The Greatest Rivalry that Never Existed

[@TheCheckmateCorner]

Before you comment, No hate intended to either side. They both exceptional in their respective ways. This video is looking over the popular rivalry narrative that some chess fans hold...

[@BarnabyG]

no hate intended....... *cherry picks on paper statistics* LOL (I know Magnus's achievements are indisputably greater than Hikaru's in chess, Hikaru says this aswell, however Hikaru posses a challenge to Magnus in more time controls than anyone else)

[@LympyDownunder]

popular narrative? I'm guessing from Hikaru's streams, not from the wider chess fans

[@KobeBryantt237]

It's fun though 😂

[@nabanitasaha7941]

Magnus is Magnus.. Magnus cannot be compared with anyone (also not hikaru) ..

[@gerardofb2994]

Sure body

[@thetimebinder]

The only rivalry between Magnus and Hikaru is which one GothamChess loves more.

[@acpliego]

Levy once said Anish

[@thegorn]

He would be the receiver of any of them

[@zilvoxidgod]

It's the rivalry for which will win his hand in marriage

[@posadist681]

@@zilvoxidgod oh 😳

[@Misfer-fn7qq]

​@@zilvoxidgod sadly for them, they are already late

[@mp9305]

nobody has ever considered this a rivalry the way you're describing it (ala Nadal v Federer and Messi v Ronaldo). Magnus is way ahead of the rest. If anything, there is a rivalry between Nakamura and Caruana for second place/best US player.

[@JustAPokemonCommentingOnVideos]

naka vs fabi is a heavily underrated rivalry

[@slayerxyz2463]

In recent times ? Maybe Overall? Fabi is level above hikaru, it is not even remotely close lol

[@akashnadar1449]

But naka kinda owns fabi​@@JustAPokemonCommentingOnVideos

[@HarpreetSingh-xg2zm]

@@slayerxyz2463naka has beaten fabi in candidates and Norway. It is a close rivalry

[@ndnd7614]

@@slayerxyz2463 Only if you are considering classical chess in the past.. Recently in classical Hikaru has gotten the better of fabi.

[@miljann98]

They are rivals in a category called "Who's the most popular chess player today"

[@sequinmichellefootdoggy622]

Gothamchess

[@miljann98]

@@sequinmichellefootdoggy622 On youtube? Yes. Overall? No.

[@D0rlisok]

My grandma would know who Carlsen is, but would have no idea about nakamura

[@JanDarkyy]

​@@D0rlisokthat would depend in where you leave , magnus is not that famous i have asked many persons out of curiosity and nobody knows who magnus carlsen is (tho many knew who Kasparof was)

[@jaybee4288]

Chess seems more popular than ever due to the internet, but that’s misleading. In terms of mainstream appeal/knowledge of players it peaked in the 90’s with Kasparov and that IBM stuff. More people on the street remember Deep Blue than know of Karlssen.

[@wattacoolguy]

Nobody seriously thinks Magnus has any rivals, but you’ll always see it because they need people to watch. Without the appearance that Magnus could MAYYYYYBE lose, nobody would watch because we already know Magnus is most likely going to win.

[@bencheevers6693]

Cept Hans 🤣

[@Nafim-kv6rg]

Braindead​@@bencheevers6693

[@yusufyusuf1998]

You talk like magnus wins all of his tournaments

[@Nafim-kv6rg]

@@yusufyusuf1998 majority of the time, he does

[@Ayatron34]

Hikaru does rival Magnus in online speed chess formats.

[@mdahsanhabib4693]

Let's put it this way: 1.Magnus 2.Late Magnus 3.Drunk Magnus 4.Caruana/Hikaru

[@uday_mvp]

DRUNK MAGNUS > LATE MAGNUS🙆

[@jay-sin-tv]

Let's fix this: 1. Drunk Magnus 2. Late Magnus 3. Magnus 4. Fabiano Marijuana 5. Hikky "I don't care" Nakamura

[@HDM2800]

5: blind Magnus (if Fabi and Hikaru are in a bad day, he can fight for the 4th)

[@justchessy]

go back to playing 600 elo games kid

[@dumflame]

What about Shirtless Magnus?

[@gcollins1992]

To characterize anyone as Magnus' rival would be silly. Using the tennis example, Roger Federer ended with 20 Grand Slams, Rafa with 22, and Novak (unmentioned but relevant) with 24 and possibly more to come. In 2009, Magnus won his first World Championship (Blitz). Magnus has 5 Classical, 5 Rapid, and 7 Blitz World Chess Championships. "Rivals" in the same 2009-Present timeframe. - Vishy Anand has 1 Classical and 1 Rapid. - Sergey Karjakin has 1 Rapid and 1 Blitz. - Alexander Grischuk has 2 Blitz. - Ding Liren has 1 Classical, which he wouldn't have been eligible to compete for if Magnus chose to defend. - 7 other players have 1 Rapid OR Blitz championship. - Hikaru, and for that matter Fabi and Nepo have 0 World championships of any format. This means that across all 3 formats since 2009, Magnus has 17 championships, and the entire rest of the field has 14.

[@6121FRobotics]

Really puts it into perspective how far ahead of everyone else he is

[@arjunbt9580]

Anand has 5 classical

[@LasCosasDeBrunin]

@@arjunbt9580 But not while Magnus was active. Lasker has more too, but you wouldn't compare him, as his achievements are from a different era.

[@gcollins1992]

@@arjunbt9580 agreed -- but I limited the timeframe to "after Magnus' first championship" so that it wouldn't be counting the time Magnus hadn't yet fully come into himself. To go back to the tennis example, it wouldn't be fair to compare 1998 Federer to 1998 Djokovic or Nadal. They weren't in the same league yet.

[@acpliego]

Hikaru has 1 Fisher random world championship, Wesley has 1 as well . Just to be precise

[@chinmayrastogi3536]

In their 40 games, Magnus realized and understood Hikaru's weaknesses while Hikaru understood Magnus has no weakness.

[@zachrichardson7099]

"One of the craziest nights in chess history" *literally just two dudes playing chess*

[@heliosho]

I was on birthday parties that were like this and I did not even play back then 😭 (one of the guys now has a higher rating than levy lol)

[@therapier950]

Watch Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows

[@agustinfernandez5115]

lmao what game of chess is not that when boiled down hahaha you are right though.

[@jawadjihan641]

And out of nowhere someone suddenly sacrifices a ROOK🔥

[@chiepah2]

They say the same thing when it's just two dudes punching each other too.

[@chinter]

just gotta repost Maguns' paraphrase (15:24). 1) Magnus 2) No Rivals 3) Hikaru

[@Navin4061]

This is exactly why this video exists. People think Hikaru is the next best player after Magnus this generation but in reality, he's like 3-4 after Fabi, Levon and early 2010s Vishy.

[@Dmgx32]

@@Navin4061 hikaru is above fabi in rating and in skill

[@HexxuSz]

@@Dmgx32 you have to be joking fabi is way better in classical

[@leqitnoel4210]

@@Dmgx32he isnt in classic. Even Magnus said Fabiano is better then Hikaru

[@acow1385]

@@HexxuSzHikaru just became the second highest rated player surpassing Fabiano a couple days ago.

[@dessertstorm7476]

Rivals in terms of biggest stars in chess. But Magnus is way ahead of everyone not jsut Hikaru.

[@ChessKing-ev8km]

He has more championships than everyone else combined, in all catagories, since 2009. 17 for Magnus, combined everyone elses 14

[@CrazyLinguiniLegs]

That late night matchup gave Nakamura just as much of an opportunity to study Magnus’ chess as it gave Magnus to study Nakamura’s chess.

[@jonathangarcia273]

But Magnus its more talented

[@batcrow6224]

The reasoning (though I think it is a bit flawed) is that Magnus has been THE chess player, better than everyone else in every single part of the game from beginning to end and playing varied openings. Hikaru has been described as a more wild card type of player where he will pull out unexpected wins despite being weaker (only when you compare to other top 5 players) in opening variety/midgame. Get used to what the wild card pulls out and he becomes easier to beat.

[@Harishiv18]

That matchup did few things: Magnus learnt Hikaru’s weaknesses Hikaru learnt that Magnus has no weakness

[@PowerK1]

@@batcrow6224 Make sense

[@autosemimatic6071]

the main thing that he mentioned is magnus got a better idea of which types of positions hikaru struggles in as well as his opening weakness, and based on that answer i think its pretty safe to say that magnus won an overwhelming majority of the matches which probably means hikaru couldnt take much away from how to beat magnus from the games they played. Is it cope? absolutely, he wouldnt be anywhere near magnus no matter what in real otb events. To say that they got the same advantage though is debatable.

[@TheGurusGames]

I think Hikaru dominates the online chess sphere and that’s what is most commonly displayed through his content so it gives the viewers a skewed perspective of his standing vs magnus. It’s not close over the board, but Hikaru is actually very competitive with Magnus online iirc

[@6121FRobotics]

their match score is still positive for Magnus by a good bit, though.

[@RealChuckNorris]

@@6121FRobotics not in bullet and blitz

[@Matthew-bu7fg]

@@RealChuckNorris comparing bullet chess is like judging a swimmer by their skills to initially dive into a pool Daniel Naroditsky is amongst the "world best at bullet" but is nowhere in any other format

[@RealChuckNorris]

@@Matthew-bu7fg cry

[@BlinzerOmega]

@@Matthew-bu7fg that's super not fair actually of a comparison, each mode measures different talents which are all still very important puzzle solving components. magnus being by far the best at puzzle solving complexity doesn't mean that he automatically should be credited for being the best at processing information the quickest and most efficiently.

[@sbramp]

only player who was close to Magnus was Peak Fabiano

[@varadsalunkhe9008]

Even then magnus was better by a considerable margin

[@dimadimonchyk4696]

@@varadsalunkhe9008 well, Magnus himself admited that Fabbi was close. They drew every single classic game in 2018, and Magnus only won on tie-breaks.

[@Deciverse]

​@@dimadimonchyk4696 Fabi was also 4 elo points away from surpassing Magnus during that match as well. Literally if Magnus lost one game it would've ruined the 7 year+ #1 rank streak he had at that time. Was a good time to be a chess fan

[@disrupt94]

@@dimadimonchyk4696 Karjakin actually took the lead against Carlsen in classical, and had less losses in the rapid tiebreaks compared to Caruana. It took the best year Fabi has ever had and the worst year for magnus, and even then Magnus came out on top.

[@dapasokul]

​@@disrupt94 Thats actually crazy, it took PEAK fabi and the worst year for magnus just for him to still win it

[@yc6018]

Magnus and Hikaru’s rivalry reminds me of Anquetil and Poulidor in 1960’s cycling world. Anquetil won the Tour de France 5 times, Poulidor never did and was 2nd 3 times and 3rd 5 times, but Poulidor was the people’s champion, the most popular rider of the race at the time.

[@jaybee4288]

Magnus far more popular than Hikaru in anything but KZbin/twitch though. Mainly because he doesn’t focus on it.

[@gabrielreinalter2269]

​@@jaybee4288Yes we are talking on KZbin though, so the voices you hear are inevitable screwed in a direction

[@BarackObamaJedi]

Hikaru regretting the 40 blitz games because Magnus took the opportunity to understand his playing style, means he couldn't take the opportunity himself to understand Magnus's play. This speaks volumes, Hikaru is a tactician, Magnus a strategist; or Hikaru focuses on his own play, Magnus learns how to destroy the opponent. Now recently with Magnus learning from poker and reinventing openings from zero etc, he's doing that because he's virtually without competition, and he can try to understand chess itself outside of theory or competitors. Edit: case and point, Hikaru says he lost because he played suboptimal sidelines, means he thinks you only win with the best "orthodox" theory, safe main lines, and you win when you force the game to a position where you know for sure you're winning, from memory. Magnus plays mad gambits and sacrifices to go into the uncharted, and thinks actively of a plan in that position. He just calculates better than everybody, so if all are equally in an unknown position, he will win because his trump card is not on the board. It's the meta, the social/diplomatic side of the game, like in poker. Suboptimal play draws others into errors and you can capitalise on that. It puts you to the risk of a temporarily worse position, so it's your responsibility to manage to get something out of the gambit, and to gambit only as much as you understand how to resolve the position in your favour. Eg a complex middlegame, out of theory, where you set up a fork and you win material, paid off, all by your merit.

[@worldpeace8814]

You’re deeping it too much. It’s just an excuse Hikaru made up because of his fragile ego. He had as much of an opportunity to understand Magnus’ playing style as Magnus had to understand his. He is just the worse player out of the two, I doubt their score (14-1) would be any different without that match.

[@BarackObamaJedi]

@@worldpeace8814 i agree it's an excuse by Hikaru, we're pretty much saying the same thing. I agree also that Magnus didn't need that game to overcome him; he would have anyway, eventually. But so many games at once surely were a great opportunity, which he took. Not taking it and then complain shows Hikaru's ego and victimisation that made/makes Magnus a step above him

[@OhWaker]

This is the same reason Kasparov got the better of Karpov in their world championship matches. Kasparov just got better over time as he learned how Karpov played while Karpov couldn't really do the same vice versa

[@fangiscool1]

you're overcomplicating it. The more games played, the higher the chance of the better player winning. This is a known phenomenon and why sports often play more than 1 game to determine the champion. Hikaru knows Magnus is better, so he basically flushed his chances of ever winning consistently down the toilet.

[@sazzowl_gaming8203]

The fact that one person can be so far ahead in a purely skill based game with such a complexity is absolutely insane

[@LukasDorian]

I think it is important to note that when it comes to fame you will find GothamChess close to these two especially by viewer numbers and income, which shows that online chess is some sort of a business after all that created the rivalry to draw attention to the game more than it really exists.

[@rpg_haven]

I think the double bongcloud draw was an important moment for Hikaru. It showed that Magnus finally started respecting him as a competitor. He wouldn't joke around like that with just anyone in a real game

[@ttq3661]

True

[@gcollins1992]

I also think it was important for Hikaru in a different way. I think the pandemic was super helpful to Hikaru's ability to just chill out and not take everything so deadly serious all the time. An earlier incarnation of Hikaru with the chip on his shoulder might have gotten upset rather than laughed about it.

[@gregansbootstrap5352]

@@gcollins1992I wouldn’t say that because he DEFINITELY took that bullet chess championship personal though. He freaked out on Alireza, gave a big glimpse on before pandemic Hikaru.

[@hyacinth199x]

I think you just didn't understand that when Hikaru's fans or people call this as a rivalry, is mainly just because that they're undoubtedly the biggest stars in chess, one gained fame from his chess accolades, one from streaming so the viewership always skyrockets more than anyone else. Most of them are jokes too. Nobody in their right mind, not even me a Hikaru's fan, has ever mentioned that they're very close in terms of skills and achievements. 😂 Edit: Plus, they always seem to have this fervent intensity and passion to beat each other for years, so people are even more pumped up whenever they're matched up.

[@tintinmilou9471]

Nakamura was never part of the conversation, he didnt even face him once in the Worldchampionship, i dont get why they even talk about this

[@MatsMatsuo]

because he is popular and at times he had a rivalry, but only on online blitz tournaments, saw many finals between these two. But statiscally speaking it was never close.

[@Oldlard]

Because Hikaru is the only other player who is arguably better than Magnus at anything to do with chess, which is online blitz/bullet. That most viewers of chess see this format the most amplifies the effect beyond what it is actually worth.

[@felopateer-n9y]

@@Oldlard hikaru isnt better than magnus on online blitz and bullet , it is where hikaru is closest but he isnt better , maguns beats him by far in head up matches in both formats There is no rivalry between these two, Magnus is just way ahead of everyone ... just imagine magnus wakes up drunk , play a tournament with probably half the prep anyone did or even less, and yet crush everyone lol

[@hp9351]

@@felopateer-n9yHikaru had 5 consecutive speed chess titles

[@Oldlard]

@@felopateer-n9y nothing you said contradicts what i said. not sure why you posted.

[@SekiroEnjoyer123]

There is absolutely no rivarly, Hikaru loves to see people think like that though.

[@maloxi1472]

Making shaky assumptions about what strangers on the internet think and feel is one of the dumbest things one can do

[@jaybee4288]

He does though, you can tell and it makes sense. If people think he’s on Magnus’ level it gets him more viewers and mainstream interest. Not so many people will sub to “2nd place and so far behind the best it’s ridiculous to even mention me in the same breath as him” so this narrative they’re on the same level only benefits his streaming career, which is seemingly his main source of income these days.

[@SekiroEnjoyer123]

@@jaybee4288 ُTotally correct! The first reply is from someone who doesn't use their brain.

[@mhqa_]

​@@maloxi1472i see you don't have a clue about hikaru's fragile ego. You seem new to chess

[@HP-wk6fg]

Whenever Hikaru is asked, He always confirm that Magnus is a level above him.

[@EveryoneNeedsASmile]

One thing that never quite made sense to me with the 40 game match between the two: Hikaru continually talks about the weaknesses exposed in his own game, but never anything he learned about Magnus's weaknesses. It always comes up like Magnus tricked Hikaru into revealing something otherwise hidden. But they were both full participants. Why didn’t Hikaru gain anything from playing Magnus? If the answer is, "Magnus was already more solid and could focus on more information than Hikaru," then how was the aftermath anything but inevitable already?

[@Pandora_The_Panda]

Well, maybe it accelerated the process of Magnus figuring out Hikaru and really getting the better of him, whereas before, Hikaru could use more bluffs and tricks without Magnus being 100% able to capitalize on them? I dunno, just theorizing.

[@fangiscool1]

Because Magnus is better than him. Hikaru's chance of victories were upset victories. The chance of the worse player winning after playing so many games decreases substantially.

[@vicdark8807]

Cos Magnus has no weaknesses :p

[@chonchjohnch]

@@vicdark8807yes he does, base of the spine, kneecaps, major nerve clusters

[@AlexanderTheGreat871]

"we are simply better than the others" ~magnus

[@Taalanos]

How come if they play each other 100 times, Magnus learns how to beat Hikaru but Hikaru doesn't learn how to beat Magnus?

[@asmf8699]

you spoke the humbling truth to all Hikaru fans

[@flatbread42]

One of my earliest memories in the chess community was watching Levy recap the Meltwater finals. I had no clue their history and I know the classical score is incredibly lopsided, but in rapid and blitz it’s so awesome to see them play. I love watching them and they will always be rivals in my eyes, especially since the new Hikaru is a different breed according to him.

[@resegom8148]

Shocking to see that there are people who think Magnus has a rival💀

[@CodyBunker]

When Magnus is so far ahead of everyone, the people he spends the most time with are the only ones that can be considered rivals. Chess is very different especially when you have someone like Magnus

[@harrisonzhu3300]

During the midnight match: Magnus: learns Hikarus weaknesses Hikaru: learns Magnus has no weaknesses

[@WarriorssoulB30]

Everyone knows magnus is a head than the rest top players especially in classical, but in rapid and blitz event where people more likely to watch, both often face eachother in final match or in the decider match of the event champion. I think this is the reason why. And i think magnus has a psychology advantage over hikaru since long time ago, because he always play worse than usual when he has to play magnus. But i think he realized this so he adapted and improved his mentality differently nowadays.

[@pRODNEYgy]

Nah, even in rapid magnus is far ahead to hikaru. The margin in blitz is closer though.

[@fangiscool1]

Hikaru doesn't play bad against Magnus. Magnus just makes it look like he's playing bad. Totally different things.

[@C-OBrien]

Hikaru is one of the few players that on his absolute best day can MAYBE beat Magnus on his worst day, there was never a rivalry and no one ever thought there was

[@Savirezz]

It's kinda sad when you think about it. Hikaru just born at the wrong time.

[@chrism3790]

The only reason people even talk of a "rivalry" is because they are both the most popular players. It's definitely not because Hikaru is comparable to Magnus as a player in classical chess. Hikaru has just never been a top player in classical. He's a lot better now that he's chilling a lot more, but still nowhere near Magnus. Blitz? Sure, they're about even and miles ahead of the rest.

[@gregansbootstrap5352]

Maybe online Blitz. But over the board blitz hikaru just isn’t good at.

[@nirolf12]

Online, sure. Over the board blitz? Not even close, there's a reason Hikaru never won anything

[@krishughes4902]

Being a covid player this puts a smile on my face to hear those times in such a positive light.

[@Drryler]

This is like gojo vs geto, because of how far gojo is above the rest

[@VoltageCowboy]

You did a great job explaining the rivalry. There is money and draw for a good fashion banter. Magnus is the GOAT and Hikaru is an incredible player who basically spring boarded chess into popularity. He deserves a lot of praise.

[@borpheus4651]

6:58 his face😂😂

[@karezaalonso7110]

Great synopsis. If you could please link the full video to each of the clips, that'd be great

[@HERIZG]

im suprise by the amount of subscribers you have i would have expected much more as this is a good quality video.

[@pyropulseIXXI]

Magnus and Hikaru were never considered rivals, by anyone, ever

[@lord_haven1114]

They are pretty darn close in blitz chess, but definitely not classical.

[@oliviercolletaz5841]

magnus won 6 blitz world championships grischuk won 2 liem, mvl and karjakin won 1 hikaru finished second twice

[@pilgrimoftheworld]

I was 2nd best athlete and 2nd best at soccer at school, I hated the kid who was better than me. It's 30 years later and I still hate him.

[@dreadpirateroberts2259]

It is quite amazing how this video completely disregards Fabiano Caruana , who was actually the only one who really rivalled Magnus in classical and was perhaps as good as Magnus at his peak in 2018 and also maintained a 2800+ rating for years and instead pretends as if Hikaru was the by far no.2 player in the world and the only rival to magnus.

[@crafe2305]

this videos not about him? its about the hikaru narrative

[@nanashiv2]

Hikaru dominated fabi h2h

[@aryanmishra3225]

@@nanashiv2 h2h wise magnus better than hikaru in bullet too

[@craftykev]

A great perspective on a supposed rivalry. Well done

[@alexandrefreitas9295]

There are some things that are funny to hear as a chess player/fan... like those claims that "Magnus plays psychological chess, like when he shows up late". Dude.... the only "psychological" thing that happens there is he is able to get twenty extra minutes of sleep. This doesn't affect the opponent, a professional chess player, AT ALL.

[@6121FRobotics]

exactly... this probably actually gives the opponents more of an psychological advantage since they know they're starting out with a massive time advantage.

[@MaxIronsThird]

so, you've never played chess before huh.

[@6121FRobotics]

@@MaxIronsThird I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be bothered at all if I started off with a time advantage against my opponent... obviously it would give me a better chance to win the game. I guess you would rather be the one down time though, since you think it gives a psychological advantage

[@MaxIronsThird]

@@6121FRobotics What if your oponent gets to a game late, burning half his time, then starts blitzing out every move, by move 20, you're basically matched on time and on the board, and guess what, he's way higher rated than you. Also, you had to just sit there waiting for minutes for him to come and play the game, it's disrespectful. He's basically saying that he doesn't need the time, to win against you and it also makes it awkward for you, bc you don't want your oponent to lose, just bc he was late, something might have happened to him, well at least that's how top level players feel.

[@6121FRobotics]

@@MaxIronsThird being outplayed over the board has nothing to do with psychology. If you have a massive time advantage and are unable to convert it that just means your opponent was better than you, not that they were good at "psychological chess"

[@Atlas92936]

Hikaru is that underdog prodigy that everyone roots for but somehow still doesn’t get gold

[@nickjohnson7866]

Magnus vs Hikaru is like the Jon Jones vs Daniel Comier of chess except one guy didn't pop for steroids this time.

[@worldpeace8814]

Nah Jones and Cormier are close in skill and have comparable resumes, did u even watch this video?

[@fangiscool1]

Daniel Cormier is a double champion and didn't lose to anyone not named "Jon Jones" for years. There's been plenty of better players than Hikaru during Hikaru's career. Fabi and Levon Aronian, just off the top of my head.

[@BadselS]

Pretty accurate comsidering Jones-Cormier wasn't close either. Jones smoked him both times

[@Hacienda_27]

The Machine vs The Calculator is always A good watch

[@MaskeyKamenRider]

This is considered a rivalry in the same sense that Goku vs Vegeta is considered a rivalry

[@mr.anti-hero4398]

But it's not entirely analogous. Unlike Vegeta, Hikaru was never better than Carlsen, while the Vegeta was far ahead of everyone else in the beginning, until he was overpowered.

[@quibble9003]

except everyone loves vegeta. hikaru is a pos.

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

@@mr.anti-hero4398 Vegeta was also stronger than Goku for 24 hours after leaving the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to fight Cell, since he got in before Goku. Got completely outclassed again right after that, though.

[@alfrdhrnndz]

lol ultra ego vs mui is debatable comparing magnus to hikaru is like comparing messi to neymar

[@walterfritzzz]

​@@alfrdhrnndzatleast messi and neymar was comparable at 2014-2017,even ney at 2017 was better than messi imo,at 2015 even though messi won ballon dor he was at the same level as neymar or ronaldo not better not worse

[@saltydalty882]

this should've been titled as " The Greatest Bromance in Chess History "

[@yahyaj4845]

5:28 What was stopping Hikaru from understanding Magnus' style and exploiting it?

[@melzz]

While Magnus understands Hikaru weakness, Hikaru understands that Magnus has no weaknesses 😂

[@4Shaman]

Magnus is stopping that

[@moose9987]

that there is no exploit lmao

[@joebazooks]

magnus said it best at one point when somebody was comparing the two of em. just look at the results. hikaru is one of the best speed chess players, but magnus still outperforms him even in speed chess

[@andrewzhang8512]

Hikaru and magnus should be close rivals in bligz iirc

[@learnerbetter9872]

They are not though Magnus is far ahead

[@Makot0214]

Lmao not even close

[@andrewzhang8512]

yeah nvm i was high when i made that comment 3am braincells

[@davidsantiago7808]

Nobody talks about the fact that Ding Liren became a world champ only because magnus didnt care to enter.

[@KuroiRenge]

He also played through a gauntlet of other Super GMs. That's why.

[@yuganderkrishansingh3733]

Magnus has been on a diff level compared to all contemporaries...Only rivalry exists in Hikaru and his fans imagination.

[@luitze]

These documentaries are GOOOOD keep going dude ❤

[@Lscott-fk2sn]

to be honest, naka, fabi, wesley so, karjakin, and maxime lagrave are all pretty much the same skill level and tied for second (although if we talk at their peak fabi is clearly the next best, generally speaking he is on the same level as many of the others, especially if you include other time controls, which i am counting for my argument)

[@sparasyte]

If someone told me this was the inspiration behind Gojo vs Sukuna, I'd believe it.

[@miyamotoyamazaki1760]

Magnus is a league of his own

[@Tetsi]

Best friends off the court, sworn enemies on it

[@TruthSurge]

3:05 I'm out.

[@hydra9627]

Damn Surge, you like chess as well? That’s cool as fuck.

[@Volvandese]

I think of it like how the Yankees and Red Sox were for decades: rivals where one side always wins

[@Raghuveer2798]

Magnus never had rivals overall. Magnus vs Hikaru is a rivalry only in blitz and bullet, especially in online chess.

[@theFalcon_1]

not even close in online chess too

[@raqig7511]

and yes, Magnus is different, he is like the beloved of Caissa, he has a serious and big motivation to play chess with all his presence and spirit, that's the difference between Magnus and all other players

[@jinametarasu5117]

Its because 1000s elo players and below see hikaru as the king of chess without seeing that magnus is the reigning god

[@VladimirMalakhov]

Hikaru and the other top 20 super gms are around a very similar level. Magnus is a big step ahead of all of them.

[@jasondonovan7981]

Well, technically Hikaru has achieved a world championship, if we count the fischer random world championships he has won. Although, only the 2022 one was under FIDE.

[@Matthew-bu7fg]

you can't christen something a "world championship" that was essentially a closed shop between about 6 players

[@jinametarasu5117]

Fischer random cannot be counted as a formal tournament as its more of a fun game than a serious fide bonafide tournament, due to the fischer random’s randomness it completely disqualify it self as a fair and competitive tournament. Thats like saying toy race car driving is equivalent to f1 racing

[@Ramej]

it's such a shame that hikaru was born at the era where magnus is at his prime

[@snakevenom4954]

Funnily enough, Messi and Ronaldo isn't a rivalry. It was Messi owning Ronaldo for years. Ronaldo would do slightly better one year and be praised. But Messi was consistent and in their primes, it's not a competition

[@TheBluePhoenix008]

I don't watch football but oh boy this comment is gonna start a war💀

[@Aaron-f-n6f]

@@TheBluePhoenix008it shouldn’t, it’s facts, anyone with a football brain will acknowledge Messi is better and it’s not even close

[@donkey_mediocre7246]

Yeah Hikaru and Ronaldo just have good pr and advertising

[@bhargavsai8014]

Bruh cr7 has won 5 ballondors to Messi's 8,atleast it's a bit close compared to hikaru who hasn't won a single championship compared to carlsen,go and get some help

[@triharders2456]

@@Aaron-f-n6f ronaldo better

[@ItachiUchiha-mh8hn]

This one of the best documentaries I've watched on ch3ss.

[@Nicckui]

Hikaru is a professional chess streamer and he continues to have such great results. While Magnus has an unbelievable talent and understanding of the game, 5 times World Chess Champion in classical, simply the GOAT. They are both best at different spheres. It is not right to compare them. I just love watching games between these two and it became a bit of an addiction.

[@kartikeyatiwari2502]

Hikaru was being destroyed by magnus well before he became a streamer

[@PrecisionCalc]

But he was already a top player before streaming. The way youre describing Hikaru is as if hes just a good streamer but not a great professional

[@DoubleFractals]

Best chess players: 1. Magnus 2. Drunk Magnus 3. Diarrhea Magnus

[@NotTheWheel]

Magnus is a man with many Rivals but no Equals.

[@gregansbootstrap5352]

Rivals are usually supposed to be close to equal. Magnus has many opponents but none are equals is a better phrase

[@philiplawrencetrinidad6101]

Their rivalry is like the rivalry of Goku and Vegeta, both are good but Goku just seems to be always one step ahead of Vegeta in every step of the way.

[@manjilmanjil3003]

You can compare him with Legends like Bobby Fischer but I don't see a rival for him in this generation. Hope the young generation beats his ass in future although they will not be fighting prime Magnus at that moment but the question will be if they can dominate like Magnus .

[@rustergyt]

"For a great mind, nothing is little" - Sherlock Holmes

[@MaximBakhtin727]

poor hikaru, he had the talent to becaome world champion, he just had the bad luck to be in the magnus era

[@gregansbootstrap5352]

Kinda similar to Neymar being in the same era as Messi-Ronaldo, could’ve won so many individual awards but just outclassed by goats.

[@ir2539]

@@gregansbootstrap5352 reall

[@oooahrl4998]

Lol, he's not even in the top 5 of his generation.

[@bryanchu5379]

if not for magnus there would be an actually close rivalry between fabi and hikaru

[@lordblanck7923]

Wasnt there a young kid recently who beated magnus ?​@bryanchu5379

[@NikhilJha89]

Excelling in the game is one thing while taking it to masses is another. Hikaru took chess to masses and that’s the difference.

[@jenssletteberg3974]

It's such a diss to call Nakamura "murican". Nakamura is obviously Japanese, even if he lives in the robber colonies.

[@shunakiyama6275]

He is of Japanese decent but he's American. Born in and lives in America

[@jenssletteberg3974]

@@shunakiyama6275 Unless his name is secretly "Rests With Thundercloud", he's not Murican. You guys kid yourself. Murica is not a country, it's a Free Mason enrichment project, at best "an idea", or as Mike Pompeio infamously put it: The American Experiment. An actual country has its own language, history older than what you can see in pictures, unique etneticity and some culture of it's own (no, neither french fries, hot dogs nor apple pie are Murican). Murica doesn't even have a name! It has a general description of an alliance. "The Glorious Assortment of Areas in America"...

[@jenssletteberg3974]

@@shunakiyama6275 Nakamura in particular is very likely the result of Murica nuking Japan and people fleeing to their tyrant for safety. Just 80 years ago. Which makes this particularly true.

[@illiminatiihtiyarheyeti7002]

​@@shunakiyama6275not born in USA btw but the rest of is correct

[@sergioparra193]

that late night chess duel is like the real life version of the zoolander walk off lmao

[@qururox]

It's actually the same as Messi and Ronaldo, while people compare them, Messi is just way ahead of anyone else (won the most Ballon D'Ors, the most Golden Boots, won every big trophy possible in football, the player with the most goal contributions "G/A" in history of football)

[@alberteinstein2291]

nah ronaldo still has stuff like most goals,ucls,uefa potys and stuff...meanwhile theres not a single (considerable) metric where hikaru is greater than magnus

[@talibalilm1690]

Lol , Ronaldo beats Messi in most high level individual stats , just look at the year to year basis of champions league individual stats . you mentioned your ballon dors , the fact that there’s a Messi ballon dor meme speaks for itself. winning a world cup is a team game wasn’t just Messi , Argentina had a top squad. Messi not even best player in Argentina history

[@XDXDXD-h5e]

imo Messi is better than Ronaldo yes but not as big as a margin as Magnus - Hikaru prime Madrid Ronaldo in the UCL is just something else, all those UCL titles speak for itself, the man scored so many goals even generational talents like Mbappe and Haaland would not likely able to catch up

[@aanuiwueze48]

@@talibalilm1690 Name the high level stats then😆. Nigga is acting like the Champions League is the only competition. Why not just compare their outputs year on year?

[@brunoactis1104]

It kinda is very much like Messi v Ronaldo. One is clearly better than the other and it's not even close, but it's cool to believe there is.

[@Roberto-fg9oj]

like Messi vs ronaldo, the only reason they compare these two is because ronaldo is the one that has been closer to Messi that anyone that doesnt mean hes on the same table

[@amaroonsheepyt3916]

true ronaldo 3x better

[@kangaroo7143]

The delusional guy like above me is the only reason it existed.

[@daverowe1081]

I think they were closer to "rivals" in the early part of their careers, particularly because with young players there's so much ambiguity as to how high and how quickly they can climb the ranks. So on one side you've got this American prodigy who looks like the USA's best chance at a world champ since Bobby Fischer, and on the other side is this Scandinavian wunderkind that has shown flashes of brilliancy and the potential for dominance, but no one could have anticipated him becoming arguably the GOAT. And, to your point, Hikaru scored well against Magnus rather consistently before that Moscow Blitz match. All the makings of a perfect rivalry for a decade or more. But their careers took different trajectories. Hikaru still had success and good results but also stepped away from chess in his 20's to attend university, and Magnus' career took off so much so that it's reasonable to say NO ONE is or has been his rival since he ascended in the early 2010's. It's fascinating that they still wound up where they are today, the #1 and #2 ranked players in the world.

[@Zulu-xe9zm]

Magnus is way ahead that no one can rival him 😶

[@AlonsoRules]

This is the Sharapova/S Williams of chess

[@ExplodingSkull-n5y]

The rivalry is in the sense that both magnus and hikaru are polarising ends for different tiers of fans. Hikarus fans are more loyal, magnus fans love him because he is the best

[@learnerbetter9872]

This is bs Stop inventing $hit, there is no rivalry

[@strek45]

​@@learnerbetter9872Lmao. Rivalry because "Hikaru has loyal fans". In what world is that a rivalry?😂😂

[@maheshdawani]

not at all dont talk rubbish,today i saw how much loyal fans hikaru has got as he is getting trolled for his behaviour,to be fair hikaru dont even have much fans,on the other magnus is the most famous personality in chess history

[@paulxy952]

Can we discuss that weird head Magnus Carlsen is wearing?

[@julianpuscikowski]

only player who has a legit claim to have a real rivalery with Magnus is Fabiano

[@vegancoke6637]

Yes!!

[@nimitsharma4476]

nakamura beat fabi so many times naka and magnus is greatest riivalry

[@thirstforknowledge._]

Prime Fabiano was a beast at that time but such a pity he had to encounter against prime Magnus

[@julianpuscikowski]

@@nimitsharma4476 you must have negative knowlage. Fabiano is the only player who has basically gotten to one game difference in terms of rating (2835 vs 2832 in 2018). Has been world no. 2 for the longest and has played most games with Magnus. Not to mention he is the only player to never lose a classical game against Magnus in the world championship (Nakamura was unable to qualify) and was basically on the verge of beating him. Fabiano clears Nakamura

[@lordtouchme77]

​​​@@julianpuscikowski that might be true but fabiano has been losing to nakamura on both classical and blitz time formats especially fabiano are currently on a losing streak in classical (he already lost 4/5 times to hikaru in recent years), so saying him clear nakamura is not 100% correct since nakamura play in recent years have been improving compared to fabiano.

[@ligayaphotocinema]

Magnus is the Michael Jordan of Chess.

[@lucazolk862]

So the Messi vs Ronaldo of chess

[@muhammadmasud223]

But here nobody is helping magnus to achieve anything😂

[@nickblood8503]

This is a great video on some history I never knew about. Fantastic stuff!

[@theazrael4423]

Hikaru's problem is mental, he can beat anyone when he's not overly emotionally invested; that's why he tanks when facing Magnus

[@gregansbootstrap5352]

Could say the exact same thing about anyone, including Magnus. You can’t just blame every single loss hikaru has on his mental state. Sometimes there’s just players he gets beat by their style, and sometimes he matches well against others styles.

[@KarmBiga]

bro hasn't seen the Norway chess standings. Hikaru is slowly getting better. Only 2 games down is wild compared to before. So close to winning :(😥

[@obscurity3027]

I don’t think this is a rivalry. I just think Hikaru has the best chances out of everyone else to beat Magnus. That’s why everyone gets pumped when they play each other.

[@6121FRobotics]

best chances in blitz, maybe. In classical, Hikaru gets destroyed by Magnus. Excluding draws, Magnus has something like 14 wins and one loss against him.

[@nanashiv2]

@@6121FRoboticslike 6 years ago nowadays hikaru has been performing as best classical player since pandemic

[@piyushdinkar8386]

Magnus is undertaker of chess Fabiano : shawn michaels Hikaru : hhh

[@JocelinoFernandes-l4j]

There is no player nowadays good enough to rival Magnus, well maybe Ding in his prime

[@jovanvranes8038]

im a fan of ding but that's probably a stretch. although having some excellent results against magnus, if it was a wc match, there is probably no more than 20% chance of ding winning

[@utube9404]

Pragg defeated Magnus multiple times, even today as well. lol.

[@strek45]

​@@utube9404so? How does that make him his rival in the slightest?

[@parisp2583]

fabi

[@juliocadavid6640]

​@@utube9404Nope, i mean. Magnus is still leading the score. And Magnus has beaten him a bit more so Magnus is still up. But Pragg is very close and at his age, so, seems like Magnus gonna have to do something to comeback and show once again whos the BOSS Pragg is Magnus Kryptonite but he's not won anything yet, so theres not something as rivalry. Like Karpov and Kasparov where Karpov was always there, Pragg needs more consistency but he's very good and he's the next big thing in my book

[@K-Moh]

You got my sub broh. This was good.

[@alfrdhrnndz]

Carlsen-Kasparov-Fischer is like Djokovic-Nadal-Federer