Want to feel bad about your chess skills?

[Micael]

Then watch this clip of world champion Magnus Carlsen being impressively drunk, randomly commandeering someone elses very much loosing game and turns it into a win in a few seconds.

https://youtu.be/K-Kz7bo5tKE

[Sukhoiman]

Yeah I remember seeing that.

Being something of a chess enthusiast myself (ELO around 2000 last I was active), Carlsen skill is objectively the best of all time... so operating (essentially something like muscle memory as it relates to patterns) under impairment is going to be well above average still lol.

The time control helps things along too, it favours higher elo incredibly as they just have many more things squared and tucked away without having to think much..

[Sukhoiman]

Looking over that game again, the pawn march thru the centre reminds me of one of botvinniks immortal games.

[Nik_SpeakerToCats]

As a kid, I played a mean game of chess, routinely outwit my father and his friends who played for 'regional'. My young brother was rapidly gaining on me...

Weirdly, we both lost the Chess-bug at puberty.

[Micael]

Yeah I remember seeing that.

Being something of a chess enthusiast myself (ELO around 2000 last I was active), Carlsen skill is objectively the best of all time... so operating (essentially something like muscle memory as it relates to patterns) under impairment is going to be well above average still lol.

The time control helps things along too, it favours higher elo incredibly as they just have many more things squared and tucked away without having to think much..

Oh you’re good with an ELO that high!

Yeah Magnus’ skill is on an extreme level. Not sure when we’ll see someone else that’s just as good.

I don’t know if you’re aware of this already, but Anna Cramling has got twitch and youtube channels that are pretty entertaining. She’s a WFM with two GM parents (Pia Cramling and Juan Bellón). She’s been live streaming her games from a tournament these last couple of weeks, with commentators. Really intense one she played today!

https://twitch.tv/annacramling
https://youtube.com/@AnnaCramling

[Micael]

As a kid, I played a mean game of chess, routinely outwit my father and his friends who played for 'regional'. My young brother was rapidly gaining on me...

Weirdly, we both lost the Chess-bug at puberty.

Take it up again! Can be fun to pass the time.

[Sukhoiman]

Oh you’re good with an ELO that high!

Yeah Magnus’ skill is on an extreme level. Not sure when we’ll see someone else that’s just as good.

I don’t know if you’re aware of this already, but Anna Cramling has got twitch and youtube channels that are pretty entertaining. She’s a WFM with two GM parents (Pia Cramling and Juan Bellón). She’s been live streaming her games from a tournament these last couple of weeks, with commentators. Really intense one she played today!

https://twitch.tv/annacramling
https://youtube.com/@AnnaCramling

Yup Anna is very popular these days among her generation especially...I been following her for quite a while, I think she popped up in a collab with Botez or someone else some years back. Twitch is really great way for those up-n-comers to gain a solid following quickly.

Its always fun when her mom comes on the stream heh...GM street cred is quite the immense thing in chess world....even with the relative proliferation in last 20 years compared to the preceding era.

I have less time for twitch lately (and chess in general more broadly, esp after the whole drama exploded lately), but I keep tabs on stuff on YT when I can regd. various chess personalities...Anna included.

Regd. Sweden, I actually bumped into and chatted at some length one time with GM Nils Grandelius at a (non chess) event.

Top notch guy and exceedingly humble. Great ambassador for Sweden.

[Sukhoiman]

Sweden btw has quite some heritage in chess, Ulf Andersson regularly comes up in conversation as quite the dark horse talent so to speak back in day.

I remember Peter Leko especially going on a bit of a (interesting to me at least) ramble about him one time during otherwise monotone stretch of some game being broadcast.

Ulf somewhat famously handed Karpov his first chess defeat while he was world champ (this was Karpov prime era). Ulf's endgame skill was also one of the best of his time.

[Micael]

Oh you’re good with an ELO that high!

Yeah Magnus’ skill is on an extreme level. Not sure when we’ll see someone else that’s just as good.

I don’t know if you’re aware of this already, but Anna Cramling has got twitch and youtube channels that are pretty entertaining. She’s a WFM with two GM parents (Pia Cramling and Juan Bellón). She’s been live streaming her games from a tournament these last couple of weeks, with commentators. Really intense one she played today!

https://twitch.tv/annacramling
https://youtube.com/@AnnaCramling

Yup Anna is very popular these days among her generation especially...I been following her for quite a while, I think she popped up in a collab with Botez or someone else some years back. Twitch is really great way for those up-n-comers to gain a solid following quickly.

Its always fun when her mom comes on the stream heh...GM street cred is quite the immense thing in chess world....even with the relative proliferation in last 20 years compared to the preceding era.

I have less time for twitch lately (and chess in general more broadly, esp after the whole drama exploded lately), but I keep tabs on stuff on YT when I can regd. various chess personalities...Anna included.

Regd. Sweden, I actually bumped into and chatted at some length one time with GM Nils Grandelius at a (non chess) event.

Top notch guy and exceedingly humble. Great ambassador for Sweden.

Sweet! Pia actually did the commentary for the first six rounds of this tournament. Insightful, though she analyses so much/intensely that I have a hard time understanding what’s going on before she goes into the next. Jon Ludvig Hammer is doing the commentary for the rest starting with today.

What a chance meeting! Nils does seem to be nice.

[Micael]

Sweden btw has quite some heritage in chess, Ulf Andersson regularly comes up in conversation as quite the dark horse talent so to speak back in day.

I remember Peter Leko especially going on a bit of a (interesting to me at least) ramble about him one time during otherwise monotone stretch of some game being broadcast.

Ulf somewhat famously handed Karpov his first chess defeat while he was world champ (this was Karpov prime era). Ulf's endgame skill was also one of the best of his time.

Yeah Ulf is a bit of a legend. There’s those guys that almost got to the level where they’d be a potential WC contender but not quite the whole way, I think you could count him among that group.

I like the people that are dark horses in some way or another. Manuel Bosboom is one of those uneven guys I think, ”only” made it to IM but managed to win against Kasparov in 1999. Points to him having had greater potential.

[JBG]

As a kid, I played a mean game of chess, routinely outwit my father and his friends who played for 'regional'. My young brother was rapidly gaining on me...

Weirdly, we both lost the Chess-bug at puberty.

And I gave up on war games and focused on making models. Or went back to it.

Even with Warhammer 40K I built up an uber Space Wolves army but had little interest in gaming it.

Jonathan

[rtoldman]

As a kid, I played a mean game of chess, routinely outwit my father and his friends who played for 'regional'. My young brother was rapidly gaining on me...

Weirdly, we both lost the Chess-bug at puberty.

gasoline and perfume will do that