The Greatest Chess Player You Never Heard Of

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[@valimaa1006]

Let's appreciate that our favorite chess youtuber listened to the fans and made several old school educational content videos in a row. I totally love it, keep it coming.

[@Marveats]

Our??

[@vitorx4]

thats why we love Levy

[@peternicks7049]

Best content

[@coolman000099]

Levy never fails to listen to his fans :)

[@t4Ev04]

@@Marveatsnah just mine bish

[@nikokaramarko5389]

So glad Gotham started covering legendary chess players again

[@hardwoodgems]

Me too!

[@royadambrown3101]

I'm glad to be here for the return

[@johnmcwick1]

I didn’t even know I wanted to hear him start talking about legendary chess players in the first place.

[@gonnabetitled]

Same!

[@Planet_Hunter]

I love this type of content

[@4RILDIGITAL]

As someone who seriously digs chess, I gotta say, the way you've highlighted Rashid's story is totally epic. These tales about the lesser-known but totally rad figures in chess make the game that much cooler.

[@Pixelarator]

Hi Mr. VERIFIED

[@tubax926]

i'm honestly surprised that Rashid Nezhmetdinov is considered a hidden gem. I thought he was always considered one of the goats. Guess Agadmator just featured his games in that many videos.

[@lukaswolek7294]

​@@tubax926He's very well known in the chess community for sacrificing a queen for two pieces and for his brilliant attacking play. I've heard of so many things that I've never noticed the fact that he was not a GM.

[@ovejaxd7444]

@@lukaswolek7294 Or maybe you haven't heard enough things about him to notice he's not a GM? maybe

[@mrpinguimninja]

Nezhmetdinov is my favorite chess player, along with Tal. I absolutely love that he was Tal's second when Tal won the world champion title, and that Tal said that one of his losses to Nezhmetdinov was the happiest day of his life. If your goal is to spread the word of unknown legends of chess's past, may I suggest Akiba Rubenstein next, Levy?

[@SawYouDie]

Yes he’s my fav too

[@Leighzer]

''Your pieces aren't pieces anymore, they're figurines''- coolest chess insult ever

[@wayne30047]

😂

[@ExcellentHealth]

When I first started playing chess in 2018, I binge watched Agadmator’s videos. I liked Nezhmetdinov’s games so much that I watched a three part documentary about him. I believe it is still on KZbin. His lifetime score against Tal was positive, and the games he won against him were beautiful. His life wasn’t easy, nor was his chess career. Yet the art he created still remains with us. Thank you for acknowledging him Levy.

[@Asendra01]

That is literally the exact same thing I did 😅

[@williamhuan]

Same! Grateful to Agadmator for bringing to light this chess genius.

[@anturanggatantra2137]

I knew Tal, Nezhmetdinov, Capa, and Morphy thanks to him. Actually, Agadmator was my gate to the world of chess. I never knew there's a rich history in it. He actually took me out of my most depressing life, introduce me to a new (old) world, and gave me my old hobby back. I also knew Levy thanks to Antonio Radic as well.

[@thesphyrth]

How bout the guy who mistook Nezhmetdinov for Tal's uncle?

[@Deciverse]

Same this was what always made agadmator’s channel stand out. By showing the full history of the game and a wide selection of players (whether they got as much views or not), Antonio promoted a wholistic viewpoint of chess culture, rather than the game itself (big distinction). Something that no one else was really doing nearly in depth at the time if at all. Always liked Levy’s stuff, it’s impossible not to since it’s so competently done, but with the frequent focus on Magnus, Hikaru, and speed chess focused content - coinciding with the exploding popularity of blitz and sometimes rapid amongst newer players - I always felt kinda scared that aspects of the world around chess would be lost regardless of the objective growth of the board game in itself. Very happy that Levy’s taking the time to culture newer players on these legends. Hopefully he keeps churning these out over time

[@detectiveal8818]

i think we can all agree we want more chess videos like this. educational about the history of chess while making it entertaining and fun

[@Devilfish6666]

And Levy getting hyped over sacrifices never gets old

[@Sesquipedalian3]

I cried when I found out he dedicated that game to his son. That's so... I don't even know, perfect? Thank you, Levy, for sharing his story.

[@EEEEEEEE]

E

[@nostalgicdouchebag1912]

Massive respect for making a video about this gentleman in the age of pretty clickbaity and nonsensical fun videos, he deserves it and I'm glad you made this

[@kitnfall]

Levy's storytelling skills are literally INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pls do the deep dive about Korchnoi. these history series are such a gem

[@hillarysagwa5064]

yes we need it for korchnoi

[@gloria9985]

Yes …but what about me 🥺🥺🥺

[@rokoi3]

For real. Probably on par with those mid-century radio jockeys reading War of the Worlds and people thinking they were getting invaded

[@kitnfall]

@@gloria9985 what about you shawty

[@paulgriffin644]

The Takeaway here is not only the great chess but the great analysis in entertainment… what a great way to make this even more compelling than it already was!! Excellent job

[@ph34rocious]

That game vs Tal was absolutely bonkers. Had to pause it numerous times to follow all of the complications even after you explained it xD. So many wonderful tactics, thanks for this video

[@matthewrichards9512]

Gotta respect Levy for bringing back these historic videos despite not doing as well in the past. I'm here for it

[@vezokpiraka]

Yo wtf this guy was insane. Even the computer eval bar is like this guy is nuts. Out of all the games you've shown on the channel, Rashid is the player that seems like he plays the tactics the computer plays. Absolutely insane player.

[@h0wnr681]

I dunno how you sacrifice your queen like that, can it be possible that he calculated all the way to the win there?

[@curlyymemey]

​@@h0wnr681 " chess is all about future calculation " 😂

[@S0linity]

@@curlyymemeyyou clearly didn’t watch the history video, capablanca only calculated one move ahead, and it was the best move 🙏🏼

[@curlyymemey]

@@S0linity i never said anything about him I said in general LoL

[@S0linity]

@@curlyymemey exactly

[@njnexgen]

It's so amazing that he had to undergo so many trials and tribulations during his life and that he was also a fierce attacking player. He fought back at life and his opponents in chess. Also respect to levy for listening to his watchers and making more historical chess videos

[@andylee3114]

This is prime Levy content. Five stars. Educational and inspirational. I'm not a fan of "THE ROOK" but who cares. As a weak player I love those moments when I look at a board and see literally nothing -- no plan, no pattern, nothing. And then the commentator reveals the ideas in play, shows the dominoes falling, and I'm like ohhh. And the effect gets magnified by insights into the player's life. From humble beginnings to the greatest player never to become a grandmaster. Thanks for this, and yeah, I noticed your line about the most famous IM ever. Well done.

[@Boleslav4]

I found Agadmator some 7 years ago, I found you a few years later through him (well, through KZbin recommendations). As a chess rookie and history teacher in one I LOVE those history videos. I watched his take on this greatest player without the GM title (ofc, with you close second ;) and now I watch your take on it. I will keep eating those history videos like cookies. Both channels, all the time. My favourite history delve of yours is the World chess championship with Korchnoi - such exquisite drama. Maybe the history videos do not do as well as THE ROOK or Magnus, but for my part, I love them and hope you will make many more in the future.

[@namantherockstar]

Gotham inspires me.. My parents said if i get 70K followers They'd buy me a professional camera for recording..begging u guys , literally Begging..

[@ThePapaja1996]

Rashid famous queen sacrefice is agadmators must seen video

[@Elfutbol59]

I absolutely agree, i also found gotham through Adagmator and i also love the chess history videos

[@MislavIvkovic-sx8vd]

How many great players are now they are poor cant aford a tutor traveling nothing there are not tournaments for them so

[@Beqasage350mlbb]

I've seen these games before. But the way you presented them with such an incredible history behind them, it made it so much better.

[@dashvash5440]

Thanks for making this. I'm loving these deep dives on historical chess. Really enjoyed the games and the stories that surround them. Mixing historical storytelling with brilliant chess players/games/moments is awesome. There's also something about the old school pre engine chess that I love. I'm also a big fan of prodigy content/updates. Where are they now for any less known or out of the news players, like the Ding video. Honestly, I know Tal but don't think I've heard his story just his reputation.

[@RipperEditz.]

I think you are the most famous international master to be honest.

[@_v2.0]

No matter how many times I see that game vs Polugaevsky, it never gets old. Thx for covering this guy, Levy. He was such an underrated brutal attacker, it's ridiculous.

[@VagabondKing100]

These are excellent. Your passion for the game is infectious. The history lessons and comparisons of styles and players makes wanting to learn the game that much more inviting.

[@pixelpixelo9607]

That even stockfish agrees with this sacrifice makes me physically sick

[@muratsinanengin9773]

YOU DID IT!!! Well I don’t know if you noticed but I was asking you to cover this guy for ages!😊 Note: Tal respected Nezhmetdinov deeply. As far as I remember he was one of Tal’s coaches. Tal is quoted as saying “I played against the Tatar master four times. My only win was thanks to a really pointless blunder. I’m not happy”

[@MorningNapalm]

Tatar master? So he is Ukrainian?

[@DamonCaufied]

@@MorningNapalmno,he is a Latvian you can search about him on wikipedia

[@nikolaipasko]

Omg guys. You just don’t understand anything about Soviet nationalities, do you? Rashid is a name coming from Central Asian people. Tatars included. So yes, Rashid was a Tatar living in Kazakhstan. Tal was a Jew who lived in Latvia. And none of this really mattered as they were both Soviet people. It’s rather hard to understand when all you know is nationalism, racism and segregation of capitalist world.

[@nottyler4094]

@@nikolaipasko wait what

[@muratsinanengin9773]

@@nikolaipasko you gotta be a carpenter Nikolai. Cos you nailed it right on the head. Btw Rashid is a name of Arabic origin and it’s common amongst Turks and Muslims.

[@user-wx8pu2ee4l]

Levy never fails to mention Magnus in the first ten seconds

[@dark_magician_sdy]

😂😂😂 leave levy alone

[@inseonkang1327]

Fr

[@FruitSnack-pf6xb]

It was actually 12 seconds

[@nostalgicdouchebag1912]

Wrong, it was 11 seconds

[@GeneralBlorp]

It’s 11/10 of the algorithm to say Magnus

[@user-hr3us4qx9k]

I love when Gotham makes content like this! I think my favorite thing is watching the sheer joy Gotham expresses as he goes through the games! Great stuff!! Keep 'em coming!!

[@graujavier]

I'm the viewer that enjoy your educational content, best ongoing tournament games day's resume, AI vs AI and their intricate ideas behind metaphysics moves, and now, these historical content, is just awesome. All this with your explanatory skills without diving into endless variants and center the narration on the ideas behind, big PLUS the UFC relator enthusiasm, it just makes my evening every day I watch one of your videos. Thanks for the blast! Cheers!

[@Strannik_iz_Niotkuda]

Nizhmetdinov was a beast. Every chess player born in USSR and probably post-Soviet era knows him as one of the greatest and scariest players of all time, some of his combinations are mind blowing. And all of that I typed even before watching the video: just because I recognized this outstanding player on picture (don't know how it's called lol). Thanks for covering the Legend's game, Mr Gotham!

[@evilotis01]

fyi, the picture is called a "thumbnail"! and Nezhmetdinov was indeed an absolute monster :)

[@FurganManafov]

I like this Historical chess series. Keep up the great job Levy!

[@LisaHofer-fp3ub]

Your enthusiasm is just heartwarming and you are able to make the Game Of Chess nothing less than adorable. Thanks Levy, you are an incredible Person!

[@mr.crispyfriedchicken3946]

Loving the old school educational videos as well as the deep dive into chess history as its really fascinating to me! Thanks a lot and keep going!

[@asfgssdfgsdfg38]

really enjoying these more "historic" and chill videos, you do good storytelling and its much easier to just listen to than a lot of yelling

[@reiswaffel7238]

These historical videos are some of my favorites on this channel. As someone else suggested, I think videos about the history on really old openings we still play today and how they evolved would be an interesting idea. Anyway love your videos, they’ve become something to look forward to everyday for me over the last year.

[@claytonhannah5826]

Love your content Levy! The first one is like piranhas attacking something that thought it was goldfish. Second like two rams crashing head on but one feels a little nudge and the other sees a white flash. Next one is like the ultimate fishing pole. Last is just getting hit by lightning.

[@coopsjosh051]

This and the evolution of chess video are some of my favourites youve ever made! I love seeing these historical educational videos with such fascinating games!

[@ravveni]

your enthusiasm for the game shows through everything you do and helps keep me motivated through studying dry chess theory to become better. love your content, it's fantastic!

[@ic2e230]

Me and propably other viewers appriciate that despite not getting so much views as on magnus and drama videos Levy makes some historic chess videos for us.

[@CuberSourav]

Massive Respect For Levy for making these historical videos To Cover These Games Of Old Creative Geniuses, and for diving back into the historical chess where chess was more fun, interesting and creative. So glad for This Legendary Type of content by Levy :)

[@fromPoetfromPelion]

Fantastic video! Love the flare and your lyricism Levy. These historic pieces provide much needed context into the mind frames of isolated geniuses (at least of the chess world) and are much needed in our current world of ‘influence’.

[@sufy.r]

it is insane with all those sacrifaces and crazy moves the eval bar still backs it up which says a ton about the understanding of the game that man has. such a monster

[@vitors.7759]

Absolutely loving this historical deep dive! You should make a weekly series of it!!

[@jasonpreston2638]

Love these kinds of videos. Not only does he cover modern chess, he’s giving us knowledge of chess that no one really looks at. He researches and then we watch and he makes money from it. Perfect trade

[@zaha7249]

I am so glad to see more content like this. It is just way better than covering impossible elo bots and chess ai. It's inspiring, it drives us closer to chess.

[@wrexocane]

I got so used to your normal content that I forgot how much legendary are your historical games coverings. Please keep it up!

[@DWP13]

I love that you are starting to pry into the "history" of chess and the depth of the positions we play. We make the same moves they made hundreds of years ago. We walk in the footsteps of giants going back centuries and only know the names of the last most famous ones... Thank you Levy.

[@Vishan24]

This was one of the best deep dives you've done, honestly. Epic, beautiful.

[@PacmanRocks100]

Yes to the Korchnoi video! And if you ever do a Capablanca one, you can def use the “Magnus before Magnus” angle

[@jean-philippegenest3839]

Korchnoi and Capablanca are two of the most fascinating players in Chess history. It would be great.

[@dark_magician_sdy]

I watched Agadmators video on this, I'm super happy you made a video on it too, please do more historical chess videos

[@sammainer8728]

This one Chess video has played a pivotal role in my chess career, it's never too late to start

[@mikeparadiso5593]

Love this dudes style. He's an absolute lunatic. Extremely unconventional. Incredible. And inspiring.

[@msgfx2540]

First Tal and now the Gangster Nezhmetdinov We eating good this new year

[@jammiftw89]

Time to appreciate the stare today. It was long, deep, but still very lovely to show us how much Lewy loves his Community.

[@unistealth697]

It's interesting if you make a video about Korchnoi and Karpov since those 2 are the antithesis in terms of style to Tal and Nezh

[@mag1cman777]

He did, I believe it was years ago

[@JoeRadman]

Levy - such an entertaining delivery of these games. Fantastic storytelling. You showcase the beauty and excitement of the game like no one else. Thank you.

[@pax1913]

I'm loving this chess history videos you're doing lately Levy! ♟🤍

[@N0Xa880iUL]

This guy might just be my favourite historical chess player.

[@ched28]

Your story telling is compelling, bringing chess to life and making it incredibly fun to watch! Keep up the great vids

[@jaidevnani2253]

I love watching these beautiful games. We've seen some videos about beautiful attacking chess and sacrifices now. I'd also love to see some absolutely beautiful positional games where the player absolutely strangled the life out of their opponent and just basically forced them to self destruct.

[@JabarFarahi]

Good work Levy as usual! everything you said about Rashid is true. one thing you forgot to mention about this very game, the story goes, before move 12 Q x B Rashid spent some 40 minutes on that move and Chirnikov was walking in the playing hall watching other games. After the move 12 QxB was made a little boy in the playing hall alerted Chirnikov telling him, he took your Bishop with the Queen. Chirnikov returns to the table with disbelieve to see, not knowing what awaits him.

[@noahgam7042]

Loving all the historical chess content ❤

[@funnyjokes8769]

nice profile pic

[@ParkerDaOne]

Wow, The legendary attacker Rashid Nezhmetdinov's Has Entered The KZbin Channel Of Gotham Chess. His games were just more than of strategic brilliance and tactical fireworks 🎆. Every move seems like a masterpiece, Thanks for this legendary content - it's a true inspiration for chess enthusiasts like me!

[@georgeritmeester4736]

A note for aspiring chessplayers re: the mindblowing queen sac in the first game. While only very strong players could carry out the subsequent attack successfully, even a beginner could think to himself/herself, "What if I give up my queen for the f6-knight? It looks like suicide, but it is a legal move." This is why checking all queen captures on every move (at least after arriving in the middlegame) is a fundamental requirement when searching for ideas. You never know what brilliant combination might pop into your head just because you considered an apparently pointless move.

[@amit300696samuel]

Thank you very much for making these historical videos. They are so fascinating. Please keep them coming. I would love a video about Korchnoi. Also would love a video about that one world championship that wouldn’t end and had to eventually be called off.

[@bussyhaver]

what an endearing tale, the passion & emotion carries it to another level thank you gotham, never stop being you ❤

[@moonboi3948]

Loving how you're back with historical chess videos. Still waiting for another chess opening class😂

[@woodstoney]

That was such an eye-opener and your presentation was spot on and much appreciated. Excellent work!!

[@jmaycock]

Great story and great video Levy. It would be great if you added the ratings of players and the year of the games. Thanks

[@timefororbit]

Rashid Nezhmetdinov scarified the rook so he could make it into a Gotham video

[@myele-manzanza]

Your energy on the historical chess videos - A+. I know the click-batey guess the ELO stuff will probably perform better with the kids on youtube, but as an old head I love seeing the OGs get respect

[@milosstefanovic6603]

Its nice for someone to tell his story, he really was a gem

[@jogihann]

Hey Levy! Nezhmetdinov’s f6 sacrifices got me thinking: is there any known statistical analysis (e.g., heat map) of squares where sacrifices most-frequently occur? More specifically (as to be *actually* practical) it might be interesting to search for a correlation between opening choice, piece sacrifices made, and W/L result on a per-square basis.

[@saviplayer4546]

Good question

[@samafshar]

If Levy records audio books, I'll buy them all. I would never expect getting goose bumps while listening to chess analysis.

[@oskarmagnusson6145]

Gotham always teching us things we didnt know, like at timestamp 2:50 that WW2 ended in 1846...gotta love this man

[@janezg]

The war actually ended in 1945 but I guess he wanted to say that he started playing after it was ended so in 1946.

[@MorningNapalm]

He says 1946 though :/ I guess that was when he played, not when WW2 ended.

[@TheDragonl_]

He said 1946 at first but his microphone cut out the 2nd time; "'-ineteen' fourtysix" sounds like eighteen fourtysix :D

[@JohnnyAppleFiend]

I love any and all Tal that I can get. As you said engines remove some of the mystique behind these players but try sitting at the board yourself and you won’t be able to find the lines to get out of their traps. Love your content Levy hope you are enjoying your time!

[@conorphelan9004]

i really like watching dynamic games like this. they’re a lot more interesting that positional grinds and the 70% theory that is modern super gm chess

[@Aweng_Zweng]

Loving those deep dives of unknown chess legends. You may proceed forcing them into our watchlists :)

[@rupert3420]

Levy, спасибо тебе большое за твой потрясающий контент. Твоя харизма, комментирование и восхищение шахматами заставляют меня улыбаться почти на каждом твоем видео + тебя невероятно интересно смотреть, уверен, что твой вклад в шахматы на вершине горы!

[@SleightCreative]

Absolutely keep doing historical chess deep dives, this was fascinating

[@colmmacgowan]

Hey Levy, I hardly ever comment on KZbin but this video was good I felt I had to make an exception. These games were absolutely genius. Thank you so much for the excellent content- please do more of this! You are an outstanding storyteller and teacher, keep up the great work. 👍👍 PS I’m sure it could be found elsewhere but I would LOVE if you could break down the best games of the Karpov Vs Kasparov era (maybe even as a series?). These guys were giants of any era and probably produced some of the best Chess ever played. Would be fantastic to get your analysis on it and reintroduce them to a younger generation.

[@gmsrff]

I knew Rashid Nezhmetdinov

[@asherbailey8313]

Magnus never fails to include Levy on his videos

[@archivist17]

I enjoyed this a lot, thanks Levy! More please. Perhaps something on Réti and the Hypermoderns?

[@jefftaylor1186]

Am loving this new turn to the historical and would very much enjoy a korchnoi vid. Man was a beast

[@BradHeatYT]

I haven't actually watched yet but it was really nice of you to make a video about me! I just hit 500 in blitz and I was starting to hope people would notice. :)

[@Arielii]

😂

[@marcwhite896]

While we vibe on historical chess, it’d be cool if he made a chronological series on the world title itself and how it’s changed hands over the years. He’s covered a few championship matches already but I’d like to hear the whole story. Great content Levy!

[@dampedkhan]

he kinda made that in the previous video about evolution of chess he talks mostly about greatest players over time, but also talks about championships.

[@alessandrorigobello7551]

you are amazing for your historical knowledge as well. I knew the story of this Genius, but listening to your comments and enthusiasm reveals deeper his brilliancy. Thanks, Gotham!

[@OGright]

Honestly not only you levy are an amazing player, but your content, your energy, and your respect for others players is unmatched. Definelty the best person I’ve ever subscribed too

[@jackgoodman27]

Levy never fails to give us great content! Love the few historical deep dives! These are honestly some of my favorite videos!

[@itzprogamer1014]

Levy I really appreciate you being here for us whenever we get stressed out and bored you upload. I've been stressed out in school recently and when you upload I take 30 minutes of time to watch your video and they really relax me. We love you bro you're a Gift for the chess world

[@chrislewis7811]

Love this sort of content, I hope it's as much fun to make as it is to watch. I've got to mention Agadmator here, though - he's a huge fan of Nezhmetdinov and has some fantastic in-depth videos on his channel.

[@theCDGeffect]

Levy never fails to think we've never heard of this legend

[@GMG2708]

Levy never fails to title everyone ive never heard of either the best or the worst ive never heard of

[@SlayerOfTheDamned]

I’m loving these historical chess games/player deep dives!

[@wisamal-kinani6315]

This player, Rashid really impresses and inspires me. Thank you Cotham for sharing his story and I hope you can tell us more stories about other less well know chess players.

[@kabadyifb3828]

Levy Never fails to make international Masters Look good

[@arilion11]

Levy never fails to never fail

[@bryanmason9557]

Only when he plays

[@oupwo7468]

I am 21 and started chess last year. I thought "I'll could never ever be a master" and this guy, this insane attacker inspires me. It's not about being a prodigy, it's about work and being smart.

[@benselectionforcasting4172]

My absolute favorite player. My favorite game is Nezhmetdinov vs Chernikov. But the most fascinating is his game vs Paoli

[@KillMessage1]

Levy never fails to say "knocking on the door" in his videos

[@markdowding5737]

Don't worry Levy. Agadmator has done more than enough to introduce us to the legend of Nezhmetdinov

[@MrThegingeravenger]

Thanks for making these videos! Your coverage of historical chess games has opened my eyes to the beauty and wonder of the game. It would be great to see more videos of the best games played by the top women in history. Keep up the good work 👍