in the slav you were mentioning? I couldn't find the Duda Giri game and i'd be very interested in seeing it! Thanks a lot guys, great content

[@amitbikramroy25]

Guys can you please upload the podcast in google podcast soon? :') I would appreciate that😊

[@1grayalexander11]

Babe, wake up. New C squared!

[@pranavjoshi6396]

Was Christian wearing a C2 shirt. Is that merch available for us to purchase. If yes, where and if not, then when is it going to be available?

[@csqpod]

Stay tuned 😉

[@rtheben]

Thanks Christian and Fabi. That was the kindest rant ever

[@chadmacgargle5311]

Good to hear from you guys great episode and great game today Fabi!

[@KaizenLegacy]

The online cheating problem is pretty bad at virtual all levels and seems to have gotten significantly worse over the last 10 months or so. Before it was roughly 25%, but lately it seems the rapid pool (specifically in the 1800-2200 range) roughly 80% of players I run into are obviously not legitimate. I can only imagine what it looks like at the titled level when they have the opportunity to win some money.

[@Gush27]

I would put a link to the chessable course in the description or a pinned comment. Just a suggestion

[@shadowside8433]

The Isle of Man is a great hoilday destination - I played the British Championship there in 2005!

[@knivetsil]

20:55 Fabi: “I do kind of understand how chess works, a little bit” 😂😂😂

[@dumbocow]

The chessable course is fantastic for sure. It's probably going to get lower reception due to the fact that Ruy Lopez repertoire isn't as common for the intermediate/beginner level player (majority of chess players are here). But it is very useful for more advanced/master players.

[@ivo28182]

Thia podcast is so unbelievably good, it's incredible

[@TristramPagot]

You gotta love Fabi arguing with Reddit. Somehow it's endearing. I guess because most of us have already realized long ago that you can never win online.

[@haydenn680]

I purchased the course and returned it. I was always very interested in the opening and Fabi doing a course what a dream. Once I finished the QS guide I just realized the opening is much more complex than I realized. I feel like as a 1600 I dont A. see the Spanish enough (a lot of Italians) and B, most of the time OTB at a club level people aren't playing theory. Hopefully in the future I can become strong enough I can buy the course again.

[@TerriblyNice_Not]

The issue with airlines and airports is staffing. There are huge labour shortages (at least in Europe) for baggage handlers and other similar level work

[@c2c001]

Where do I find Kramnik's blog?

[@NotTheMaestro]

Cost of living crisis is a weird one, in the UK we're seeing crazy high prices, fuel has come down but its significantly higher than it was, its costing me £30 more each time I fill up. Utility bills are crazy high as is food, but here is where it gets weird. If I go shopping, it's crazy busy, like busier than it was pre-covid. Eating out is super expensive, even a KFC meal for 1 is £10, so you can easily spend £40 for food if there is a family of 4. So either people are feeling the effects of being locked down and simply do not care whether they run out of money, or they have saved up so much during this period they can still afford to spend.

[@sillagana]

"most of the best players in the world are here. hikaru is here" 🤣

[@Jo-mi9wd]

I think Fabi is talking about Matthias Bluebaum as the player who consitently beats him in TT without a chance.

[@Lukav1]

Why do you think it could be Bluebaum, just curious

[@Jo-mi9wd]

@@Lukav1 Fabi lost 4 times, drew 2 and only won 1 game against him. He fits a lot of the criteria he describes. Meanwhile Fabi won 5.5 - 2.5 against him in 2020 when Fabi was much weaker in blitz and Bluebaums rating stayed the same. Also if you look at Kramniks statistics about TT his name comes on top when ur looking for suspiciousness

[@stoutlager6325]

I went through the numbers using Fabiano's hints and, assuming his hints are accurate regarding OTB rating differences/online performance against Fabiano, I narrowed it to two names: Jose Alcantara Matthias Bluebaum Everybody else was eliminated based on TT record against Fabiano and OTB rating difference.

[@dragosbalan1738]

​@@Lukav1because in TT Msb2 is always top, the simple explanation in the last 2 world blitz was 70-90 places, I think it is quite clear that he does not have what it takes to be in the top 10 every time

[@Funnygooner10]

It’s a pleasure to listen to Fabi, he’s basically Danya-lite.

[@horacemoon7454]

does anyone know which player is Fabi talking about (the one that is mutch lower rated over the board but defeats him every time at titled tuesday since move 1?)

[@hellostranger2012]

Excellent camera angle Fabi😂

[@narcoticRL]

Much love to C-Squared team and congrats to Fabi for the latest performances. I am very happy for him

[@winrar42]

Fabi's my favourite American classical player. Still real chances to be a real world champion. Would love to see Fabi take it all down

[@vediboy22]

Anytime Cristian pulls up his barrel I want to call it, I just burst out laughing at the ridiculous look of it. So thank you for that (I get the practicality of it as well, dw)

[@GutsFreedom]

Gas is 4.75 for regular at a Chevron in Eugene, OR. If you go to Costco, it os 4.20 a gallon. Wages have not increased. I have no clue how line cooks etc are driving! Get prepared for some serious recession at best, depression more likely in the not so far future. One thing is for sure, Fabis rating will see huge inflation in the not so far future.

[@foraminutethere23]

Wages have increased a bit nationwide. Gas is Just under $4 near me. There's no way we're having a depression unless something insane happens worldwide like China fully collapsing

[@timg6125]

I think there are definitely fewer flights now, especially for less-used routes. Could not find any direct flights between Tokyo and Anchorage, Alaska for example. You have to fly to the west coast and then take another flight to Alaska. The pandemic gutted the airlines. They had to let lots of people go any many didn't come back because they found other jobs or retired, and the new people they hired to replace them are inexperienced. Or they're just trying to make do with fewer people.

[@dsrguru]

They didn't have to let them go. The US Congress gave airlines a ton of tax payer money in return for not laying people off. So they took a percentage of that money to offer early retirement bonuses so that they technically weren't violating the terms and then pocketed the rest of our money.

[@old_bayes2535]

I can't name a professional athlete who could get into that much detail about grocery store inflation

[@marcbarreiro9311]

Hikaru retracted himself in the talk with Hammer and Bok. He said he believes that around 20 players out of 500-550 cheat in Titled Tuesday, which is about 5% of players cheating. I think this is more realistic, although it's still a very serious problem. If we are talking about the percentage of players who have cheated at some point in any Titled Tuesday, even for a single move, then I agree that it's much higher.

[@seya_2]

Fabi cracking up was the best part

[@wreynolds1995]

I've been told that what's wrong with airlines nowadays is that a lot of them are functionally just credit card companies, i.e., banks, which happen to own some planes.

[@joallen2004]

Good Luck Fabi (: here’s to 2800 🍻🏆

[@Gabriel64468]

Funny intro, 1 in 3 might be a bit much, but he is the topseed by rating and his form is good (as in he has currently been gaining rating). Doubledigit % for him to win does sound right.

[@stoutlager6325]

Regarding betting odds, bookmakers just set the starting lines. After that it depends where the bets are being placed. It's not really a gauge of probability. It's more sentiment based.

[@elvisdelibashi9263]

Although I agree that rating incongruences are abnormal between blitz and OTB, we must consider that in my opinion there are some blitz and bullet specialists, aka Naroditsky, who is "only" rated like 2630 Fide but is constantly at the top of rankings in online blitz and bullet, and you can see in his videos that he beats top gms in bullet and blitz online, ie the match with Nepo, and the numerous matches with Hikaru where he is able to hold his own repeatedly on an even playing field.

[@fenderbender6763]

he isnt comparing between formats, you can play blitz and rapid otb

[@nemeczek67]

Fun fact: Airline luggage handlers are all those 2500 elo GMs who do well in Titled Tuesdays.

[@tommyh5540]

Great episode, always worth watching and listening. I would have appreciated Christian asking Fabi about his mindset and ambition for the IOM event, as he is already qualified for the Candidates and need not have an amzing event to make it there, like eg. Hikaru and Alireza. I do understand the prize money is very good too, so just casually playing "something" is surely not an option.

[@charlesdarwin1040]

Came here to see a documentary on frogs and toads' mating season, very disappointed to find instead a high quality podcast ! 1-star review.

[@TheRMMFilms]

I fully believe everything fabi is saying. But for the case of atleast one or two people who are beating him online, is it possible they have bad anxiety playing over the board that affects their play but online they have a bit more confidence?

[@aarongull5]

Not an attack of Fabi, big fan of his, but did he (and maybe others) have an unfair advantage using engines and processors that are not available to eveyone?

[@frankeytiansong7345]

Go fabi win Grand Swiss... U are the greatest player in classical now that Magnus retired

[@3rdEarlRussell]

My impression is that bookmakers aren’t basing their results on any hard data, it’s an aggregate of subjective credences. Some bookmakers certainly look at hard data (statistics) and extrapolate to an estimate of an objective chance however betting markets just aggregate subjective credences.

[@FMMilanJocev]

17:52 Is that player Bluebaum?

[@KyleHarrington]

You can see the variations list on the course homepage of any Chessable course, people should know what they're dropping their $$$ on lol. If they don't, that's on them.

[@asdf_asdf948]

I do think there is some possibility of "internet blitz specialists" in the sense that they train specifically their hand-eye coordination and mouse speed/accuracy... plenty of games are lost due to flagging or mouse slips so that you could conceivably achieve a substantial rating difference between otb and online chess. But the manner in which you won those games wouldn't be by playing better quality chess moves.

[@smwg4187]

discussion on opening prep and that Slav line near the end of the video

[@bobing1752]

9:30 WTF??? Christian is drinking off of a full barel of water 😂😂

[@peterweible7445]

correction for Fabi: Hikaru said he estimated there were 20-25 players cheating in any given titled tuesday event so 5% of active players in the tournament.

[@boxofcans461]

Nice catch

[@AnHonestDoubter]

Naka also said he thought it was closer to 25% of players cheating in TT.

[@dark_magician_sdy]

Lets go Fabi 🇺🇸 🎉

[@hellostranger2012]

We want that water bottle as merch on your website Christian

[@felixhinz3804]

had the same with the luggage twice in the last weeks, it's crazy. You can go shopping on Airline costs if it'a delayed

[@ritikhans372]

Already won the first game and good luck for 2800 and next game that is today

[@idfx1000]

Fabi discovering the extent of human stupidity is cute.

[@rickdynes]

I find myself hoping these 2 Really ARE good friends😂 I don't know why exactly .... it's just Very important to me..

[@thoimaisnam2670]

19:55 who is Fabi refering to when he says a player 200 ratings lower than him destroys him everytime in Titled Tuesday?? any genius here?

[@zakil25]

Chess needs to get bigger. Fabi is huge, he has been in the top for over a decade, he shouldn't be worried about ticket prices and airline chananigans. How could you, I've experienced a 4h delay couple of weeks ago and I was completely non functional the next day due to a combination of anger and fatigue. Imagine having a top level classical tournament.

[@ravivaradhan4956]

The airlines fiascos are mainly due to the hiring of low-quality employees after COVID.

[@PeteGriffiths_petegrif]

Fabi might want to consider using a concierge luggage service

[@vcliburn]

The conversation between Fabi and Christian (two non-economist, "normal people" who just happen to be chess grandmasters) about rising prices, inflation, the ever-increasing cost of living...food, gas, transportation, housing, real estate, etc., is so REAL. Thanks to the government's so-called "Build Back Better" economic act of 2021.

[@toodle361]

C squared love it❤

[@DKarkarov]

"These reddit people are so irritating..." The most true thing that has ever been said on this podcast.

[@michaelflaherty3202]

I tried the pocket casts version and it was corrupted.

[@harryh2185]

Preparing an opening in just 3 days with all the details? No way ...

[@pierQRzt180]

Couldn't strong players with integrity simply do like Oscar Panno vs Fischer (1970) in the title tuesday, to signal the idea "I am not playing against you, have the win" ?

[@weedydays5718]

i really like fabiano because of his humble views generally. but here i am not sure. maybe i missunderstood, and i dont want to draw conclusions therefore. but IF i got it correct, what fabiano was saying, then basically i could name now a couple of professional chess players which are in his views (if i got it correct) cheaters. for example, bortnyk oleksander, denis lazavik, sergei zhigalko and i could name a few more actually... i dont need iuri shkuro :))))))

[@hylen26]

On prep: You just have to remember it. Oh is that all? 😉

[@joshuacrompton6974]

Let’s go Fabi!

[@NotPabu]

Great performance today Fabi!

[@mothecat776]

GUYS.. Rating DOESN'T count, you need to play at least 4 Fide Circuit events (at standard time control) READ THE FIDE RULES.....

[@mcgyverkinlock3006]

Is the course for someone like me 650 rating..

[@Flubbydubbydoodoo]

I just bought the course!😀

[@coswalddirthmire3685]

It makes me wonder if the reddit commentor who mentioned "online specialists" is a low level casual player like myself. Even the Clash of Clans stylized board that Chesscom had for a while was frustrating because it's incredibly difficult for me to calculate without a board, and somewhat difficult on a board that I'm not familiar with. It should be obvious that even mid-rated players don't have that problem, let alone those at the levels being discussed here.

[@michaelf8221]

If there's no such thing as a blitz specialist, what is Fabi's opinion on Daniel Naroditsky? Isn't he clearly much stronger in time controls

[@WilsonMagna]

He hadn't addressed any of the arguments people made. Blitz is about fast short calculation and intuition, which are skills devalued in classical.

[@hosiahjones]

Bullet is it's own animal, mouse speed and premoves are paramount. Let's say it like this, blitz is closer to classical than bullet is to blitz.

[@Lukav1]

Fabi was talking about there not being such a thing as ONLINE blitz specialist, he also said that the people play 200 points higher compared to their OTB BLITZ rating. There will obviouslly be people who are better in blitz than in clasical, but no one will be 200 real rating points stronger in online blitz compared to OTB blitz.

[@MiszuFiszu]

@@Lukav1 exactly, beat me to it! He wasn't comparing Blitz vs Classical (where obviously you can specialize in one and not the other, Fabi himself would know after the 2018 WC tiebreaks), he was saying Online Blitz vs OTB Blitz. And from what I understood him, when referring to play level discrepancies, he was always, from the very start, comparing apples to apples (i.e. OTB Blitz to Online Blitz, not Classical to Blitz)

[@liamcassidy7251]

Yeah but Eric Hansen is 2560 in OTB blitz but one of the best players online. I was hoping Fabi would adress this because he only mentioned Hikaru as an example that someone would be good at both but neglected to mention some streamers excel online like Hansen or Naroditsky

[@steveperryman8102]

Remember when they called Fischer paranoid for implying the Russians were colluding to exclude him? How things have changed. "Paranoia" is now rife among the top players. It's surely going to impact on their results if they are consumed by this issue

[@michaelflaherty3202]

Fischer was correct btw.

[@robertbaskin5508]

Actually the Slav Line Fabi mentioned has been recommended by Avrukh in his Slav book back in 2015-16😂

[@deefuri]

Who is Fabi talking about that destroys him in TT?

[@e4jasperi]

Voldemort.

[@Joen-bb1vy]

Msb2

[@Speedster___]

There was one time NM Rob Ramirez (great KZbin channel!) got matched with Kramnik and it was drawn yet got reported for cheating despite being a very stale position from his main reputaiore. If Kramnick reports gonna need a double check

[@seinundzeiten]

maybe you can try the black Ruy Lopez

[@crazymulgogi]

Basically Fabiano is arguing for chess960.