Voted CHESS GAME OF THE YEAR 2023!! Wesley So vs Magnus Carlsen

This chess game between Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So Is described as "One Of The Most Beautiful Chess Games You'll Ever See" and has now been officially voted chess game of the year 2023 per the chess.com awards: www.chess.com/news/view/2023-....
It's from The Champions Chess Tour Finals, a chess event in Canada by chess.com, and Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So just played out a true chess immortal.
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[@VallaMusic]

Now will forever be known as the Sistine Chapel game.

[@MislavIvkovic-sx8vd]

They are couple chess super gm maybe they will.newer be a Wc bcs they dont play for results they created beautiful masterpeace like Wesly Firozija Mamedjarov etc

[@sonnymagnifico4651]

@@MislavIvkovic-sx8vdooo

[@PrometheanRising]

Wesley is a complete savage when he puts his foot on the gas.

[@brunomaltaferreira]

Loved the Wesley’s pre-move joke! Ice cold delivery.😂

[@epicchess2021]

Hahah Thanks a lot!

[@joseraulcapablanca8564]

A great win for So, truly beautiful attacking play, I think we all know that Magnus is winning this tournament in the end. I can testify that I subscribed only three days ago as a 745 rated player, and now I am suddenly, not only a GM, but also a former world champion. Thanks James.

[@epicchess2021]

hahaha very glad to hear and yeah this game was really special! Loved it live

[@thomasli6918]

Hi Kramnik! Didn't know you just became a GM a couple days ago, makes sense though. Are you enjoying this interesting game?

[@joseraulcapablanca8564]

@@thomasli6918 indeed Thomas, I might go as far as calling it fascinating, not sure of the logic though.

[@MikeSmith-vo2yt]

Nice, I wonder who won

[@giannismentz3570]

Nice decent combo, it's just that, let's be honest, you all kinda seen it, it was not one of those W-T-F moments of the past, where you just wanna see this again and again just in case you figure out where tf this is going. Without taking anything from So's win, no, this game has nothing on old brilliances. Nowhere near.

[@ranchopatriot]

Awesome. Glad to see one of the other super GMs bring a masterpiece to Magnus.

[@epicchess2021]

yeah that's what makes this game so special I'd say

[@kerryfry1857]

Watched the live stream. Unbelievable. Ben Feingold has been saying this for years. Players don't take risks, that's why so many draws. So, did. The result was epic.

[@epicchess2021]

Yeah Wesley has so much potential wish he'd do more stuff like this, especially as a very established player now, what's to lose!

[@kerryfry1857]

@@epicchess2021 exactly ❤

[@EternalBreton82]

@@epicchess2021rating is to lose :p

[@WorldCitizen333]

Wesley's problem is his lack of confidence, I think. In this format, it's an Armageddon game. Drawing is losing, so his only option is to play for the win, and boy! did he deliver.

[@user-kh6xl4yg1j]

@@WorldCitizen333 Totally agree So is incredibly talented but more confidence. No doubt it’s tough when his adopted country, the USA, also is home to the world’s 2nd highest rated player Caruana & top player & speed demon Nakamura. Hopefully he’ll win a couple of tournaments & get his confidence back even if it seems of late Caruana always out-preps/out-plays So. IMHO when So plays Caruana with the black pieces too often he choses quiet positional lines instead of the sort of messy double edged tactical lines Caruana does not like.

[@raising_arizona]

Today was great for chess! Wesley So is so humble.

[@ronmortimer252]

It's not often Magnus is under that amount of pressure from beginning to end. Great game by Michelangelo... sorry, I mean Wesley.

[@christopher19894]

The commentators went all-in with the praise of this game, and at first I thought they were going overboard-- but after seeing the game, their comments might actually be understated....

[@WorldCitizen333]

And you didn't even mention that Wesley won 6 consecutive Rapid mini-matches against the likes of Carlsen, Nakamura, Firouja, MVL, Adbusattorov. He's just playing out of his mind.

[@jatojo]

I loved that. Always exciting to see if those all-in attacks can hold up.

[@Cynicalgeek743]

Great commentary. Your enthusiasm shines through for what was an outstanding and brutally beautiful game

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@_.alex.-]

And I thought some of MY loses felt uncomfortable lol. What a game by So, that was insane.

[@sadigov]

Wesley ‘I told you’ So!

[@kaldrazadrim]

Wesley's Immortal. Stamp it.

[@user-kh6xl4yg1j]

Wow! The knight sac comes from out of the blue, but as game shows it provides a fierce attack & enduring initiative

[@ethandowler4669]

Wow, James, you're on this quick! Super fast upload, and I agree, one of the most beautiful chess games I've ever seen.

[@epicchess2021]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@user-fu1oz4lm2e]

You put a lot of effort in these videos brilliant job

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@segercliffhanger]

Pittoresque and sadistic. Beautiful. I need to reread a couple of novels and meanwhile, can someone write one about So playing Tal and Carlsen meeting Morphy in a metatournament somewhere somehow.

[@sunnyc8900]

Wow. What a game. Very rare to see MC on the receiving end of brilliant play. Another epic game recap!

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks very much

[@noidph]

As usual, wonderful commentary, James! Love the inserts haha! Watched the match live. Indeed, what a Tal-like performance by Wesley! Robert Hess wasn't convinced by the knight sacrifice (which he described as harkening back to the Romantic era of chess -- yup, Morphyesque!), but Tania, props to her, saw at once the potential of the attack, even saw how deadly the e5 follow-up was, and she was proven right! Amazing game by Wesley. Just goes to show that if he trusts his intuition, and takes risks, he is one of the best attacking players ever (e.g. see his immortal blitz game vs Kasparov). Mabuhay!! :)

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@elijahrose7913]

You got me with the premove bit mate

[@epicchess2021]

Haha sorry

[@Mathyken]

Good Luck with the channel. Good job. Subscribed.

[@epicchess2021]

thanks very much appreciate it

[@Christoff070]

I now know one thing for sure after watching all ur vids. If theres an exciting game between Carlsen and Niemann,epicchess will cover it!

[@CarlDidur]

G6 and H3 can really invite the collapse of everything sometimes. Good stuff.

[@Boiknoikchesshero]

Love you man😂❤, catching up on your latest videos!

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks v much!

[@preparedsurvivalist2245]

The problem is when you move your flank pawn after fianchettoing on the side you castle on. Because that creates a funky kingside pawn structure. Then your king has to move up to guard the ugly pawn. And that of course walks right into moves like the knight sacrifice. Funny, I had recently noted how well Magnus regards king safety, but in this game he got a little careless with it and got caught.

[@pokerandphilosophy8328]

8:40 If Wesley had pre-moved the a-pawn here, his Sistine Chapel game would have become his Ecce Homo Restoration game.

[@scottcarlass8887]

Loved it!

[@elvinyeo7230]

The sacrifice spoke for itself

[@Blinknone]

Pretty cool. For whatever reason, it seems like almost every Wesley So game I've ever seen has him drawing or on the losing end. Nice to see him win this one.

[@coniccinoc]

When watching the matches live today I was thinking Epic Chess is going to be busy.

[@TD_Geake]

Excellent game, but So's 2016 destruction of Kasparov (also a blitz game, easy to find) impressed me more.

[@RyanHarris77]

Ok that premove got me.

[@TalEl59]

This was So good!

[@Jaso839]

If So is entertaining the idea of becoming world champion he needs to play more games like this.

[@youtubecensoringcomments7427]

Damn he was possessed

[@the-infinite-one-5390]

Beautiful!

[@donrane]

Wesley played like a fully charged Niemann.

[@n1te]

Got me with that pre-move 😄

[@epicchess2021]

Haha sorry

[@georgie4024]

This is beautiful 🔥🔥🔥💯

[@talstory]

great match a few years ago when Wesley became World Fischer Random champion demolishing Magnus

[@todesque]

So good!

[@jagoag6247]

i saw this game...this Weley was a beast on this game!

[@TraeFittz]

Magnus getting Absolutely SMACKED 😂😭

[@user-qk5oi7xg1y]

A masterpiece by GM So that I'll never forget! America's chess genius & future world champion! Magnificent post! Bravo Wes!!!

[@neurathal0n534]

The Wesley pre-move joke got me! lol

[@epicchess2021]

Haha

[@8964TS]

I spent the whole summary waiting for the Wesley mistake/Magnus genius to turn it around.

[@terryrobinson4197]

"how many times has that king been tickled?", bwahaahaaa, awesome commentary

[@epicchess2021]

Haha Thanks a lot!

[@gamelovergold]

Played in the spirit of tal. No dobut great attack on the king. Carlsen was overwhelmed

[@kinggriffin4279]

i've never seen magnus get trounced like this before

[@jeff-buri-jeff3716]

Amazing! 😃🔥

[@bloodmoney88]

so good I shared it, thanks.

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@minimax6112]

You are the best chess commentator I know. It's just so entertaining and informative. Thanks for your dedication.

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot! Glad you’re enjoying

[@danijelz6854]

Fantastic game, what is even more amuzing to me is yer accent, you sound like Tim Roth in 4 rooms, you even look like him, subbed to yer channel you are most fun to watch 😁

[@epicchess2021]

haha thanks a lot! Glad you enjoyed

[@steelsteez6118]

yeah this was a bad ass game. GOTY for sure.

[@jonathonjubb6626]

Well played Wesley!

[@keepgrins77]

This is such a cool channel!

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@glenmenas9424]

Well alright Wesley So! Beautiful game 🙌🙏

[@thewarlordscalling6537]

That game was "evergreen”.

[@brickwitheyes1710]

Magnus is so fun.

[@ToivoChess]

Great attack by So! Meanwhile Naka continues to spiral down!

[@WorldCitizen333]

As the president of Nakamura's haters club, it's been a pleasure watching Nakamura the last few days. After each defeat, every time he extends his hand to his opponent while looking away, I laugh out loud. This worldclass p***k can't even look his opponents in the face when they beat him. GTOH

[@Paddy984]

Wesley Mo is the Michelangelo of chess after that game.

[@Nobody-df4is]

8:41 Scared me a little bit there, man!

[@epicchess2021]

Haha sorry

[@alfredkowsky7374]

Incredible 🤩!

[@SmilingIbis]

Obviously, Magnus missed his big chance by not playing 1...h6.

[@daviddurbin7682]

Just fantastic

[@daviddurbin7682]

Was SO awesome watching this lol

[@epicchess2021]

😁

[@mitchiarikov2614]

Great video

[@reflogorp6578]

@epic chess love your videos mate…much less drama than levy and much worse jokes! (in a good way)

[@epicchess2021]

haha thanks a lot, glad you're enjoying!

[@asmithgames5926]

Truly remarkable to slaughter a chess god.

[@jaideep6310]

Kick-ass commentary.

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@obmalnehw5377]

Waited for this one, thanks. I can't be bothered to watch the live matches these days, the commentary is just not for me. Im glad I can watch your recaps here. Keep it up.

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot!

[@JohnDuthie]

Crazy prep by Wesley! I wonder how people will work this line to its death.

[@rowanmales3430]

It's not prep lol. Big attacking sacrifices which are prior worked out with computers are not compared to Tal. From a Perfect Play objective perspective, and as seen on the eval bar, the sacrifice was unsound (which is partly how we know it wasn't prep lol), just like how many of Tal's were. The line doesn't need to be "worked to death" because just by knowing the proper defense the whole line is countered. The fact he needed to win was part of why Wesley went for it, but also because Magnus has less time than him and no increment. It's not the sort of thing he'd try in Classical.

[@reconnaisance]

@@rowanmales3430”sacrifice was unsound”? Lol if you do eval on all classic sacrifices by Tal you might be surprised at what the eval says

[@rowanmales3430]

@@reconnaisance Obviously, when anyone does a sacrifice they do it because they think it will, or has a high chance to, work. Tal's were objectively correct and objectively incorrect aplenty. He has his reputation because he took so many risks while reaching the heights of the chess world. Practically all Super GrandMasters have a rather risk-averse playstyle to reach and maintain their rating. When I said the sacrifice was unsound, I was being literal about Wesley's specific one today, and reference to Tal's reputation, not about Tal's chess in general.

[@SelectCircle]

This chess game cured my cancer.

[@eus9]

I often make attacks like this, but it's pure speculation and hope chess. Never goes anywhere because I only think two moves ahead 😂

[@epicchess2021]

Haha I know the feeling

[@epicchess2021]

Haha I know the feeling

[@jwizansky]

Brilliant game, and brilliant cutaway prize: "He has Kaja to impress." 😂 😂"Oh Wesley, you are de king of armageddawn!"❤

[@epicchess2021]

haha glad you enjoyed thanks a lot

[@frankieshankly5368]

Wesley is So good.. If MC doesnt win I always hope for Wesley. Bst rgrds from Norway

[@revskull]

How do you drawer a game?

[@epicchess2021]

various ways, probably best to google it!

[@stopover1238]

I saw it live😂😂

[@zvibtm1]

The premove joke was sadistic 🙂

[@epicchess2021]

Haha

[@PeterJnicol]

Epic.

[@themind1401]

This was for kaya' ❤ !!

[@warrenpadilla1566]

wow ! magnus looks like an amatuer!

[@elmerfrejoles98]

Magnus just waiting for him to blunder the end game, but he never did, so he won!

[@weetjijwel050]

Wow!

[@robertuy4206]

Mabuhay!!!

[@joshuamphande2272]

Awesome game Jim Magnus got mauled in this one

[@antonioluizrebellodemendon4622]

Thal reborn. For some minutes.

[@primeobjective5469]

Wesley So's *The Once & Future Queen* 😄

[@Durian_Defense]

Your commentary was ...is..deliriously driving, scintillating and relentlessly entertaining. More so than Wesley's Morphyresque play to be honest.

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot! Appreciate the kind words

[@praveennayak3154]

Holyshit 😮😮

[@DanFrederiksen]

Not sure it was all that great. The problem seemed to be the queen bishop battery and Magnus stepped towards it and opens a file to the sided king. Maybe it was a downward progression that had to be stopped impossibly early but from my noob perspective some pieces should have been traded off to undermine the attack. What was the analysis rating on the game? If it was that super great, let's see it.

[@prisonmike2616]

that was beutiful and i dont even know how to play chess

[@RayT70]

Beautiful sac attack. Wesley is looking pretty alfa 👍

[@georgee4810]

At the risk of sounding like an armchair general I thought Carlsen castling kingside was kind of arrogant.

[@chesswithconstantine]

Seems like a normal attack to me. Tal and Murphy had way more beautiful games, not to mention Nezhmetdinov.

[@samsonpug]

So beautiful

[@thegorn]

Didn't know that Wes had such a big sac(k).

[@steenhansen2262]

I have subscribed for way more than 4 weeks. Where is my GM title?

[@epicchess2021]

Thanks a lot! Results may vary I’m afraid 😁