The Curse of Move 41 || Hikaru vs Alireza || Round 12 || FIDE Candidates (2024)

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Nakamura, Hikaru (2789) - Firouzja, Alireza (2760)
FIDE Candidates Chess Tournaments 2024 (Chess.com) [12] 2024.04.18
C01 French, exchange variation
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.c4 Nf6 6.c5 Be7 7.Qa4+ Bd7 8.Qc2 O-O 9.Be3 Nc6 10.Nc3 b6 11.Be2 Nb4 12.Qd2 Bf5 13.Rc1 Ng4 14.Bf4 bxc5 15.dxc5 Bxc5 16.O-O Re8 17.a3 d4 18.Nb5 d3 19.Rxc5 dxe2 20.Re1 Nd3 21.Rxf5 Nxe1 22.Nxe1 Qxd2 23.Bxd2 Rad8 24.Bc3 Rd1 25.f3 Ne3 26.Nxc7 Re7 27.Rc5 f6 28.Bb4 Kf7 29.h4 h5 30.Kf2 Rb1 31.Nd5 Nd1+ 32.Kg3 Re5 33.Nd3 Re8 34.Be1 Nxb2 35.Rb5 Rd1 36.Rxb2 Rxd3 37.Rb7+ Kf8 38.Nf4 Rxa3 39.Kf2 a5 40.Ra7 Ra4 41.g3 g5 42.hxg5 fxg5 43.Nxh5 Re5 44.g4 Ke8 45.Ng7+ Kf8 46.Nf5 Ra2 47.Ra8+ Kf7 48.Nd6+ Ke6 49.Nc4 Rb5 50.Rxa5 Rbxa5 51.Nxa5 Kd5 52.Ke3
Timestamps:
0:00 Hello Everyone
00:42 Awesome Photo!
01:05 Game Starts!
02:30 CNG!
10:20 Pause the Video!
15:40 Pause the Video 2!
18:20 It Was in This Position
20:25 Standings After Round 12
21:30 Contributions
21:50 Download Mproov!
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[@agadmator]

If you're on Telegram, join here to be notified when new videos are up t.me/agadmatorChannel

[@nicbentulan]

Magnus and Hikaru cheated. They instructed Alexey Sarana to throw in the grand swiss. They distracted Alireza via the arbiter. Damn it!!!! Fabi Gukesh Nepo have to beat Hikaru!!! Good guys vs Bad guys - Axis of Evil (Good guys?) wesley so, hans niemann, bobby fischer, sergey karjakin, vlad kramnik, ian nepomniachtchi, alireza firouzja, fabiano caruana, levon aronian, viktor korchnoi, pal benko, mikhail tal, amin tabatabaei, gukesh dommaraju, maxime vachier-lagrave, nodirbek abdusattorov, vidit gujrathi, andrii baryshpolets, vishy anand, jan-krzysztof duda, lichess, walter tevis, max pomeranc, chesscube, Sergey's hypothetical pure 9LX parallel, PCAP, 9LX, christopher yoo, gata kamsky, sam sevian, leela, ferdinand marcos sr, ben johnson of perpetual chess podcast(?), elon musk(?), nikhil kamath, bibi netanyahu, ben shapiro, mustafa barghouti, donald trump, tristan & andrew tate - Allies of Evil (Bad guys?) magnus carlsen, hikaru nakamura, garry kasparov, daniil dubov, veselin topalov, liren ding, aryan tari, abhimanyu mishra, tigran l petrosian, tigran v petrosian, paul keres, efim geller, parham maghsoodloo, pranav venkatesh, sébastien feller, vincent keymer, pentala harikrishna, arkady dvorkovich, peter heine nielsen, richárd rapport, ches***m, fred & josh waitzkin, PCA, FIDE, NCFP, chess1, andrew tang, alejandro ramirez, sam shankland, stockfish, prospero pichay jr, lex fridman(?), mark zuckerberg(?), sumner redstone, ariel sharon, alan dershowitz, bassem yousef, george bush jr & sr, piers morgan - axis of evil (female) (good girls?) tingjie lei (or paikidze), janelle frayna, dina belenkaya, lotis key, carissa yip (or sara khadem), irina krush, robbi jade lew - allies of evil (female) (bad girls?) wenjun ju, bella khotenashvili, andrea botez, leny so, atousa pourkashiyan - nakamura, jennifer yu, nemo zhou - maybe slightly axis: agadmator but idk antonio radić kinda likes magnus - maybe slightly allies: gothamchess but idk levy rozman kinda likes wesley Note: They correspond. Eg Wesley Vs Magnus Bobby Vs Garry Hans Vs Hikaru Christopher Yoo Vs Andrew Tang Dina Vs Andrea etc More info: FlNsFKeq-iE

[@michaelmassaro4375]

@@nicbentulanyou’re too much Nic 😅I agree I’d like to see Gukesh my first tournament watching was last years Championship I’d probably root for Ding again if Nepo wins it will be interesting to see how Ding performs in the FWC after his poor performances prior the best game I’ve seen him play recently was his Draw he had against Magnus Ding might show people a Ding or two yet

[@nicbentulan]

@@michaelmassaro4375 If Nepo wins 2024 classical WCC & 2024 classical WFRCC, then Nepo might just be the MTOAT / GOAT along with Wesley So & Bobby Fischer.

[@shoaibraj4772]

@@nicbentulan Wesley So ? GOAT ?? what have you been on recently ? african black weed ??

[@37jamjam]

Can we appreciate hikaru for not having a single DRAWN game since the start of the 2nd round robin?

[@rws531]

All or nothing

[@victordeluca7360]

Dude's on a mission

[@thekenanski8789]

I bet I could do the same…

[@venombotop5162]

​@@thekenanski8789 I got you 😂

[@lomiification]

Hashtag content

[@p_7521]

With a draw today, pragg is also out of the race for first. 4 people are hunting and only two rounds left. 3 people tied for first and co- leader fabi is only half a point behind. This is by far the most exciting candidates we've seen in last 7 or 8 years.

[@ndnd7614]

Fabi will win the candidates with a win over Nepo in the last round and half a point ahead of everyone.

[@michaelmassaro4375]

@@ndnd7614yeah right 🙄🤭😅

[@ronitshah9279]

@@ndnd7614 best case for fabi is tie breakers, he has no realistic chance to win by points after the 14 rounds

[@Im_not-the_father]

If Fabi beats Nepo, it's plane sailing for Hikaru

[@julianc691]

@@michaelmassaro4375he’s been here before so he has all the chances

[@zhuoluochenzhuoluochen]

Agadmator's work ethic needs to be studied

[@jeffreycole2816]

He's a mad lad for sure....

[@joshartmann9406]

Hikaru’s also

[@EugenioValdes]

i'll give you a couple of seconds...

[@jaasonjones4419]

Yes, but do not see it as something unattainable, if you find something you really like, you'll also be able to put that same level of effort and achieve great things

[@urbaniv]

Truth is he has no choice. YT is a hard business if he doesn't upload the videos asap Gotham and co take the views.

[@Anarak46]

I don't know what Tal said about the exchange French.

[@juanmanuelcastro5147]

You are not alone

[@michaelmassaro4375]

I’ve heard a saying im not sure by who but ‘the player that makes the next to last Blunder wins ‘ 😅

[@michaelmassaro4375]

Actually I googled it and the saying is attributed to a polish -French Grandmaster Savielly Tartakower “the winner of the game is the player that makes the next to last mistake “ the idea is that Chess is a game of mistakes and the player that can avoid making the last mistake can win

[@michaelmassaro4375]

Tal said the French Exchange is a Shame his opinion was shared by a great amount of other Chess players that feel chess is a logical game and it has its own rules and principals and that if one goes against them the other side is rewarded I also got this info from Google

[@davidanderson2357]

@@michaelmassaro4375 What if the *same* player makes the last two mistakes?

[@micahclawrence]

Hikaru has gotten significantly stronger the past couple years.

[@LukeLongboneOfficial]

Ratings lie don’t they? Hikaru, Magnus, Nepo, and who else are better? Alireza is one example who is worse.

[@sulik682]

@@LukeLongboneOfficial Ding

[@Duke_de_Plata]

No one can beat Hikaru when Hikaru is playing like Hikaru.

[@johnoluwafemi3432]

Except for Magnus Carlsen

[@Wisdom.Phoenix]

Except Veni Vidit Vici

[@myriadshalaks]

he's in the zone. after all these years, lfg, naka!

[@alinuernberg8399]

Ño one but King Magnus, who no matter what Hikaru wears King Magnus so far always managed to undress him and flag him f

[@alinuernberg8399]

Nobody except the King! So far, and after over 20+ classic games against Hikaru, no matter how Hikaru dresses, King Magnus has always managed to strip him naked and whip him for trying to question his authority!

[@ronjohnson9690]

Nepo had his chance last year. I want to see Hikaru win, and believe it will result in a most interesting Championship match against Ding.

[@vincentmbwende9131]

Hikaru will crash Ding if he wins the candidates

[@DarthVader-wk9sd]

@@vincentmbwende9131 Why?

[@lomiification]

​@@DarthVader-wk9sd because ding really hasn't been on his game since the last championships, and to paraphrase magnus, nepo can't play well at tournaments/games that aren't the candidates. That said, Hikaru probably also cant play the championship well, so I'd expect ding to win a Hikaru vs ding championship

[@imightbebiased9311]

He didn't just have his chance last year, he was also the previous challenger. I don't want to see Nepo as the Challenger 3 times in a row. I'm team "Anyone But Nepo".

[@thewarlordscalling6537]

Ding will lose to whoever wins this candidates

[@lukraniom8731]

If anyone doesn’t know what tal said about the exchange French, like me, He says that it’s a shame. It’s a drawing opening that’s rarely sharp, and playing for a draw with white is a crime against chess.

[@woodysmith2681]

The eval bar got a workout on this one. Be1 (the last one) completely devastating, but the commentators thought that Alireza had an adrenaline problem on Move 41.

[@davidanderson2357]

Crikey! Three-way tie for first, with Fabi a half point behind. I picked a great day to watch my first-ever Candidates round.

[@ottolehikoinen6193]

"I was terribly ashamed, and from the time I swore: to play for a draw, at any rate with White, is to some degree a crime against chess.",Mikhail Tal on himself, playing French exchange variation.

[@viorry1829]

Yooo this comment is stolen by a pron bot in the top comment. This is wild, this is the first time i saw the original 😂

[@ottolehikoinen6193]

@@viorry1829 hello, if you like what you see feel free to contact someone else than me.

[@nazarenoalmiron526]

16:53 The way you said f3 had pizzazz.

[@barry_allen321]

Tbh Alirezza wasn't supposed to be playing the candidates. Wesley was. So didn't make it a big deal but what goes around comes around.

[@Appacolypse]

Hikaru's Bishop to e1 was actually a massive blunder that Hikaru talks about in his recap. He was way ahead until that move, the Alireza blunders on his move 41 to give Hikaru the lead again

[@chriswright3179]

Sparkling chess from a very early stage. Thank you, Antonio, for your instructive commentary; neither player interested in a grandmaster draw.

[@MrFootofDavros]

Alireza is going to have nightmares about that pawn move for a long, long time... Absolutely crazy to see him somehow get himself back in the game, under immense time pressure, only to, inexplicably, instantly blunder the game away the very next move!

[@harryseldon9315]

Tu constancia es un ejemplo de trabajo y de vida. Un gran abrazo

[@Brice23]

la vida es trabajo interminable... with this level of passion for the sport of Chess.

[@cristiangdc618]

Dios te bendiga¡¡¡ Que Jesucristo te COLME de bendisionessssssssss

[@kaldrazadrim]

Nice one Hikaru! Go!!!

[@MArk-yn4sp]

Antonio. Tx for this vid so soon after the game finished. 🎉🎉

[@pt7258]

Hikaru certainly has fair chances to beat Ian and Gukesh both. can't say for Gukesh but Ian definitely yes.

[@wyjenuka]

Hikaru brings so much fun, that actually the chess community should be very grateful for his presence. He allows average players to enjoy top lvl chess, his recent story in the last few years is just inspiring.

[@inbm2102]

When a Frenchman plays the French’s Defense, it’s an automatic resignation 😂😂

[@ashoksafaya5397]

Thanks for the beautiful analysis.

[@ashoksafaya5397]

Thanks

[@blue_red_screen]

Kramnik does the procedure

[@georgeharrisonOK]

It's a fairly good game for a KZbinr and a fashion designer

[@Milla_mayne]

Man, I love your videos. Thank you for the tireless analysis of these matches.

[@prakashchavda2813]

I always make sure to watch your videos first before knowing any results. I know because of time difference, it must be tough to record and upload videos as soon as possible.

[@nyern]

this is going to be a wild last two rounds!!

[@joeldick6871]

Mikhail Tal didn't say that to play the Exchange French was a crime against chess; he said that to play for a draw is a crime against chess. But Hikaru was playing for a win. Chess theory has advanced enough that you can play the Exchange French for a win, and the Sicilian for a draw.

[@HorrorGoofy]

gukesh is gretest prodigy in chess

[@kenoliver8913]

What has Vidit done? He's created a monster! Hikaru seems like a man out to totally obliterate the memory of Vidit having owned him.

[@lakiro1488]

Alireza sneaked back door into candidates. It's showing

[@Everything_I_Like]

That "obviously" at 1:01 ...

[@sbeaber]

Exchange French versus the French player. Nice

[@matijabosiljevac8847]

Your dedication is amazing. I hope that i will meet and play you someday since I am also from Croatia.

[@mostafaashraf8939]

Sensational

[@Insertor]

I saw ALL the moves in pause the moment, thank you im improving by each of ur videos

[@jamesdelb6885]

Great commentary as always.

[@martinskoda8725]

Wonderful positional game by Hikaru. For me, this was the best game so far ... 👍

[@adameywinter6623]

There was knowledge with that pawn move.

[@blue_red_screen]

Tied with nepomniachtchi despite 2 losses to vidit

[@jestice75]

Crazy to be tied for first despite losing TWICE to the WORST player in the candidates.

[@kidartist9820]

I mean there are two people below vidit so he clearly isn't the worst lmao ​@@jestice75

[@dawidp9845]

@@jestice75 Crazy to be tied for fist despite drawing twice to the worst player. Vidit is not the worst as he was trying for the win despite drawing positions and that's why he was losing so much. Abasov didn't play for the win even once

[@jestice75]

@@dawidp9845 I think we can all agree that Vidit and Abasov are both garbage.

[@lakshay-musicalscientist2144]

​@@jestice75I don't think anyone here agrees to that

[@jaymurray6051]

“Better to see the French going for a win than to see the expected retreat and surrender”

[@shalevueable]

Way to go, Hikaru!!! ♟️👑

[@libilinbulibuli]

Alireza was motivated by the spirit of Ding

[@SebinMatthew]

Gukesh deserves to win. I mean hikaru winning would be freaking awesome but Gukesh winning would mark a new era

[@andrereds7159]

Nahhhh guk won't make recaps like hiki

[@LukeLongboneOfficial]

Gukesh already represents a new era. There’s 3 Indian GMs in the Candidates. And they’re all very young. Odds are we have an Indian champ this decade and the next. But Hikaru is better right now.

[@irfanyamashita7184]

Gukesh is not ready for championship enviroment,even kasparov in age 21 is struggling so much againist karpov

[@found_at_midnight]

Again, your analysis of this game is top notch! Thank you for your dedication to these uploads. You are the best!

[@rahilshah5368]

#suggestion Waiting for Fabi's game as well from this round

[@antonioalexandercastro3520]

Alireza came to this candidates to farm...ends up getting farmed.

[@user-Roger-coetzer]

Brilliant

[@dadoudz2511]

First Preciate the quick vid of the game agad ❤

[@tufol33k78]

For the 1st moves, you mentioned the Carlsen's game, but from a french perspective, Blitzstream (Kevin Bordi and his team) explained the move up until move 9. Qa4 back to Qc2 is theory and has been played by MVL. The idea is to blockade the black's queen behind the bishop. And yes, move 9 is new and is a prophylactic move, to prevent natural on going like: 9. Bd3 10. Nc6 11. 0-0 12. Bg4 13. Nd2 which of course would be a very boring position, with white letting the initiative :/

[@davidmasse2829]

Time to discuss the tiebreakers perhaps? Ty for excellent coverage - enjoying it a lot.

[@anthonysellers6455]

Hikaru on fire 🔥🔥🔥

[@jaymurray6051]

Well somebody get a bucket of water don’t wanna see the poor boy roasted!

[@arnaldosandoval453]

I miss adjourning matches for the next day 🙂

[@user-qk5oi7xg1y]

I can't see how this chess is as remarkable as the 1970's Candidates games or the final bout between Spassky & Fischer. Does anyone see how these players are in the class of 1970's giants in the game? Thank you for any input. Very fine postings!

[@alec5151]

Nice

[@danielljung2733]

At 2:17 why do you play Qa4? After Alireza plays Bd7 Hikaru just loses a move after playing Qc2? Or what do I not understand?

[@dawidp9845]

Maybe then the bishop can't go to f5, a natural place, and also blocks the queen a bit. Hikaru lost a move, but Alireza still needs to do another move to develop wherever he would like to instead of just reacting. And white queen is still in active spot.

[@boxingjerapah]

Great game. I'm not sure Hikaru sacrificed that pawn in the opening ... he was into thought very quickly afterwards ... then right at the end, Aireza seemed confident that a pawn was going to win him the game, until the g pawn push. Brutal.

[@armaanmalhotra9042]

🔥🔥🔥

[@nedmerrill5705]

That's one speedy, amazing knight! From moves 45 to 51 the knight single-handedly destroys Black in moving from one side of the board to the other.

[@himanshu5205]

I am on team Hikaru and Gukesh. Whoever wins the candidates i will be happy.

[@miloskuzmanovic]

I think Magnus will be back for Hikaru should he become WCC.

[@imightbebiased9311]

I think if Hikaru wins, they'll do a non-FIDE 1v1 match for the chess belt.

[@johnmallette3143]

GG

[@michaelmassaro4375]

Hikaru himself admitted Be1 was a Blunder?? the commentators also pointing this out but Alireza making an even bigger blunder pawn to g5 Hikaru called that move ‘unconscionable’ two games to go let the best player win im Rooting for Gukesh but whomever wins deserves it

[@SFTaYZa]

Please sir thank you from love india 🇮🇳 🙏

[@conquerersyt8928]

Alireza's G5 reminded me of Nepo's F5 in round 12 of the world championship. Both loses the game on the spot.

[@sebastianmarx9606]

What did Michal Tal say about the Exhange French? "Don´t do it"? "Ou la la"? What?

[@TonioGJ]

13:59 what if Nxe2 Rxe2 Bb4+ takes back the rook on a3. Wouldn't Hikaru be up a piece?

[@Akash-tu4py]

At the end Could Rook Capture the knight? If the Bishop moves Alireja could promote the pawn.. Could someone explain to me

[@lukaskinder6983]

The Bishop still covers the queening square.

[@Akash-tu4py]

@@lukaskinder6983 ah right.. My Bad.. Thank you

[@zihengtang8718]

I knew the move because I watched it on stream hhhh

[@epos11]

Watched this live. Hikaru is inevitable

[@perryhunter1]

Interesting considering Hikaru has scoffed at the exchange variation in the french lol

[@Raidersscm]

Go Hikaru!!! You got this!!!

[@G0zie]

This has to be the craziest end to a candidates tournament in a while...honestly whoever wins between the top contenders here, I don't see Ding retaining the title

[@insanestuff9470]

Agad started showing too many games (lines..)in between this game 😂😂

[@HGWelp]

"We all know what Mikhail ____ said about the exchange French" No, no we don't all know! I'm new here!!

[@mdb831]

hikaru killing it

[@X-plaind]

Cam someone explain at 6:51 whe black cant go Nxc5 .. i calculated.. Nxc5 by black .. then Qxd7 ... Nxd7 Nxc7 Rac8 .. Nxe8 Rxc8 .. now what is happening.. and why white is better. ?

[@MrFootofDavros]

It's probably because white then forks the black rooks and will quickly remove black's 2nd rank pawn after that.

[@X-plaind]

@@MrFootofDavros I wrote Rac8 Nxe8 Rxe8 and the e2 pawn is protected

[@MrFootofDavros]

​@@X-plaindYes, I understood what you wrote. Point still stands though. White's other knight subsequently would go to D4 and black loses the E2 pawn as black cannot add a second protector.

[@X-plaind]

@@MrFootofDavros I consulted the engine and the best move is not Nxc5 it's actually Ngxf2 and the position is equal. But I think that would be hard to calculate for both firouzja and may be hikaru too.

[@LordFred69]

Love to see Hikaru or Gukesh win this thing

[@MaxyDandyYT]

6:50, what stops me from capturing the rook with the knight?

[@bipinyt3514]

Nicely done by hikaruu

[@alinuernberg8399]

Someone here commented that no one beat Hikaru when Hikaru plays like Hikaru! Yes no one but the King! So far, and after over 20+ classic games against Hikaru, no matter how Hikaru dresses, King Magnus has always managed to strip him naked and whip him for trying to question his authority!

[@bobcabot]

...anything still can happen!?

[@ScienceFan33]

Farmreza

[@goose5462]

What? Farmer fizzy lost again? Say it isn't So........ Wesley.

[@jonasnylund6018]

Tiebreaks probably favor Hikaru of these three (possibly four)

[@alinuernberg8399]

Carlsen - Nakamura: 14 - 1 - 26! +13! ...Wow ...!

[@jamesecarson5631]

a bit of a winning streak? hooray for Hikaru

[@mohdnajib5595]

Alireza got adopted by hikaru

[@jaymurray6051]

Hikaru not playing for the Candidates just playing for the Meme

[@AmanKhan-je9ss]

If it goes to tiebreaks , hikaru destroya them all

[@choco1101]

Nepo-Hikaru will be fire

[@football_ix_lovee]

Hikaru owns Alireza 🗿💀

[@IrulappanGoodgame-bw2pl]

Nice game

[@grcfalcon]

You scared me the way you started commenting the game. I thought that Alireza managed to win.

[@ItalanFindart]

Another wonderful game by Alireza, "the Genius of the 21st Century." He can win only with players who have a rating of 100/200 points less than him. He is the most OVERRATED player ever.

[@Toopa88]

Keep spreading hate, I'm sure it makes you a very happy person.

[@ItalanFindart]

@@Toopa88 No Hate at all. Why have I to hate someone? I'm just repeating that Alireza is the most overrated player in the last decades. He is a brilliant player with players 100/200 points rating below him.

[@musayevmurodjon6859]

Samurai beats musketeer!

[@erwinjoseph5361]

Samurai beats the farmer😁

[@worldsbiggestjosh]

Hikaru is playing excellent chess

[@fethikhalfallah8658]

I made a huge BET on Hikaru winning the candidates and the WCC.

[@anantsinghal9489]

Results may not always go in his favour, but Alireza plays very interesting chess!