The Most Utterly ASTONISHING Chess Match Of The Entire Year

[@compromisedssh]

I love how the difference between first and second place here is 90% accuracy versus 89.9% accuracy.

[@howard5992]

I dig seeing the eval bar dancing up and down.

[@jonathonjubb6626]

Seeing them BOTH smile so much at the end was the best sight this chess year.. thanks for showing that...

[@Ezra.The.American.Patriot]

i agree, it truly is a good sight

[@michaelmassaro4375]

Hikaru kind of blew it at the end of that last game but overall it was a dynamite series both players played fantastic Magnus triumphant Incredible player he is thanks James

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah huge mutual respect great to see

[@garymaiano1008]

What a great commentaries you give. I really enjoy watching your channel, I'm sure I speak for many. Keep up the good work. Peace.

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot glad you’re enjoying!

[@davidbracewell1674]

​​@@epicchess2021think you're the best. Even when you follow down lines not taken I find you so easy to follow. Thank 'ee, sir.

[@cppoppin12]

​@@epicchess2021you're the king

[@coniccinoc]

hear, hear

[@peterhaslund]

Hikaru just basically playing the clock, where Magnus is playing real chess even with no time

[@mcronrn]

Complete collapse by Hikaru with 30 SECONDS on the clock - an eternity to him and bragging rights for ever on the line… the win in his hand for grasping…

[@Christoff070]

Good thing he literally doesnt care

[@flame0154]

even if he’d won this game, it would have gone to tiebreaks

[@NickAllPlay]

You should cover some of Hikaru's brilliance in the previous games too. He was on a roll. What a match this was and your channel is the best at covering these. You'll be the best chess analysis channel on the planet soon. Mark my words! You heard it here first 😁

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks very much appreciate it! And yeah I’m planning to cover that phenomenal queen sac game later loved that one

[@aaronchan1088]

He blew the four pt lead, and missed the crushing Ra2+, and Carlsen will either lose his queen for the rook or get mated. Could not withstand the Magnus effect. Since Magnus foolishly vacated his WCC throne, naka could eventually become the first American to win the WCC since Robert James Fischer.

[@The.Pawn.Channel]

Knew this final was going to be a banger! Was glued to my phone for 3 hours😅 Great commentary- And such a quick turnaround!

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks very much! Cheers for watching

[@BribeNestleSin]

I love your channel and I really enjoy how you talk about the game and describe specific moves (“swashbucklingly” was wonderful). Thanks for putting in the work you do

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks very much appreciate it, yeah though I struggled to say that word speaking too fast haha . Cheers for watching

[@jeff-buri-jeff3716]

It was cool to see them both smiling at the end 🙂

[@MattyNiceZM]

Hikaru has come a long way

[@joeecm27]

Bullet is Hikaru’s best chance against Magnus. Magnus is on a serious heater, even for being (imo) the goat he’s playing just unbelievable chess right now.

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah agreed!

[@Jez2008UK]

I love your channel and how you explain stuff (I'm from the UK as well). I watched this game live (very first time I've ever watched a chess competition) and things happen so fast a player like me just can't understand/follow it that quickly. Keep up the fantastic work!

[@epicchess2021]

Oh cool awesome to hear people randomly getting into chess and always nice seeing fellow brits in the comments. Cheers for watching glad you enjoyed !

[@Vendavalez]

This is what chess should be. Just seeing their expressions is great!

[@googleyoutubechannel8554]

Hikaru finds Ra2 all day long... except when playing Magnus. A fifteen year streak of clockwork failure, just at the apex. Brutal. Just pure torture, Hikaru always strong in short time controls, but then breaking, humiliating himself, over and over... for fifteen years... a perpetual Charlie Brown to Magnus's Lucy. Just brutal.

[@raylopez99]

True. Vishy Anand also had a "double blunder' when playing Magnus Carlsen in the first WC match. Had he found the obvious move it would have possibly altered the outcome of the match (though of course MC is the best player of all time). All of us fall into the same trap at times: playing poorly vs higher rated players (though presently on LiChess I have a nearly even lifetime score vs a player 400 points higher than my 2100 Elo, "I have their number" and they play poorly every time we meet). Don't psych yourself out when playing, as MC himself said to some students a few months ago in a video.

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah maybe , it’s such fine margins, he used his clock wrong in this instance but I find it so hard to criticise truly could have gone either way tbh, I don’t really believe Magnus is in his head much anymore I think they are almost equals when it comes to online speed chess , slight edge to Magnus still tho I feel

[@mcronrn]

When he writes his memoir “My 60 Greatest Blunders”, Hikaru will list this miss #1

[@advaitavedanta6617]

🤣maybe "my 64 greatest blunders"

[@epicchess2021]

😂 I dunno if he will ever write that tho lol

[@FelixPerez-ts3lx]

You manage to pull off commentary that’s both impassioned yet incitefull, nice work

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks very much !

[@ChocolateMilk..]

Magnus didn't offer a draw, Hikaru did.

[@epicchess2021]

Ah sorry thanks for pointing out!

[@woahblow4127]

Pretty sure Hikaru has some kind of mental block. I've seen loads of videos of him beating Magnus handily in the late game but he always gives up his lead going into the end game (which no one on earth can win against Magnus from a losing or even position). Wonder if he's looked into getting one of those esport coaches that prep you. They're pretty big in the fighting game scene where closing out while ahead is crucial

[@donquixote8462]

Rxb6 was a tactic i saw immediately. Thats wild. The pressure for Magnus not to see that must have been huge.

[@chefcarry2902]

Now play it in a must win game. I'm sure you won't even get to that point and only last less than 10 moves

[@raylopez99]

@@chefcarry2902 Depends on the opponents rating. MC and HN are evenly matched nearly.

[@GG-od2tr]

lol swashbuckling though. As though he sails the high seas! Magnus is a pyrite of pirates. Win or lose both are smiling. Both are needed for joy.

[@epicchess2021]

Haha yeah v true

[@fingerfeller]

looks like they had fun, thats whats important, especially friends vs friends , but magnus barely escaped that game with a draw, thanks Epic

[@md.mohaiminulislam9618]

magnus offered the draw himself as a gentleman's gesture, he would have won if they played,

[@fingerfeller]

@@md.mohaiminulislam9618 yes Hikaru blundered mate twice possibly 3 times, amazing, there is no way i can play 1 minute games, i play one hour games or correspondence games, nobody i know that lives near me ie family, freinds, play chess so OTB is out of question

[@md.mohaiminulislam9618]

@@fingerfeller everyone blunders mate, they aren't engines playing accurate always

[@fingerfeller]

@@md.mohaiminulislam9618 i am not implying Hikaru is a perfect player and should never blunder, i am not implying Magnus is perfect either he made a few mistakes in that game , my attempt commenting that magnus almost loosing that you replied too was to simply say Hikaru blundered mate, commenters even said it , its a game , players blunder, i should know, i am certainly not implying i am a perfect player and have never made a blunder and have won every game i ever played and certainly not a better player than either of the two players, i do however have concern about your disdain for my initial comment and disdain about my casual reply to your reply , so to end this conversation i can say im not a beginner but do play puzzles, live online to improve but i dont need educating on the game or players abilities

[@kieranwilliams2609]

Hikaru actually went into this game a point down, so even if he won this game, he wouldn't have won the match.. they would have had to play more to decide.

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah I might have mischaracterised that unintentionally, just didn’t wanna give away result

[@babyitsnatural]

If carlson has almost double the blunders yet more accuracy that says a lot about the accuracy of his nonblunders

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah and the average accuracy from both guys was really incredible when you think that includes bullet chess as well

[@theguardian308]

Daniel screams out A2, the other guy screams out something that doesn’t make sense. Respect to Daniel

[@epicchess2021]

Haha Aman was screaming for rook takes b6 for Magnus to play which was correct and then Danya was screaming for Hikaru’s move of ra2

[@LtKregorov]

The most impressive is that Magnus has less brilliancies and more blunders than Hikaru but still comes out with better accuracy. It goes to show that the match was won and determined not by the astonishing, amazing brilliancies and killer blunders, but by all the other hundreds of normal, insignificant moves that in sum were only a couple decimal percentage better than Hikaru. It goes to show how terrifying Magnus is. He can blunders almost double than you, and he will still win the match.

[@epicchess2021]

💯

[@iv4nx3]

That was incredible, Hikaru is the ONLY person on Earth that can give Magnus that much of a run in chess, he was so happy at the end.

[@worldlyatheist]

Definitely felt like neither of them were playing as good as they were against the other competitors.

[@epicchess2021]

Maybe I dunno honestly was so much fun to watch tho

[@hoon_sol]

Reminds of the final moments of the anime Kaiji (the first of the two seasons); if you know you know.

[@aaronchan1088]

naka missed Ra2+ which would force tiebreaks... and he coughed up a 9 - 5 lead... ouch

[@bharsmugu2244]

Hikaru set it up beautifully by playing Qf1 and then he unraveled .. Missed some basic mating patterns something that a player of his caliber would find it day in n out .. perhaps it was the pressure doing it’s magic . Wished for an Armageddon .. would ve been fantastic

[@headred76]

6:41 Hikaru is no.1 at the time of the match.

[@epicchess2021]

Ah thanks!

[@dickmacgurn590]

We just witnessed possibly the greatest match of our lifetimes. The 2 GOATS at the peak of their abilities! 💪💪💪

[@theguardian308]

Two GOATs that are doing amazing things to chess and get people interested in chess. So glad we have Magnus as the champion (true champion) instead of old guy. No offence to Ding but since winning the championship what has he done to promote chess to wider audience. And previous champions were old men who weren’t inspiring a wider audience

[@raylopez99]

Most players peak in Elo actually in their 30s, which by hippie standards is an "old man". Also this: At age 24, Tal was the youngest world champion of his time, a record that was only broken in 1985 by Kasparov, at age 22.

[@theguardian308]

Interesting, didn’t know that. I’m a newcomer to chess and absolutely loving it. Before that I just thought about chess as being old men. So I am loving what Magnus is doing for chess

[@EV0ACE]

I’m astonished

[@coniccinoc]

What a championship tourney and what a finish! I am grateful to live in a time where we have access to live games, unbelievably good players and high quality recaps like this video. Thank you.

[@epicchess2021]

Agreed and thanks very much!

[@mcronrn]

This game reminds me of the Magnus game where he played the Nc3 (??) King’s Gambit Accepted (so e4 e5 f4 exf4 Nc3) and the GM could have beat Magnus in 10 moves but lost 🤣🤷🏻‍♂️

[@declaredjeans7555]

Who was that against?

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah you love the non standard openings haha I think we all do, makes a nice change

[@lifeson90]

really interesting game when enhanced with the superb commentary as usual but with so many chances missed it can't be called a great game surely

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah but bullet remember! Incredible for bullet I’d say and thanks for watching and kind words

[@_.alex.-]

Great vid James, was looking forward to this one. I did catch the last three bullets yesterday, they were brilliant. They have almost completed development by the time I've worked out who has what colour LOL.

[@epicchess2021]

Haha I’m with you there 😆 and thanks a lot Alex

[@arkzbh]

I was following first few games, but it was too late at night here in India, whole thing started at 11.30PM, I think I dozed off around 2. 😢

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah I was thinking for Magnus as well was quite late in Norway and surely helped hikaru a bit

[@teeemm9456]

This was my favorite game of the final.

[@PauloCarnaxide]

That's why Chess is the most beautiful game ever...! ❤

[@segercliffhanger]

Blinded by the light, Nakamura was. So close. What a roller coaster. Really beautiful. Epic analysis and commentary as always, spot-on in every way. What a beautiful mate combination -if Nakamura had seen it. Wow.

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks very much!

[@chessart9419]

Nice analysis man!

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot glad you enjoyed

[@Celebrian261]

how did you record and upload so fast

[@epicchess2021]

Oh I was watching and preparing all night really plus I do this a lot so have gotten quicker !

[@dessertstorm7476]

its more impressive that hikaru has a video up already

[@craigbrannan8143]

Great recap!

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot as always

[@MartyHirsch]

Awesome bullet game!

[@mrdunklin08]

That was unbelievable

[@ranchopatriot]

One of the few good things about the times we live in.

[@thebigcnel]

The way I see it, if you can give Magnus such a run for his money, that’s a win. Hikaru might be the only speed chess player on the planet that can match with Magnus. Love Hikaru but man Magnus really is the best ever.

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah Hikaru has come a long way

[@burt591]

It would have been nice if you show the mate in 5 at the end (at least the main ideas) instead of just saying it's mate in 5. After be5+ if Ka7 what would be the continuation?

[@md.mohaiminulislam9618]

Bd4+ kb8 qd8+ kb7 qd7+ ka6 qc6+ ka5 qb6+ ka4 qb4# this is the longest checkmate, anything else is shorter checkmate

[@chinmayaprakash]

In the position at 11:33 after 1. Be5+, if 1.. Kc8 then it is checkmate in one with 2. Qd7#. If 1.. Ka7 then 2. Bd4+. If 2.. Ka6, it is checkmate in two with 3. Qc6+ 3.. Ka5 4. Bc3#. If 2.. Kb8, then 3. Qd8+ 3.. Kb7 4. Qd7+. If 4.. Kb8, it is checkmate in one with 5. Be5#. If 4.. Ka6, it is checkmate in two, like mentioned above in a different variation, with 5. Qc6+ 5.. Ka5 6. Bc3#

[@epicchess2021]

Ah sorry yeah and I meant to as well when I was was preparing and then completely forgot

[@burt591]

@@epicchess2021 Thanks for replying and taking this in a positive way

[@kaldrazadrim]

You managed to beat Agadmator by posting sooner, impressive! He must be picking grapes today

[@epicchess2021]

Haha yeah tho he’s a little bigger than me so channels his size can post when they want really !

[@mikijwa]

What a seesaw ending that was. Glad I watched it live

[@dgen77]

lol these guys average 90 accuracy with this time format 🤣

[@epicchess2021]

Mad

[@Matthew-bu7fg]

you forgot the world chess championship already and Ding's immortal self-rook pin? 😟

[@epicchess2021]

Na not forget but I think this was a better match. Watching the very best in the world at something is always the most exciting imo

[@user-fg4wg7xg3n]

lovely video again, thx !

[@epicchess2021]

No worries thanks for watching

[@mcharles6375]

Uaihaha hikaru is like noooooooooooooo I played like a 1700 lol

[@guanlin0]

No, if Hikaru won that match it would just be tied. Magnus needed only a draw to clinch victory. Magnus was leading by 2 games up to the last five minutes where Hikaru won on demand in the second last bullet game, and Hikaru had to win the last game just to bring it to tie-breaks. (Referring to the starting introduction you made)

[@epicchess2021]

Sorry yeah I maybe said that slightly wrong, I was tryna keep tension by not revealing match situation because if I said was final game and Magnus is leading then ppl would already know ok Magnus must have won then so tried to deliver in such a way to say last game and person who wins this won the whole match , but yeah ofc would have gone tiebreaks if Hikaru’s did like you say

[@guanlin0]

@@epicchess2021 yea understood how it would be better to say that, thought it was unintentional mistake on your part. all good, love the videos u put out and any day talking about chess is a good day!

[@bluecocacola]

so epic

[@ultiumlabs4899]

the accuracy wow.. only 0.1% difference.

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah incredible when you think that average includes bullet as well

[@raylopez99]

No hate but Hikaru should have found that winning move. Even with seconds. Ray Robson, GM extraordinaire with puzzles, would have found it.

[@chizorokolie8445]

Lol . Ignorance is indeed bliss, don't you know circumstances differ? Or. That they have been on their chairs for 4 hours ? Or both are exhausted and just really need the win.

[@chizorokolie8445]

Or the kind of pressure both were under being in the final game. And you juxtapose that with a puzzle when ones mind isn't under duress.

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah he says himself he should have if he’d have used his time properly but he played quick for clock pressure but unfortunately for him too quick, I think it’s hard for them at times to remember it’s 1+1 and not 1+0

[@daviddurbin7682]

Was a great match

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah! Thanks for watching

[@Cloudland117]

epic chess!

[@naderkhajeh2573]

فوق العاده بود ممنونم

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@brunomaelstrom8823]

Hikaru screw it … Anand wouldn’t miss Ra2

[@epicchess2021]

😆

[@VortexAsha]

Why didn't Hikaru just flag him?

[@epicchess2021]

Bit tough to in this time control because they get increment (time added per move)

[@airdee]

why do chess player offer a draw when you can win by a higher score?

[@epicchess2021]

Well a draw was all Magnus needed at that point so why bother checkmating basically was the thought !

[@MattyNiceZM]

It’s a weird grand master way of both players acknowledging each others awesomeness

[@fahimhoq3166]

there was only seconds left on the clock, so it is not easy to find the best moves even in a winning position.

[@Jez2008UK]

Nah, why do that, he's being gentlemanly and good sportsmanship.

[@flame0154]

The forced mate was incredibly straightforward, the draw was offered as a joke - Magnus has done this in match-winning positions against Hikaru before (e.g. final of Airthings masters)

[@thegorn]

Let's not beat around the bush here - Hikaru choked. He choked on Magnus big D energy by missing M2. Poor Hikaru. Always Magnus' whipping boy.

[@raylopez99]

Yep. It should have gone to tiebreaks and then HN could have won it. But still nice match.

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah but not always anymore , he won last year ofc!

[@mcronrn]

Scripted 🤣🤣

[@epicchess2021]

Haha it’s certainly how you’d write it