Magnus Carlsen's Mind-Blowing Memory! World Chess Champion tested

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen is put to the test by English Grandmaster David Howell! How many games can he recognise? Please note the Kasparov-Karpov game should show USSR flags for both players.
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#MagnusCarlsen #Chess

[@resarfekim]

Sometimes when I take a shower, I can't remember if I shampooed my hair yet.

[@HenningFla]

Hahaha! 👍

[@afifaziz23]

🤣🤣🤣

[@MJMS88]

Hahaha thank the heavens I have come across this comment. I do that all the time.

[@KillerInstinctCS2]

We are level 1 crook, magnus is level 99 boss so its not even close

[@rubyrose49]

Bruh

[@escaperoomleander1948]

"This is a game from the World Championships in 2045." "That game hasn't been played yet." "Time is not a straight line."

[@adsadsaddFQ]

🤣🤣🤣

[@soothingseas]

LOOOOL

[@roshi4401]

"It just hasn't happened in your timeline yet"

[@thereddevillzz3196]

Times more like a big ball of like timey wimey stuff

[@Malt454]

"Do you think I win because I play forward in time, or because I come back through time?"

[@romilrh]

If a FICTIONAL movie character had this kind of memory, I'd call it unrealistic. This is insane

[@DeJay7]

Ong

[@zackfisher2803]

Spencer Reid has entered the chat.

[@hassaki9879]

He cheated there is lot of players that use the petroff how did he knows in the opening

[@SondreGrneng]

I have literally called out amateur novelists for stuff like this.

[@littleoldmanboy]

@@hassaki9879 Moron

[@chadwildclay]

Magnus: has a photographic memory Me: needs to take a photograph to remember where I parked my car

[@Stompii01x]

🤣

[@timanderson6005]

I need to take a photo of the car to check it's the right one when I manage to track it down....

[@benjamingroves1703]

Great shout though, definitely taking a picture of my spot next time I'm in a large carpark 😂

[@PolarVR]

Yoo, I remember you! Project Zorgo and stuff.

[@whatever-wn1nk]

😆

[@Andersella]

Carlsen never rents a movie twice, he just grabs popcorn and close his eyes

[@bigchestflex]

hahahaha

[@lokegrnbech1878]

sry :( i gave like nr 70

[@owenpalmer8242]

yessss

[@slayinmyself4564]

shit this is funny xD

[@NYNANONI]

Lmaooo

[@NeonShadowsx]

"This is the 24th game from Seville, obviously." Obviously.

[@galderorobengoasanvicente4174]

That´s a very famous chess game. In Spain it had an audience of 12 million people on TV. For a chess fan interested in chess history it´s not so difficult. Kasparov needed to win to retain the title. The game was adjourned and Kasparov quietly tied up Karpov´s pieces.

[@carnage5350]

@@galderorobengoasanvicente4174 ok magnus

[@timopheliac18]

Any base level Android should know this…..

[@greggae2735]

Totes obvi

[@ALIGHTFORTHEWORLD]

@@galderorobengoasanvicente4174 Knowing about the game is not hard. Remembering it by seeing a fucking board position is not something many could dream of doing.

[@AA_21861]

One of the interesting things about Chess is that the current best player in the world is almost always the best player of all time. This is because the current players are not only playing with their skills, but also their memories of older games and historical players. As time moves ahead, the players themselves become better and better than their predecessors by remembering and improvising on their predecessors' games.

[@unsaturated8482]

evolution you say. aight

[@TheGuyCalledX]

Well, to be the best today, that will not be enough. You must also familiarize yourself with Leela and Stockfish.

[@woutkoopman]

I don't think that's a correct assessment. Having less available knowledge doesn't equate being less good. I would reckon that if a top player from 100 years ago was in his peek form today, he would be equally as good, cause he too has this extra knowledge. Therefore a player 100 years ago was not less good, he had less available knowledge. People nowadays are not smarter than anytime throughout history, they just knew less. If you could send any regular person alive today back in time with their modern knowledge, they would very likely not fare better than the people of those days.

[@Kyrieru]

​@@woutkoopman It's just a semantics argument. An engineer that knows all available engineering technology is still a better engineer than one that "could" know it but doesn't. If we have to take into account potential, then the best player is probably someone who has never played chess before.

[@goshagachechiladze4931]

@@woutkoopman Not a biggest chess fan actually, but as i understand it with time the competitive and innovative side of the game moves further from the beginning of game because of well researched debutes and midspiel... so the idea of current best player being best in entire chess history is kind of tricky thesis. In terms of winning against players from earlier times of course kasparov or karlsen would win against lasker for example, but if we will try to measure the dominant force of one player in his peak moment in a state of chess this player is playing magnus probably wouldn't be on top. Btw this discussion can be extrapolated to other sports like football for example, where the dominance of pele in his times is undoubtful, but if the whole brazilian world cup squad of 1958 or 1962 would play against modern team from the middle of scoreboard in seria A like torino it would be an equal game with an unpredictable result.

[@poly_hexamethyl]

The one I found most interesting was how he recognized the position from the Harry Potter film. Unlike the others, this isn't one he would have encountered in the course of his professional study. But that he remembered it just shows that he must completely remember every chess position he's ever seen, whether "real" or not.

[@faridsalam9521]

Scary don't you think? Imagine he used it for some twisted ideology

[@aiden5457]

He is a professional chess player. I bet he was paying attention to the board while he watched it. There was a chess game in one porno and someone directly commented about how someone did an illegal move 💀💀

[@GuitarSlayer136]

Or, he can tell from the board that the skandenavian was played and knew that Harry potter has a skandanavian played because he noticed that when he saw the film and connected the dots.

[@lopns3297]

@@aiden5457 bruh 💀

[@aiden5457]

@@lopns3297 no cap

[@ryanjacob1881]

Magnus is the kind of guy that never forgets why he came into a room

[@LucyPero]

hey i wouldn't go THAT far.

[@rjjhh443]

Thats sooo deep

[@Rhacman]

He forgets, but just replays time since the big bang and arrives at an answer fast enough to conceal that he initially forgot.

[@mba4677]

@@Rhacman lmaaooo

[@chriskoszyk4255]

This is a gold comment

[@gunders85]

Magnus once played ten lawyers at Harvard simultaneously, blindfolded. After the match he was talking to one of the attorneys, who said he regretted not taking notes of the moves, now being unable to show his game to his friends at the bar and the library. Magnus then proceeded to tell the guy all the moves that were made in their game

[@ASHStudios]

I need to see the clip!

[@gunders85]

​@@ASHStudios kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWK1o2eLppaFY6s

[@Magsnu]

@@ASHStudios there is probably not a clip because he could just have shown his friends that…

[@carlosprieto2231]

So is Magnus Chuck Norris?

[@gunders85]

@@carlosprieto2231 The Chuck Norris of brainpower

[@eXtrem1s]

Its not just the memory that is astonishing, its the obsession to watch and learn every single game in history of chess to become better that only a world champion can possess

[@billybo4996]

Kinda like Milos Raonic studying old tapes of Pete Sampras

[@jeppe7275]

@@billybo4996 No mate, Raonic is a one dimensional serve bot...

[@teeemm9456]

When I play against the computer on medium difficulty, I'm just trying not to get angry at it for being a bastard, I can't remember any moves from the game.

[@variousmentalproblems]

The last round made the exact opposite impression on me. He would not have deliberately studied the Wizard's Chess game from Harry Potter. Having seen a position, it "costs" him very little to recognize and recall it. He might not even be that obsessed. Everyone at his level is already obsessed and hardworking, and there are only so many hours in a lifetime to accumulate practice. Massive, frequent competition at a global scale eventually selects for physiological adaptations that can't be replicated with hard work.

[@alvaropeneda6992]

Every gm does this

[@nikn2734]

He ironically tweeted “They know it’s my job right?” as if its okay to have a brain like an engine.

[@muhammadreyaaz808]

Why wouldn’t a grandmaster who is in the industry his whole life not know famous games?

[@josephc.3192]

@@muhammadreyaaz808 I mean, this is still pretty damn impressive. Even for a super GM.

[@salumtummundi9462]

@@josephc.3192 that's coming from a 1000 so yeah

[@nikn2734]

@@muhammadreyaaz808 Are you sure the games were famous ones? He regocnizes the position, names the players, then continues with the following moves, mentions the year and you ask why? This is much more impressive than you imagine!

[@muhammadreyaaz808]

@@josephc.3192 no it isn’t lol.

[@ScienceDayYT]

Howel touches a pawn. Carlsen: It's definitely Anand.

[@jimbig3997]

Right how could he know after two moves?!

[@larslosh5598]

@@jimbig3997 Because its a famous game and the way Howell asked the question :)

[@keedt]

@@jimbig3997 it's practically the only petroff where something exciting (in this case a colossal blunder from anand) happens in the first 15 moves

[@iJuce]

😂😂😂

[@jayjones9125]

Brilliant!

[@DizKord1600]

I would have thought this was unrealistic if I saw a character do this in a chess movie/show.

[@comwiz06]

Now let Carlsen play that character. The most realistic movie ever

[@edmontonboy99]

Now you know it’s possibly realistic, and now I wanna write a genius chess character who can tell what game it is just from looking at a position.

[@Growlizing]

Same

[@jinnbankok7358]

@@edmontonboy99 He remember every chess patterns he played and then defeated the most powerful chess engine.

[@androsp9105]

Matthew Grey Grubler's character in criminal minds doesn't seem so exaggerated now.

[@mikkaboy]

Magnus watches 4 chess moves: Knows time, place and players involved. Me watches 4 chess moves: Can't remember whose turn it is next.

[@heydudewhatsupdudethatsgre7788]

That one was a little hard to believe, unless those two made that opening famous but idk seemed like a kinda common first 4 moves combination

[@OccamsTazer]

@@heydudewhatsupdudethatsgre7788 He got it beacuse of the way the question was phrased, there was one game where Anad blundered horribly in a Petroff. And if you start playing thorugh an opening and ask for the black side and play a Petroff, it's going to be Zapata-Anand in 99% of all cases.

[@heydudewhatsupdudethatsgre7788]

@@OccamsTazer I looked into that game. I guess it makes sense now, even though the Pertroff defense is famous, the obvious answer would be Anand’s blunder. Appreciate the response big dawg 🙌🏽

[@joelhaaland2639]

Great comment !

[@tuneboyz5634]

its ok little Mika :)

[@TANGENT-io4wk]

You can tell this level of recollection is completely effortless for him, he recognizes the position and the time he first came across it almost instantly. His memory really is superhuman, I wonder if anyone's ever studied him to see what his limits are. We saw that he's also naturally god tier on games like geo-guesser as well.

[@ihatesnickersTSD]

Consider, he only has to remember like less than 20 positions to make you impressed. There is only one tournament that they study and remembering a few games per year isn not that hard if it is your job and passion. Not saying he is not impressive, it's just not that big of a feat to remember stuff.

[@sre911]

its not that hard lmao yeah right this man can play over 10 chess game at the same time blindfolded, what are you talking about @@ihatesnickersTSD

[@azazelorb6374]

@@ihatesnickersTSD Wdym only one tournament? Bro are you out of your mind? HAHAHAH I will bet my life that you will never ever be able to memorize 100 games including the players who played the match and exact year. Even in one month I guarantee you that lmfao. Bro said "isn't that hard" lmfaooo even if it's your job it is hard. Stop being delusional, even a poem you made, you barely memorize it in 1 day. Someone being able to do that doesn't mean it's easy for him lol it takes skill and talent to be able to do what he is doing.

[@fejesjoco]

Veritasium has a video on it.

[@stephenwilberrealtor6902]

I love how David is so humble while being a fabulous chess player himself. He’s also very insightful in his chess match commentary

[@patrickjmt]

two moves into a petroff: it must be anand

[@metroman9964]

Yow! My favorite KZbin math teacher is here

[@zaksmith1035]

I was stunned by that. I still can't figure it out.

[@guiladshmaya1]

I think it's the game Anand thought for almost 4 minutes out of his 5 on one move

[@chiroo2]

exactly :) like there aren't millions of games beginning like that, whatever he said you could say naaaah you wrong, and pick any other game.. rigged

[@allahm-ast3mnlywlatstbdlny164]

mashallah tbark allah alhamdulillah inshallah better astaghfirullah

[@randybailin4902]

1. e4 Carlsen: "Fischer-Spassky 1972. Fischer was wearing a beige shirt. He had 3 eggs for breakfast, wheat toast and a glass of apple juice. He sneezed 4 times on the drive to the game."

[@juancpgo]

"masturbated before the game to relax.. but unfortunately couldn't concentrate enough to finish it, so came to the game with a boner.."

[@dmv118]

This is like a Sherlock Holmes analysis.

[@kyriacosstavrinides893]

"Blamed the Jews for something or other"

[@tubeyoukonto]

Dude, your comment made me laugh more that some comedy videos I have already forgotten about.

[@artpak2761]

Logan Paul sneeze 3 times

[@colesmith7230]

It’s crazy how many different topics of things people are into, to this depth. You have chemists who can look at a reaction and name it out of what seems like no where but they just clearly have dedicated their lives to knowing a lot. And on the opposite side of the spectrum you have people like this who love Chess so much they read books about historic game boards and can literally name them? People are amazing.

[@willch.2259]

Don't talk about chemistry, I've got exams in a few weeks' time wishing I had half of Magnus' memory

[@all-caps3927]

He is truly one of a kind - an absolute master of his craft. Genius.

[@jarglee4471]

Top chess genius among the chess geniuses.

[@muratbock1268]

Imagine him being a witness in court

[@CSRookie]

he must know where Jimmy Hoffa is buried

[@HASHHASSIN]

@@CSRookie classic, good one!

[@win-64]

Bad luck for the criminal

[@pompeythegreat297]

@@win-64 Maybe bad luck for Magnus

[@kimaboe]

How this would actually go: Defense attorney: Did you see my client on the morning of June 5th? Magnus: No, but I did see a very interesting material sacrifice by Firo in the rapid against So that day. Knight to e5 takes, the continuation was rook to d8 check. I was a point up, so I only needed a draw to secure a win, but it was impressive play by Alireza.

[@trader9926]

When Magnus walks into a room, the room forgets why he walked in there.

[@unemployeddude704]

lmao underrated comment

[@adsadsaddFQ]

🤣🤣

[@Personal-jr9rn]

underrated true

[@NTayls80]

When Chuck Norris walks into a room, it is actually the room that enters Chuck Norris

[@AndreaIppolitoIppo]

Lol this is gonna give birth to all kind of Magnus based memes. Magnus is the new Chuck

[@timrthoward7007]

It's pretty amazing that a prodigy of his level grew up this charismatic

[@enzocicchinelli8974]

Magnus Carlson might have more chess games memorized then I have memories

[@vibovitold]

here's a thing to remember, his name is Carlsen, not Carlson

[@MrJeffrey316]

Absolutely astounding! I can't even comprehend being able to do this. Excellent!!!

[@alexdominguez1905]

“I’m going to show you some historical chess positions…” Magnus: “It’s Anand.” “I haven’t set up the board yet.” Magnus: “…” “You’re right.”

[@Drepano]

That was what made me think this is a setup. They were 4 moves in. 4. In just the recent 20 years that position has been reached by pros hundreds of times. So how can he recognize the game if there are lots of games with that opening? This video is for who has never played chess or followed competitive chess

[@bluecocacola]

@@Drepano the word historical is a big hint (for Magnus) so it must be something that is remarkable and etched in history

[@darrena5384]

@@Drepano yeah it’s a famous game in the petrov where the game was over in 6 moves. So because Magnus new it was probably going to be a big game he just assumed it was that one

[@mugiwara-no-luffy]

@@Drepano it's mostly a guess and the fact that the previous game was also an Anand game helped him to guess that it's another Anand game featuring those moves

[@ythehunter755]

It was helped by historic and mostly that he only wanted to hear the black player name which indicated it wasn’t from a big tournament/a big name on the white side

[@preetamdasgupta7261]

Magnus is the only guy to out-remember his wife during an argument.

[@comfibold]

Then she would checkmate him with a divorce. Game over.

[@samhandwhich743]

I'm sorry but that's impossible

[@sineowl443]

him: yea yea remember that one time i bought you a pair of gucci shoes, on oct 12th, 2015 at 2:00 pm? and you still complained how your friends' shoes are better? Her: remember how you don't love me enough to spend a quarter of the time with me that you spend playing that DAMN board game? him: honey its not just a board game, its how i put food on the table her: yea and this is not just some papers, its divorce papers! ....and im taking the kids and the dog

[@2008hellhammere2008]

haha.. this comment is so underrated

[@Geotubest]

Brilliant comment.

[@GodAboveAll777]

What an amazing down to Earth person, insanely intelligent, sociable, he is a role model for many youth. Keep doing what you do best Magnus!

[@sigmundjung936]

Dude your name..

[@ConnectingAnswers]

This is a great example of what it actually takes to be great at chess.

[@Shaboops]

Having this kind of memory must be absolutely agonizing when it comes to remembering your own losses at high stakes. Would keep me up at night.

[@mpatrice]

This man is unbelievable.

[@Kay-jg6tf]

@@ayg7348 "You are so funny"

[@kyozotakeo283]

Believe it

[@It-s-me-P]

Magnus is awesome, but every player from the top 200 would easily know this

[@dattebayo2000]

@@ayg7348 Using gay as an insult huh?

[@mpatrice]

@@It-s-me-P A random guy on internet disrespecting Magnus Carlsen, probably the most talented chess player ever... people is funny out there.

[@RunDaChansey]

David Howell is a Grandmaster top 200 player himself, and is blown away by Carlsen's memory.. just let that sink in

[@La_sagne]

yeah.. dude is a freakin 2700 himself.

[@vibovitold]

he used to be in the top 50 but he kind of gave up, went to uni etc.

[@akashneel2888]

Dabid had to see the position of the match to set up the board in which he beat Carlsen whereas Carlsen remembers the game in the adjacent table. It's wild!!!

[@CherryMosley]

@@vibovitold hes number 56 in the world right now

[@guillaumelagueyte1019]

Even by super GM standards, Magnus Carlsen's memory is incredible. And not only his memory of chess games.

[@Yamagatabr]

Actually the most impress for me is the "is it from a bullet game I played?" Wich could have flashed to a similar position, or if it was online, someone could have tried those moves against him just for fun... on a totally casual random match. Does he forget any game that he ever saw in his life??

[@hekimasarive2854]

this Guy probaply remebers what his mother ate every day when she was pregnant with him

[@elleveldy]

He probably knew it was a very famous game from context, and maybe that narrowed it down sufficiently after a couple of moves?

[@voaneves]

@@elleveldy still ultra goddamn impressive tho

[@covertmediocrat]

"Her"

[@azathothcraft4995]

photographic memory, there is no other explanation

[@Adwik_Mishra]

He even remember how he was ma- sry went too far

[@wingsfan233]

His brain has been literally built around processing a chess board since his childhood.

[@oldfrend]

chess is basically a moving IQ test. i bet carlsen's IQ is way above genius. practice (memorizing past games and openings) is only half the battle. you have to be a genius to be among the very top chess players. unless your opponent is really bad, once you get past the mid game it's all about creativity and who can branch predict the deepest.

[@libertas12]

@@oldfrend Carlsen has it all to be a great chess player, but memorizing positions is probably the biggest part of it. He remembers similiar positions and knows what to do.

[@JMS1089]

I've always assumed chess was associated to high visual-spatial intelligence but it's not. Kasparov did an IQ test for a magazine in 1987, and he scored genius level in verbal and arithmetic skills, but below child's level in picture thinking. Its possible even Bobby Fischer had the same thing going on, because he admitted that he could not do blind fold simuls. Visual-spatial intelligence works well with working memory and fast thinking (imo heuristics using just context), but does not help with sequential thinking. If I had to take an educated guess, I think Magnus is a more well rounded genius. Maybe slightly less in verbal intelligence then kasparov, but significantly higher in visual spatial. Might explain why Magnus can't give a clear answer to why he comes up with his chess moves. Just an interesting FYI I've come across.

[@cole4832]

I read his iq was in like the 190 range or something which would be one of the highest of all time but not sure how accurate it is, tho wouldn't surprise me...

[@augustedupin9576]

@@cole4832 well, I don't think he ever took an IQ test.

[@Summanininruhu]

so humble we do not even realize how great he is.

[@patrickdwyer320]

lol, humble, Carlson, sure

[@Aliensarethinking]

This is incredible! A living genius amongst us today

[@motomoto7721]

Nobody’s gonna know how lil Timmy got those likes yikesss

[@meenakshidhabhai5448]

🤣 true

[@MrSatchelpack]

This generally does not work with a significant other. You can have perfect recall, but you'll somehow still be wrong.

[@maxxtechnique3997]

@@MrSatchelpack facts

[@jmsantander1]

He should know better that playing the old memory opening could result in him being down a queen very quickly.

[@top.secret000]

HAHAHAHA

[@user-kr3lh6ch7o]

Aside from the unbelieveble memory he has, Magnus has developed his social skills remarkably well.

[@Qwerty123zzuy]

Yeah he really progressed in the last 5 years

[@dannydonnelly8198]

@@Qwerty123zzuy I think it has more to do with his ability to converse in English improving not necessarily his social skills.

[@Qwerty123zzuy]

@@dannydonnelly8198 no his english is still trash...his behavior improved as he interacted with many more people.

[@hristiyanhristov2480]

@@Qwerty123zzuy Chill daddy, his English is nowhere near trash.

[@Qwerty123zzuy]

@@hristiyanhristov2480 it is

[@DS-uy6jw]

They did a memory test on the world's best chess players. They showed them a board very briefly and then asked them to reconstruct it. Then they created some impossible positions and they were quite bad at it. It tells you a lot about how memory works, since they clearly aren't seeing where all the pieces are. They are seeing most of them and then rebuilding the rest. It's the same reason that eye witnesses are so unreliable. We see what we expect.

[@guillaumelagueyte1019]

If a position is plausible, then they will understand how the position came to be and they can summarize it quickly and adjust the details (e.g. Najdorf Sicilian, exchange sacrifice on c3, then pawn race on each side), I suppose that's why it's more difficult to remember a made up position, because you have to remember each piece and pawn individually. Personally I like to try and remember positions after seeing them briefly but I'm not experiences enough to be able to remember the opening and the moves that lead to it, but I found that it's easier to remember the pawn structure and then the positions of the pieces in relation to the pawns. It's useless as I'm not even playing or studying chess seriously, but it's funny

[@0106johnny]

Yep. That's also why he remembers the Harry Potter position, because they had an actual professional advisor create whole plausible game which was then used for the movie scenes

[@jasonkoch3182]

I remember the post game 6 press conference when Magnus was told it was the longest game in WC history and he names the game and starts reciting a line. This after he just played a brutal 8 hour game himself.

[@filmlak-1880]

Magnus Carlsen is the real source for Agadmator when he says "and it was at this position we have completely new game".

[@adamwasowicz2027]

"...captures captures"

[@youngminds2384]

Feel free to pause the video

[@JohnMushitu]

It was in this position, on move "X", that the players agreed to a draw

[@devasurya4952]

"Hello everyone and welcome to another great game between...

[@remigiochilaule1961]

Some nasty discoveries here

[@clarksteelman137]

"When Howell brought back memories of me finishing behind Nepo 19 years ago I started to take the World championship-game in november personally"

[@thelast9112]

Lol but i think he really should tho nepo has good record againts him in classical chess

[@cr35t23]

Change seriously to personally.

[@muddelmeu2771]

@@thelast9112 But like Dubov said their matches where played when both of them were "kids". It will definitly be interesting who will win when this much is on the line.

[@yudistiraliem135]

@@thelast9112 nepo has good record on any time format. They just rarely met because Nepo didn’t play solid so most of their game are not important matches, if you exclude it all Nepo has positive result against Magnus

[@videostar75]

Nice reference

[@2jam]

19 Years and he still remember it. i even forgot, where my remote after change my position while watching TV

[@harishkumarh8349]

I think magnus is a hardworker because he analyse everygame. His knowledge about each game is amazing.

[@unousuck4613]

I cant remember one entire game to save my life

[@TheWayofGrace89]

Hell no, me neither

[@Kay-jg6tf]

I can actually remember a whole game Super GM level, Carlsen-Nakamura double bongcloud! i know, impressive :)

[@AccountTill]

For that matter😋, I remember a lot of top level games though, They are Berlin and bongcloud draws though.

[@garvitkalra9123]

@@AccountTill I mean if you ask me to recreate the berlin draw, i know for sure that i am still gonna mess it up even though i have seen it so many times. -A 1400 chesscom player.

[@rickyeska1]

I can't even remember which piece goes where

[@somtovitus]

This guy deserves his title.

[@thanhnguyencong-vk4vv]

@@yehiafathy2465 lost what exactly

[@SiiiiUuUuUuuuuUuuuU9999]

the world title is decided in november lol

[@ninjai5527]

@@yehiafathy2465 this guy is probably new to chess and doesnt know how the world championship title works

[@detectivemarkseven]

@@ninjai5527 🤣

[@throfur3489]

@@yehiafathy2465 Well this didnt age well

[@_Brennus]

Incredible. If you pick up the pieces, I can't even put them back where they were from memory.

[@ivanscottw]

Capablanca was also renowned for this. He could remember every game he played, even the casual ones.

[@secretagentkay5670]

Magnus is the type of guy who’s computer saves files on his mind.

[@Walterwaltraud]

Whose (a mistake Magnus wouldn't make, despite being Norwegian ;-))

[@aboogie797]

They're going to name the next big computer server the "Magnus" lol

[@martinc.720]

"Magnus, who is computer" - That would explain a lot of things

[@mosialive]

🤣🤣🤣 That's funny.

[@hindenburg1596]

@@Walterwaltraud 🤓🤓🤓

[@brothertone4442]

You know you love chess when you remember the moves from a random Harry Potter movie that’s insane.

[@FBR2169]

I just realized that the golden trio would have been screwed if carlsen played the white pieces.

[@Pantomime0709]

I think Magnus read Harry Potter as a kid? I think it was mentioned in the Play Magnus app?

[@joekerr5418]

That's the only chess game from any Harry Potter movie

[@carokann4244]

I mean he could have guessed it was from recent Queen's Gambit but remembered Harry Potter

[@lollycopter]

The Queen's Gambit would never be his guess.

[@brianmarzan4859]

Awesome video. Music is a little loud though. Sometimes straining to hear what they are saying. I'd say add subtitles but then it kinda covers the chessboard.

[@azapro911]

Carlsen's one of those players you'd love to see against history's greats.

[@meosh930]

Haters: He's clearly cheating by memorizing every match ever played.

[@leonponce8437]

The fact he doesn't remember the exact year with certainty, but is always right in his "guesses" shows he didn't even memorize all this stuff on purpose (which would already be hella impressive), he just studied/played/watched these games and simply knows them. I can't find words to describe how incredible this is.

[@fanzhang5568]

They don’t just memorize the game position, but instead study and understand the game played. Study and have deep understanding forms a much more resilient memory, but might lose some not as important or visual details.

[@AwoudeX]

my memory works in a similar way, but it is nowhere near as elaborate in what's being remembered. I wonder wether something on his path made him so attuned to using his memory so profoundly.

[@MU-go1fq]

He literally reads books about the matches and the moves

[@aggressivelyamicable5987]

@@AwoudeX This degree of memory is almost entirely innate. His ability to form neural connections is clearly incredibly fast and strong such that he can retain positions having just seen them once or twice.

[@bchdev]

I play sports competitively and after a match I can clearly remember what happened. Studying another person's match I can see myself in their position and follow through their thought process. I believe Magnus has the same process except chess is his sport

[@leep1667]

2:50 "19 years ago and you still remember the game NEXT to you" lol

[@niuage]

Out of all the crazy stuff in this video, that might be the craziest :p

[@Alekosssvr]

Mind-blowing!!! I remember maybe 15-20 positions from games.

[@abhisheknath634]

For us, it's just a few pieces of chess randomly arranged but for Magnus, it's like showing a footballer a photograph of a certain iconic moment of a historic football game.

[@anonymususer1728]

That's exactly what I thought.

[@smokesmail]

Dayum !!! Such an underrated comment ...

[@hcnuup]

As a football fan, Magnus could probably be this hypothetical footballer as well.

[@Amundstvoll]

I would have been closer to knowing some things then. Magnus would still remember it all, since he watches a lot of football

[@Rawlingm]

Exactly, if you showed one of my buddies a picture of deshaun Jackson fumbling the ball before he ran it back against the giants, or the famous picture of Brett Fabre running down the field of winning the super bowl, or a picture of Odell Beckham with the immaculate catch, my friend wouldn’t even know any of those but I could tell you which game those pictures were from, which two teams played in them, and about what year/season those games were played.

[@lugaretzia]

Imagine him forgetting his girlfriend's birthday. Good luck apologising for that.

[@MrKveite1]

Are we guys supposed to remember that?????

[@lugaretzia]

@@MrKveite1 try forgetting it once and see what happens. please report back (if you can)

[@MrKveite1]

@@lugaretzia i do every year, for the last 40 years...and yes i am still here and so is she....i have fishing as a hobby so i told her from the beginning my head isnt where your birthday is so deal with it or leave...she dealt with it.

[@gaulbanget2122]

He just remember chess

[@himlolo]

@@MrKveite1 does she remember yours?

[@alondite215]

I wonder how much of this is actual memory, and how much of it is simply having such an intimate understanding of Chess and how it's played that you can reason out what the moves most likely were based on which moves make the most sense to make.

[@sansthedrummer]

Not to mention he's been playing/studying chess since early elementary school. It's a mix of pure brainpower and obsession.

[@perkl1234]

It's both. How detailed of an analysis do you need to do when you see your friends face to recognize him?

[@alondite215]

@@perkl1234 I didn't say it wasn't both, I asked the relative proportion of each. Read more carefully.

[@georgyugay33012]

How exactly did Magnus recognize Zapata-Anand (1:35), having only seen two moves? It’s just Petrov’s Defence. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 It’s simply not enough information to tell the exact game yet, no matter how profound your knowledge is. There’s tons of games starting like this in tournament practice.

[@ujmm]

That was Anand's quickest defeat ever. One of the most shocking games in chess history. Losing after 6 moves

[@evoskaelthas814]

Magnus just watches movies for the chess scenes. Really.

[@juliocadavid6640]

I understand him

[@evoskaelthas814]

@@juliocadavid6640 Are you some sort of a wizard Harry ?

[@midgetthatnoonelikes2253]

I pause at chess scenes at times too just to see if they knew what they were doing

[@bensonanderson144]

He would probably spoil Queen's gambit on the first move😂

[@jonaszwojnar2483]

the rest is like credits for him

[@hugenerretho9151]

David looks so happy when Magnus remembers his game against him lol

[@jeffwei]

I didn’t realize that was their game, haha that explains a lot

[@GhostOps300]

@@jeffwei wait how you have verified tick

[@ricefarmer9183]

@@GhostOps300 is fake

[@aayushbisht4307]

@@ricefarmer9183 how to get that?

[@Dontlookification]

I’ve always heard that people who are this good at chess could literally be exceptional at anything.

[@ss327827]

Not necessarily but prodigies like these could be exceptional at any thing that requires brain power.

[@jjjjjjjjjjjjjj6152]

Well, almost. Many people at this level might be on the spectrum, which can be a barrier in highly sociable jobs. But, it's not a rule of course, Magnus whilst being high on the spectrum still pretty sociable.

[@Dontlookification]

@@jjjjjjjjjjjjjj6152 I’ve also heard that some of the most successful people in the world display introverted tendencies. I never really thought about them being on the spectrum but that makes sense.

[@aggressivelyamicable5987]

He has exceptional spatial reasoning, memory, processing, and drive. Those traits translate well into just about any non-creative field.

[@niranjanrajesh1058]

That is some top class bs that youve read. Magnus is the only who truly could be classified as a genius,and thats evident not just from the tales of how he memorized all the flags in the world by age 5 and all municipalities in norway by a similar age,but also by his endgame technique which is far,far superior to anyone else today. His spatial understanding is out of this world

[@stespin]

This is extraordinary, but still it needs to be put in context I think. I have a couple of fantasy-fooball (soccer for americans 😆) friends that are absolutely addicted with the sport, and they could tell you about any game in the last 50 years, including and not limited to the final result, the competition they were played in, the year, the formations, who scored and at what minute. When you are passionate about something it becomes easier to remember things, especially if you need it for something like your job or just for fun. But still, this is impressive because chess is so much more complicated and gives away much less informations at first glance.

[@Hanslineman]

4 moves in, “Yea thats Anand vs Zapata 1984.” Jokes on you, that was P*zzycrusher1245 vs Redleafotato24 on Lichess in 2019z

[@dajansuyal2854]

underrated comment

[@DaveAp7]

moves a pawn and a knight Magnus: “it’s gonna be Anand” 😭

[@tiitto167]

And he was right, it was crazy. and Harry potter chess quest. Many say GM remember the same, but i don't think they would remember Potter challenge

[@zaksmith1035]

How did he figure that one out? It's just a Petroff. There have been thousands of Petroffs.....

[@johanponin1360]

"can you at least let me fINISH??"

[@Matt-by3yd]

Zak Smith was wondering the same like wtf lol

[@ferhatpinar4967]

@@zaksmith1035 carlsen thought its must be different if he play standart oppening. And that Anand game is the most famous one for that oppening. İts not easy but i he can guess

[@sportsbossph]

I feel like David Howell is in love with Magnus, seriously the he smiles and his gestures

[@MrBeatboxmasta]

His mother: I went through 5 hours of labor to deliver you and you can't even do this one favor for me?!? Magnus: Actually, it only took you 45 minutes. 20 minutes of that was the ride to get you to the hospital. I remember feeling sick because the road was bumpy. I also remember the doctor telling you how lucky you were for having a delivery that was so quick, they didn't even deem the epidural to be necessary. I still have chills thinking about the drastic contrast in temperature from your womb to the delivery room. Btw, you're the reason I hate hot peppers. You never stopped eating them while I was in there and it kept giving me heartburn!

[@Joe_Dominates]

Underrated comment right here 😂

[@TurboPepsi]

@@Joe_Dominates I thought it was way too long. Meh.

[@MrBeatboxmasta]

@@Joe_Dominates Thank you.

[@eccentricflamingo1634]

@@TurboPepsi you haven't heard that sentence before, have you

[@shampoofully7923]

“You’re not my dad” -Magnus Dad: 😳

[@snehasish2178]

He recognised the Anand - Zapata game with just two moves?😲 How's that even possible, I mean there are thousands of games in that opening and he picked the perfect one, wow

[@Adam-oh3pc]

at that game anand blunder at move 5, thats an iconic game

[@williamrobert9898]

@@Adam-oh3pc and he recognized it at move 2

[@dariodespotovic2029]

its not possible of course...but he had a hunch I guess...still stupid

[@Adam-oh3pc]

@@williamrobert9898 listen that he said "stop me when you recognized the game and tell me who plays the black", so of course magnus know that

[@rupanshparth2619]

It's obvious that they won't ask any random stupid games they must be asking famous games of great players.

[@jimmytwotimes802]

I’ve seen him do this before, his memory is ridiculous. To have analyzed as many games as he has and to be able to remember a game by position on board is just incredible.

[@paulking5199]

Most of the Super GMs are like this. When I realised, I knew I had no chance to ever reach that level. They're just built differently.

[@dudedog7914]

@@paulking5199 did you ever consider that you just suck at chess?

[@Vivungisport]

@@dudedog7914 Suck is a bit harsh, probably more like a human.

[@Tunz909]

@@snp9417 Wasn't aware it was that high...Fischer had a 187...think Kasparov is 193 or 4......with the stunts of memory Magnus would have to all ready know ALL THE moves.say for the 1987 Match.....soI'd verify the memory if he was tasked with writing down MOVE for MOVE all the moves in the 1987 Seville Match. Then he'd have to know all the moves for the Fischer/Spassky 1992/1972/Reshevsky/Fischer/1961...see where I'm goin?....fake news stunt......sure he can play blindfold, but to just spit out EVERY move from EVERY TOURNAMENT/MATCH ever played is beyond impossible.

[@Tunz909]

Folks try to compare remembering moves to remembering notes for a piano piece...NOT AT ALL the same....I'm a pianist and play music mostly from ROTE MUSCLE memory...my fingers know which keys to press cause I have done it so many times...my memory has nothing to do with it.

[@Acarrdi]

Sometimes Magnus can forget how good he actually is at remembering everything.

[@itmeurdad]

Made it a full 3 minutes into the video before remembering I had already seen it.

[@Mats-Hansen]

What fascinates me is that he has a book on Kasparov - Karpov games at his bedside after all these years. The guy just eats, sleeps and breaths chess.

[@Tunz909]

Naw, that's not amazing...i have hundreds and hundreds of chess books...and most of the books I love to look at read, are the K vs K matches, written by Ray Keene....there are times when these books will be in my bedroom/bathroom/literally anywhere at all and this has been happening since around 1978!!LOL....I'm a low rated patzer and always have been....I'm 70 now!!...and the chances are good that if I were to live a long life in my 80's or 90's....one of these Match Chess books would be close at hand:-)...I probably have ever Fischer book that was available as well!! And I'm just a musician!!!LOL

[@Der.Prinz.Eisenherz]

I can literally not memorize two opening lines for about 4 moves. His brain is the complete Databank of a chess program!

[@EggTronics31]

Lol he not only remembered his 20 year old game but he also remembers the board beside him where young nepo was playing. I am guessing he has special technique to remember these games. Something along the lines of, key moments of that game and then recall how they reached that position.

[@RonaiHenrik]

I wonder how he would perform in regular memory testing tasks... Or what he could do if he learnt to solve the Rubik's cube and then put his effort into multi-blind solving. Current world record is 59 cubes solved correctly out of 60 memorized within the 60 minutes time limit.

[@Road2Med]

You can argue that it's his job to know the famous games as he needed to study them when learning. But remembering that 19 years ago (at a youth tournament that would not be that notable given his current position) he had that position against Howell AND the more staggering point of remembering Ian's specific opening and exact mistake at that same round is just something else

[@harrisonwinter5821]

I get your point but the way he told the story about that match makes it seem like it's been brought up at least a few times before

[@jonathannuamah3296]

Netflix should do a series on Magnus called the "Kings Gambit" The continuation of the Queens Gambit😅

[@mykeynotyours8724]

That would be fye

[@rrezartbuzhala]

100%

[@dicemenproductions]

yes, but they should call it "The Scandinavian"

[@ragnarkisten]

The storyline probably would seem too exaggerated!

[@GustavoSilva-ny8jc]

0:35 Well, it must be a hella famous game that every chess fan have studied (just like most other games that are going to be shown here). It's like showing a football super fan a legendary world cup, Brazil x Italy or something. I think he is not simply remembering the moves, even if he thinks he is, what he's actually doing is analyzing the position and seeing the proper move. But that doesn't explain why he remembers the players and the game, so is a mix of both, a deep seeded analytical skill together with strong emotions and facts about those games players and events all in an intricate spider web of neurological connection. 0:40 I think he's shocked because he doesn't understand how chess player training works, Josh Waitzskin said that since he was a kid he spend hours watching great games with his teacher and studying positions. I hope Magnus tell them that. 1:38 Okay, but this part is nuts, i don't know how he did that. It looks like an ordinary opening for me. 3:13 SEEEEEEE!!!!! Those games were connected by a web of relevance. Was a nice trick to put that. 3:20 OOOOOOHHHHH C'MOM!!!!!! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!

[@adityashankar8513]

“They played the scandi in harry potter”… dude how tf

[@thegorn]

19 years ago Nepo was beating an Indonesian player who was up a pawn Magnus: And I took that personally

[@Spidey2J]

He even remember the Harry potter chess set...hahaha..so crazy

[@94alhf]

I wouldn't even recognize the games i played last week

[@rufuspipemos]

I don't remember where I left my keys 1 hour ago.

[@seanwalter1944]

That is absolutely remarkable 👏 bravo Magnus

[@zladam9445]

What is even more mind-blowing is that he stays this sexy year around.

[@frayedendsofsanity1733]

Magnus.. sexy?

[@zladam9445]

@@frayedendsofsanity1733 Sexy is an understatement

[@SpontaneityJD]

he usually varies in sexiness actually

[@jitseslump3756]

@@frayedendsofsanity1733 nice profile pic

[@blidnet9180]

Why are you gay? 😁

[@dfchang813]

This is one of most insane things I’ve seen.

[@doktorrelling6760]

This video clip reminds me of what the Danish-Norwegian writer Aksel Sandemose once wrote in a book review: "This could happen in real life, but in a novel it becomes too unrealistic".

[@johnanthony6092]

In the past, as a golfer, I might play two rounds in a day. At lunch, after the first round, I could sit there and tell you every single shot I made, what club I used, how big the divots were, whether I drew, faded or hit a straight shot. There was nothing I didn't know about that round of golf. However, once I played the afternoon round I would need to look at the previous scorecard to remember how many I shot in the morning, nevermind the details, whilst at the same time being able to tell you every single detail about the afternoon game. My memory was just as good as Magnus' memory except for the fact that Magnus is able to remember game after game with incredible accuracy whilst I only had a detailed memory of my last game. This is what makes him a champion while the rest of us are just good players.

[@headcrab4]

The amount of "it's really not that impressive if you think about it" in the comments is astounding. I guess there's really nothing remarkable about someone who is the best in the world at something proving one of many reasons why he is the best in the world at that something.

[@sanderkonto297]

I think the problem is that they show(?!) some famous chess positions/moments. For example there are tens off thousands of hours of movies, but if show me some famous scenes from famous movies then i would probably recognize them and if u show me a random movieclip then i wont

[@headcrab4]

@@sanderkonto297 True. But understand there's a MASSIVE difference between being a movie buff and competing in chess competitions. Chess boards are 64 squares with 32 pieces, and the games being presented aren't being presented with any kind of imagery. If I were to show you a picture of Will Smith in a suit holding a Squid baby, you could easily tell me that's Men in Black 1. Or, at the very least, it is a Will Smith movie. Magnus doesn't get to see the players, dates, venues. Just some configuration of 32 pieces on a board. To compare this to your movie knowledge, you'd have be presented with a single still or one second clip. Afterwards, you would have to not only tell me the name of the movie, but the names of the characters, the names of the actors who played those characters, directors/producers, the movie's budget and net gain/loss, and for good measure lots of lesser known trivia about the behind the scenes. I'd certainly find that kind of encyclopedic knowledge impressive, and I imagine I'd leave a similar comment to my original post on this video. If you're good at something, it can be impressive. That doesn't mean other people can't be impressive doing completely different things.

[@sanderkonto297]

@@davidsantoso2291 These are not random matches. These are famous and legendary matches. I dont follow chess. I play poker for living and i probably do remember thousands of famous hands played. Because every hand is kind off a story.

[@sanderkonto297]

@@davidsantoso2291 +I tryd and entered these names into google etc "wiswanathan anand vs vassily ivanchuk " and "Alonso Zapata vs Viswanathan Anand" and google automaticaly gave the same matches. They probably have played eachother tens maybe hundred of times. These here are the most famous ones. Try it yourself

[@FrenkieWest32]

@@davidsantoso2291 Not to act like this isnt insanely impressive, but Magnus likely does not remember millions of games.

[@therookanga]

I love the small detail at 3:14 where the camera very subtly follows Carlsen's gaze.

[@sjegannath6295]

Exactly at pi value lol

[@hl236]

Yeah. It’s awesome isn’t it.

[@chomalen]

Looks like a frame magnification rather than camera work.

[@therookanga]

@@chomalen definitely, i couldn't imagine a cameraman tracking a person's glances xD

[@KvnDWr]

Dude, this is pretty insane... I know GMs study hella matches, but this is still super impressive

[@modgrip805]

Absolutely mindblowing. I can't remember why I went downstairs half of the time.

[@lumapas]

Oh boy, me too😅😅😅😅😅

[@studiouswadoo5027]

Remembering the position is one thing, associating it with real-life competition and persons is incredibly impressive

[@zoltanszilvassy1361]

I think it's easier to remember if you can associate it with something.

[@liorberman7240]

Our memory often works in an associative way

[@KjartanAndersen]

He played a blind chess game against 10 opponents and won them all. After the game a German fan told him he was sad that they didn't write down all the moves as he would have liked studying them. Magnus then sat down and wrote all ten games down for him.

[@mats2893]

@dream-jordan theres a link somewhere else here in the comments if you scroll through it

[@kellyandone1]

@dream-jordan kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWK1o2eLppaFY6s

[@ClassicMist360]

its slightly less impressive when you realize that he was ALREADY playing blindfolded, so therefore, he was FORCED to remember each position entirely already. when doing blindfold simul's its very common practice to divide opponents into sections of opennings (i.e. 3 opponents you play d4 against, against another 3 you play e3, etc). This is called "chunking" and is a common practice used for anyone that wants to improve their memory (which in turn, makes it easier for recall later, not just during the games). with all that being said, the most impressive part isnt that he could write all 10 games down after the games (but yes thats still impressive). im 1700 and i could write 2 games down exactly after having played them. the most impressive part is that he played against 10 opponents blindfold and beat them all lmao.

[@ClassicMist360]

@Stradivarius yes man everybody is just as incapable as you are and nobody in the world could ever be better than you at anything

[@wille7319]

Love the little detail of "A German fan". Only a German would be interest enough in a detail like that XD

[@sampotter2339]

would have been better if this video gave us more info about the games. who's turn was it? what was the progression...

[@pranjaltiwari1663]

who is here after VERITASIUM'S VIDEO?

[@chescid761]

KZbin's algorithm brought me here right after watching the video... SUS

[@caelestisimperator9829]

@@chescid761 same lol

[@frequencyspectra1]

Normal person: I need to buy hard disk to store data. Carlsen: Well i store it in my main memory.

[@nickmgls6523]

The human brain has 2000 TB of storage or sth. Apparently magnus has managed to make use of all of it lol.

[@vitalydmtrysvidler8023]

He recognized Zapata - Anand Game in 2 moves. Besides having a great memory he is also a great mind reader. Korchnoi pointed out that Petrosian and Spassky were amazing MIND READERS

[@kuppdaballsstrokedastaff429]

Weren’t there many chess players who played this opening? Couldn’t it have been anyone? I seem to recall that the Petrov was a favorite of Fabian.

[@nirolf12]

@@kuppdaballsstrokedastaff429 Exactly. Petrov is not that uncommon

[@AkramSaheb]

@@nirolf12 lol i think the person was using the same book and was going in order and Magnus figured out the book he was using because he had read it.

[@joaodias8824]

@@AkramSaheb It's because of how the question was formulated. In that game there is a huge blunder so even though the opening is common, the way the question was asked gave it away

[@Tunz909]

@@kuppdaballsstrokedastaff429 EXACTLY MY POINTS!!!LOL