My reaction to the Hans Niemann interview

Summary

In this video, the commentator reflects on his experiences at the first-ever live Speed Chess Championship finale in Paris, featuring grandmasters like Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. He discusses the explosive interview with Hans Niemann, the chess.com report allegations, and the event's fallout. The video also touches on the potential impact on the future of chess, the role of 80,000 Hours in career planning, and the dynamics between top players. It concludes with thoughts on the live event's success and the future of chess as an esport, hinting at the untold series on Netflix that might bring new perspectives to the cheating scandal.

Takeaways

• 🎥 The speaker was a commentator and media personality for Chess.com's live Speed Chess Championship finale in Paris, featuring players like Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, and Hans Niemann.
• 🔥 The Hans Niemann interview became explosive, with Niemann accusing the speaker of being a Chess.com sponsored propaganda voice, which was unexpected and intense.
• 🏆 The event results saw Magnus Carlsen as the champion, with Alireza Firouzja coming in second, and Hikaru Nakamura losing in the semi-final to Firouzja.
• 🤔 The speaker expressed surprise at Niemann's post-tournament interview, where he seemed humbled and reflective, contrasting with his earlier combative stance.
• 👨‍🏫 It was revealed that Vladimir Kramnik is coaching Hans Niemann, and Kramnik continued to accuse Hikaru Nakamura of cheating, even while coaching the US Chess team for the Olympiad.
• 📈 The speaker shared thoughts on the future of chess, including the potential for growth in the esports and live event space, and the need for bigger sponsorships.
• 🎙️ The speaker reflected on their role and approach to interviewing, acknowledging feedback about their style and the challenge of maintaining fairness in coverage.
• 📺 An upcoming Netflix Untold series on the chess grandmaster cheating scandal was announced, promising new perspectives on the Niemann controversy.
• 🌟 The live event at ESPORT was a success with around 3-400 attendees, indicating potential for larger chess events and the possibility of selling out even larger venues.
• 🤝 The speaker enjoyed meeting fans and signing autographs, highlighting the positive community engagement aspect of the live chess event.

Q & A

What was the commentator's role at the live Speed Chess Championship finale in Paris?

The commentator was a media personality on site, on camera talent for chess.com, interviewing players and providing commentary for the event.

Which players were featured in the Speed Chess Championship finale that the commentator attended?

The featured players in the Speed Chess Championship finale were Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, and Hans Niemann.

What is the name of the YouTube video by Hans Niemann that the commentator discusses?

The name of the YouTube video by Hans Niemann that the commentator discusses is 'The Explosive Hans Niemann Interview'.

What was the commentator's initial expectation for the interview with Hans Niemann?

The commentator expected a fun and light-hearted interview, not one that would be confrontational or deeply delve into the cheating scandal.

How did the commentator feel about the intensity of the Hans Niemann interview?

The commentator found the interview to be fascinating and intense, and it exceeded his expectations, leaving him with a lot to process.

What was the commentator's response to Hans Niemann accusing him of being a chess.com sponsored propaganda voice?

The commentator was surprised and taken aback by the accusation, as he did not expect such directness and felt they had a cordial relationship prior to the interview.

What was the commentator's view on the impact of the Hans Niemann interview on public perception?

The commentator felt that the interview might have shifted public perception against Hans Niemann, as it was intense and left a strong impression.

What was the commentator's take on the results of the Speed Chess Championship?

The commentator found the results to be surprising, particularly Magnus Carlsen's dominant performance and Fabiano Caruana's loss to Magnus in the final.

What did the commentator think about the live venue and the future of chess as an esport?

The commentator was optimistic about the potential for chess to grow as an esport, suggesting that it could reach 30% the size of some of the biggest esports in the world.

What upcoming project involving chess was mentioned in the script?

An upcoming project mentioned was a new Untold series on Netflix, which will include a documentary on the chess Grandmaster cheating scandal.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Paris Chess Adventure and Sponsor Highlight

The speaker opens by recounting their recent experience in Paris as a commentator for chess.com's first live Speed Chess Championship finale. They discuss their interviews with players like Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, and Hans Niemann. The video's focus is on the aftermath of the explosive Hans Niemann interview and its implications for chess. The speaker thanks the sponsor, 80,000 Hours, a nonprofit guiding individuals towards impactful careers, and encourages viewers to explore their free career guide.

05:02

🎙️ Hans Niemann Interview Controversy

The speaker reflects on their interview with Hans Niemann, which unexpectedly became confrontational. They discuss Niemann's accusations of bias and the contentious nature of the discussion, which deviated from the intended light-hearted interaction. The speaker expresses surprise at Niemann's claims, especially given their previous positive interactions. They also touch upon the high viewership of the interview and the polarized reactions it received, including criticisms of their interviewing style and shifts in public opinion regarding Niemann.

10:03

🏆 Chess Championship Results and Future Implications

The speaker delves into the outcomes of the chess event, with a focus on the performance and attitudes of the players, particularly Hans Niemann. They recount the intensity of the games and Niemann's post-match interview, which displayed a humbled perspective after his loss. The speaker speculates on the future of chess, the players' careers, and the impact of high-stakes events on the sport. They also mention the involvement of Vladimir Kramnik, a renowned chess player, as Niemann's life coach and his controversial statements about other players.

15:04

👴 Kramnik's Involvement and Chess's Future

The speaker discusses Vladimir Kramnik's role as a coach, his public accusations of cheating in chess, and his influence on Niemann. They find it intriguing that Kramnik, despite his respected status in chess, continues to make bold allegations without seeming repercussions. The speaker also expresses optimism for the growth of chess as a spectator sport, highlighting the successful live event in Paris and suggesting potential improvements for future events to enhance the experience for both players and audiences.

20:05

🏆 Reflections on the Chess Event and Its Impact

The speaker concludes with a retrospective on the chess event, the players' performances, and the broader implications for the chess community. They discuss the potential for chess to grow in popularity, the need for larger sponsorships, and the challenges faced during the live event, such as broadcast issues and crowd dynamics. The speaker remains hopeful for the future of chess as an esport and a mainstream sport, eager to see how the community and its events evolve.

25:07

🌐 Hans Niemann's Future and Chess's Growth

In the final paragraph, the speaker expresses curiosity about Hans Niemann's future behavior and performance, considering the recent developments and his public statements. They also look forward to potential new sponsorships and collaborations that could elevate chess's profile. The speaker ends on a note of anticipation for future interviews and events, hinting at the ongoing drama and excitement in the world of chess.

Keywords

💡Chess.com

Chess.com is an online chess-playing website that provides services such as playing online games, watching live chess, and accessing chess tutorials. In the video, the speaker mentions being a commentator for Chess.com during the live Speed Chess Championship finale, indicating the platform's role in organizing and broadcasting major chess events.

💡Speed Chess Championship

The Speed Chess Championship is an online chess tournament that features rapid games between top players. The video discusses the finale of this event, emphasizing its significance in the chess community and the excitement it generates among fans, as well as the speaker's role as a commentator for the event.

💡Commentator

A commentator provides live commentary and analysis of an event, often explaining what is happening and providing insights to the audience. The speaker in the video describes their experience as a commentator for Chess.com, highlighting the role of providing real-time analysis and engaging the audience during the Speed Chess Championship.

💡Media Personality

A media personality is someone who is regularly featured in media content, often due to their expertise or popularity. The video script mentions the speaker as a media personality, suggesting their public presence and involvement in the chess community, particularly in the context of the Speed Chess Championship.

💡Hans Niemann

Hans Niemann is a professional chess player who became a central figure in the video due to an interview and controversy surrounding his play. The speaker discusses an 'explosive' interview with Niemann, indicating the player's significant role in the chess event and the subsequent discussions and debates his performance sparked.

💡Interview

An interview is a conversation where questions are asked about someone's experiences or opinions. In the context of the video, the speaker reflects on their interview with Hans Niemann, which became a significant part of the narrative around the Speed Chess Championship due to the contentious nature of the discussion.

💡Sponsorship

Sponsorship refers to the support, usually financial, that an event or individual receives from a company or organization. The video mentions the lack of big brand sponsorships in chess, suggesting an opportunity for growth and highlighting the need for more corporate involvement to elevate the sport.

💡Esports

Esports is a form of competition using video games. The video discusses the potential for chess to grow as an esport, indicating the speaker's belief in the potential for chess to attract a larger audience and sponsorships similar to those found in the esports industry.

💡Kasparov

Garry Kasparov is a retired chess grandmaster and former World Chess Champion. The video mentions Kasparov in the context of the potential size of the chess audience, comparing it to other sports and esports, and suggesting that chess could grow to a similar level of popularity.

💡Live Event

A live event is a public gathering where an activity or performance takes place in real-time. The video describes the first-ever live Speed Chess Championship event, emphasizing the excitement and challenges of hosting such an event, including managing audience reactions and ensuring a fair competition environment.

💡Kayfabe

Kayfabe is a term from professional wrestling, referring to the presentation of staged events as genuine. The speaker uses the term to question the authenticity of Hans Niemann's behavior and statements, suggesting that there might be more to the story than meets the eye, and hinting at the potential for theatrics in the world of competitive chess.

Highlights

Traveled to Paris, France to commentate for chess.com at the first-ever live Speed Chess Championship finale.

Interviewed players including Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, and Hans Niemann.

Shared thoughts on the explosive Hans Niemann interview and the event's fallout.

Discussed the potential future impact of these events on the chess community.

Expressed gratitude to the sponsor, 80,000 Hours, a nonprofit guiding career choices for positive impact.

Mentioned the importance of planning one's career to make a difference, referencing the 80,000-hour work life span.

Highlighted the free resources provided by 80,000 Hours for career planning.

Revealed initial plans for the video's content, including a discussion on Hans Niemann's performance.

Reflected on personal bias and the challenge of covering the cheating scandal and Hans Niemann's situation.

Described the intense atmosphere of the interviews, especially with Hans Niemann.

Commented on the popularity of the Hans Niemann interview, which gained significant views.

Discussed the dynamics of the interview with Hans Niemann, including accusations and personal attacks.

Shared personal feelings of being blindsided by the confrontational nature of the Hans Niemann interview.

Mused on whether the interview's confrontation was genuine or staged for the audience.

Reflected on the community's reaction to the Hans Niemann interview and its impact on public perception.

Discussed the results of the Speed Chess Championship and the implications for the players involved.

Highlighted the potential for chess to grow as an esport and the need for bigger sponsorships.

Shared experiences from the live event in Paris, including the venue and audience interaction.

Speculated on the future of Hans Niemann and the chess community's response to his actions.

Announced an upcoming Netflix series on the chess Grandmaster cheating scandal, featuring Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann.

Transcripts

ladies and

gentlemen recently I traveled to Paris

France and in Paris I was a commentator

I was a media personality I was on site

on camera talent for chess.com uh for

the first ever live speeches

Championship finale which features

Magnus Carlson hiar Nakamura Ali ruja

and Hans Neiman uh and when I was there

I was interviewing all the players

beforehand and it was pretty wild in

today's video the first thing that I'm

going to do is give you my thoughts

which I haven't really shared fully just

yet uh about the explosive Hans nean

interview which is the name of the

YouTube uh video uh and also the results

of the event The Fallout of the event

and what this could mean for the future

of Chess sometimes I like to make these

videos where there are no chess moves if

you care to hear my perspective on uh my

position in the ecosystem of Chess and

what this could mean uh for the future

of the game uh before we uh jump into

all of this I'd like to thank the

sponsor of today's video 880,000 hours

80,000 hours is a nonprofit that helps

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help you find a fulfilling high impact

career now let's get back to the video

okay hello it's me again um the first

thing that we are going to do uh in

today's video is I'm going to show you a

you know like kind of crappy outline of

uh what we're going to talk about I

don't know why this bullet point is here

we're going to talk about Hans demon

thoughts on speeches Championship 2024

of course Hans demon that's what we're

going to start with am I biased we're

going to talk a little bit about the

report then we're going to talk about

the results in Paris and what what

what's next uh and then we're going to

talk about everything else and of course

we will have a little moment we talk

about Vladimir karnick so uh basically

let's start with Hans

demon

uh when I went to Paris I knew that I

was going to interview all the players I

was going to talk to them I had had

questions there already uh some were

going to be fun segments like we were

going to solve blindfolded chess puzzles

with some of the players we solved them

with three of the players we also were

going to do a segment about your mobile

phone like what apps do you use and how

much screen time do you have we managed

to do that with Magnus hicaro and with

fuja because the earlier part of their

interview was about 1520 minutes and

then uh the other uh segment was also

about 15-20

minutes we didn't manage to get to it

with Hans because the interview was

supposed to be 30 minutes total like The

Others went 46 minutes and then there

was a press conference so we weren't

able to get into that I also do not know

if he would have agreed

now before I like react to certain

points of the interview the interview

was fascinating so it was at uh it was

on it was filmed on a couch and there

was a camera like basically where you

are you see you you are like the camera

we had a couple of cameras on us but at

the same time there were folks there

filming for secret projects that I can't

talk about when Hans came for the

interview there was double the amount of

cameras as normal

which was already a pretty big deal it

was a fascinating deal and you know if

you go to

YouTube you will see that he's given an

interview he had given an interview

right before the speeches championship

and it was this one it was the full

interview with naroditsky and it was

after he uh won the quarterfinals match

against and you'll notice that I've

watched the entire thing and this one

was was intense but nitzki was quite

good at hearing everything Hans had to

say and then sort of kind of rolling

with the punches and they went back and

forth on a couple of things and you can

watch this one if you'd like and so I

was expecting maybe something similar

but again I wasn't really interested in

putting Hans on the spot or asking him

about the chess.com report or any of

that stuff uh what's what's said has

been said and I was ready to talk about

uh his event that's not really what

happened though uh we covered a lot of

subjects but we sort of went in circles

at some points um I made you know a

couple of bullet points here which are

my level of bias and covering Hunts uh

the chess.com report and so on um I will

say though the Hunts even interviews do

quite well 665,000 views in 10 days the

Magnus Carlson interview from this event

did like

400k Hikaru and alza did you know I

don't know 300

100K and you can see here like even the

official Channel had a lot of views 227

the listen the Pierce Morgan interview

had 215 I mean we're talking about this

the this is the biggest H interview we

we have yet so you know this kind of

stuff uh is really fascinating

because most

sports are first of all team sports

right team sporting uh events and

there's that whole element of it

individual sports very rarely

get high intensity interviews where the

interviewee might argue with the person

who's uh interviewing them or might be

making very pointed uh statements

because a lot of top athletes just get

like tons of PR training and they say

like well I couldn't have done it

without my team and I got to thank my

team and I got to thank this person and

that and we're just trying to do our

best and um yeah Hans he went right into

it and I said he he he stated uh that I

am a chess.com

sponsored um propaganda voice I'm

paraphrasing

uh and I was like oh wow like we're just

we're just getting right into it and

that was kind of fascinating because

that's not what I was expecting I wasn't

expecting it to be so pointed and I

listen I don't have

anything I mean I don't have anything to

hide

I Hans had mentioned that I had streamed

on hikaru's channel in 2020 and 2021 OG

chess fans like pre- pandemic and early

pandemic uh remember those days it was

hikaro playing in the Champions chess

tour the Melt water whatever they were

called and I would commentate on his

channel um but I also didn't understand

what that had to do with the issue at

hand I guess it was mostly a question of

can I cover the cheating scandal and

hikaru's actions and chc's actions in an

unbiased fashion um one thing that

totally slipped my mind by the way be

during the

interview Hans at some point said he had

like 2,000 viewers or something and I

had like 50 this was maybe 2019 2020

and what totally slipped my mind is um

around that

time I think he was like quite literally

working with chess.com to to to improve

his streaming presence like I I had no

recollection because I didn't stream

much in 2019 in 2020 and then I came

back like obviously during Co and then

all those online tournaments happened

but I was like wait I thought I thought

he like was streaming on trcom all the

time in fact like the Nexus of all of

these the the whole report and

everything was like I cheated online in

meaningless games that's what he was

saying and it was like maybe to boost

his rating to play the other players I

don't exactly know but

regardless I was mildly blindsided by

the the the the level of the

vitriol but here's where what I couldn't

shake off uh and I actually said this to

him in the interview I was like I

thought we were cool

like I thought we were cool we we had a

couple of pretty normal interactions

leading up to this point uh and I did

say in the interview at some point Hans

even was in one of my live streams and

said oh we don't have any problems I've

only got problems with Hikaru

paraphrasing and I was like okay cool

cuz I don't really need problems with

anybody um except Andrea botes but

that's a you know that's a separate

issue uh even that is not serious and uh

yeah I was like oh okay and he said he

was rolling me we actually did we did a

uh beef

and

so there is a there is a a sport the WWE

and there's a sport in the

UFC and in those Sports it's well known

that sometimes athletes turn it on for

the cameras even though behind the

scenes they might be pretty

chill I'm still trying to exactly

pinpoint whether that whole interview

was a work and if it was I'm not going

to tell you okay because that's the

that's the magic of it all right I'm not

going to sit here and tell you oh he's

actually a sweetheart behind the

scenes he wasn't a sweetheart but he

wasn't like he wasn't that guy you know

what I mean like

um and then the last thing obviously we

we talked a lot about the chess.com

report I have I have nothing to add I

have nothing to say they publish the

report he disputes parts of the report

and says it's got mistakes in it and

there was a huge lawsuit and ultimately

that was that now one thing he also said

in the interview was

I don't care about Hikaru I also like

didn't fully process this until later he

said I don't care about Hikaru I want

Hikaru to be old retired in a in a in a

in a old folks home and I'm still going

to be winning and he's going to have to

watch me win and there's nothing he can

do about

it so I made a joke to him because I was

like so you're going to be 70 years old

winning cuz like they're like 10 15

years apart if Hikaru is 80 hans's 65

he's not winning anything at

65

uh but also I had this thought after I

was like wait but he he doesn't want to

beat Hikaru he wants Hikaru to retire

and watch him win

things and I I just kind of was like

wait a minute wouldn't like an elite

Alpha athlete want to like dominate a

fellow athlete as opposed to like yeah

let that guy leave and then you know I'm

just going to keep winning stuff so

there was a couple of things where I

left the interview was like wait a

minute what did he say I didn't quite

get it but then there was the there was

the event and and ultimately I left that

interview like wow that was a lot I wow

that's not what I was

expecting but listen um it's kind of the

name of the game look at the numbers

that interview

did and I would

say what that interview did was leave

people with a couple of final

Impressions number one some people were

critical of my interview skills and I

and they said I was too combative I did

this I did that um some of that is uh

actually accurate like and I would

listen to some of that feedback the

problem is I'm not a journalist and I'm

not an interviewer in that setting I'm a

feel-good interviewer I want to talk to

somebody for 20 minutes crack some jokes

make them do some fun things create some

cool content make it interesting for you

guys I don't want to argue with someone

for 45 minutes on an interview like I

have better things to do uh and I

ultimately at some point I got fed up

but I did kind of keep my cool I didn't

you know people were messaging me like

how did you not punch Hans and I was

like what does that even like what I'm

just going to sucker punch him

like what not like he was like attacking

my family or something all right uh you

know I I I got like a few texts like

that um so that was I mean that was a

little bit of an overreaction but that

that was part of the feedback the other

part of the feedback was people who

supported Hans and were giving him the

benefit of of the doubt in the whole

thing were

uh they were like changing their mind I

think that interview actually tilted

things not in his Direction and I but

then there was the results right then

there was this

interview um there there was that

interview and you know if he had won

against Magnus or he had won against

Hikaru or whatever the the second match

would have been it would have been crazy

but then he gave this

interview uh this was the one after

losing to Hikaru and here I think you

know he he did what what a what a person

that loses is supposed to do especially

a person that that that talks a big game

and loses and um I I don't know how many

people like there's a pretty big View

discrepancy here right uh and people

will not want to give him the benefit of

the doubt after seeing the first

interview but but in my opinion he lost

the way a person uh should lose uh if

that is you know if if they are uh that

kind of personality now again the

biggest mystery to me is I have no idea

if the whole thing is a personality

thing um or if he's really like that if

he's really like

that he's not he's not very nice I mean

and

I but maybe that is something in your

mind that has to be flipped and you

don't have to be very nice but you have

this Killer Instinct and you know you're

going to become a 27 2800 level player I

don't know but uh I I I I don't know

which of the two uh theories uh I

subscribe

to um and listen I get it I mean I like

I said I talked about it quite openly I

thought my coverage of him was quite

Fair compared to some other folks who I

will not name because I've named them

before but

I didn't participate in this whole witch

witch hunt early on in 2022 of like

dissecting all his games and claiming

that I think something is off because

that's not my job that's not my that was

not my role ever uh and

um yeah I guess he still felt like you

know I was a part of the uh the machine

that was working against him somehow uh

but I thought I did a pretty nice job

covering him but I still do get comments

like you were part of the you and hikaro

ruined his life and I was like

I don't think

so I think we did quite separate things

actually um and you know but that's Hans

that's hun and uh he came up

short but very curious to see where he

goes from

here uh and

uh what his next results are he did say

karnick is his life coach by the way

speaking of we will talk about kramnick

right now uh kramnick

uh karnick is with the Olympiad coaching

the USBC team what I find fascinating

about kramnick you know with all his

Clash of claim stuff like how he played

against

Jose

um then he played a second edition of

the match I don't know if any of you saw

this he played something called Clash of

blames which originally they tried to

call Clash of claims 2 nobody was

involved in it who was involved in Clash

Of Claims One except the players the

Chess World is like ridiculous I don't

know how they just thought that they

could copy the exact same name and exact

same concept and it was played on a

totally different website it was played

on some sort of online Arena run by the

international governing body of the game

I don't exactly know but Vladimir

karnick himself is the fair play officer

of that new chess

company and their whole thing is it is

the fairest play place to play chess and

then there were Reddit threads of

people claiming they've been cheating on

the website for months and not getting

banned you can go down this rabbit hole

if you like my point is I have no idea

what Vladimir kick is up to ever since

the Karu stuff the big Crusade of the

anti-cheating Clash of claims won then

he played the second edition against

Jose that when he won by a game like it

was very closer two games um so he had

some things to say and he's apparently

coaching Hans now and Hans offered me a

training camp with him and karnick and I

have to pay them me $100,000 technically

I think it

expired uh

but you know maybe if I if I offered

them the cash they would do it so um

this

uh this is what uh kramnick said about

Hikaru he said this match played this

tongue and Chek under unfair conditions

for hikaro far away from the comfortable

chair at home congratulations to fua

someone breaking all normal chess.com

standards being the same level player

over theboard online from home online

under surveillance unique nowadays um

look yeah karnick basically continued

the narrative and he's even turned it up

on notch in in just straight up accusing

hikaro of cheating um he he just keeps

doing it I I don't even and the craziest

thing is like then in the match against

Hans he

said you know there's something more

important than Mastery of Chess it's the

Mastery of your emotions and he said

that Hikaru did not play well against

Hans in the five plus1 segment um but

then he uh you know he beat him a few

times in the three minute and Hans you

know

tilted and

um yeah see hearo losing I told you he's

cheating he's winning I told you

like and the craziest thing now about

karnick besides being apparently H's

life coach is he's coaching the

usbekistan team for the

Olympiad I I just find the whole thing

wild that he he's obviously unbelievably

well respected for his chess

accomplishments and there is a level of

like separation the art from the artist

separate the the the person from the

artist there is a element of that like

you have to respect all his

contributions to chess and probably his

ability as a trainer as well it's so

wild to me though that you could just go

online and accuse like 50 different

people of cheating maybe even more at

this point and the community is like

what's up man hey it it just I I think

yeah maybe it's chess players maybe it's

just in general people are just so

unbelievably fake like to each other's

face like I I but I don't know I can't

really handle it I I I don't know I sort

of wear my heart on my sleeve and I I

don't know how these people all coexist

in the same room when you know they go

home and you know they talk uh then they

write whatever they want on social media

but Kick's got a wild trajectory I have

no idea what what's next but that's Hans

and kramnick um and now I would just

like to give you some thoughts

about um the results of the overall

event and then the live venue and what

this means for the future of like sports

uh and sorry for chess and Esports so

Magnus was

unbelievable you almost start wondering

like it's a shame hikaro lost in the

semi-final to fuja because an inform

hikaro a motivated hikaro would have

been given him a better fight than fuja

did in the final and Hans did in the

semis fuja lost to Magnus by 16 points

which was crazy and he tilted like an

hour into the match if even he tilted

game six and then they had to play 24

more games so he lost game six and

literally immediately totally fell apart

he took a onegame lead in the early

portion then Magnus tied it up and then

they had this really you know odd game

where fua was just like crushing in the

opening and then and then didn't you

know just allowed a lot of counterplay

and ended up losing the game he couldn't

recover from that uh and he didn't yeah

he didn't play his best and and Magnus

was just in in quite good form uh Hikaru

losing to fuja in the semi-final is a

is definitely a big story uh fuja was

very sharp clearly very motivated but

it's unclear what it means I mean hearo

in a lot of interviews now is talking

about his age he's talking about some

motivation stuff and you really never

know because then he showed up to the

bronze medal match and played a

fantastic match against Hans so it's

unclear uh but you do some somehow get

the sense hikaro does have a foot out

the door maybe like half a foot out the

door um he's you know turning 37 this

year that's that's that's older when it

comes to top players and yet he's top

three in the world in classical still

and he's uh quite good and and strong

still in Rapid and Blitz so we'll see

we'll see what it means but obviously uh

the Chess World will definitely be less

interesting if he Caro chooses to retire

hopefully he's got you know a couple of

years remaining fua had a monster year

we'll see if he can continue uh playing

well like in the candidates for example

and uh the next candidate cycle same

with Hans I mean we're going to see if

if this kind of carries over to to

classical uh over theboard chess and

listen I'm going to have to probably

interview him at future events so I I

doubt the the next Edition is going to

be that uh exciting

but I think we've turned of we've sort

of turned a page uh in the Hans demon

thing uh

although then this was

announced uh and um this is the last

thing I'm going to I'm going to pan over

here to this was announced

that they're going to do

a a there's going to be a new Untold

series on Netflix which is behind the

scenes Sports documentary stuff very

cool stuff I've seen a couple of

episodes I saw one about um Jake Paul uh

there's me responding to get attention

and uh there's going to be the uh chess

Grandmaster cheating scandal so it's

going to be Magnus and uh and Hans

pretty wild so I don't know if I'm going

to make an appearance in that uh but uh

crazy absolutely crazy stuff maybe we're

going to get a whole bunch of New

Perspective that we haven't been given

yet uh so yeah I think we've turned a

page for now until the untold comes out

and then maybe it generates a bunch of

excitement last but not least this was

the first ever live event with uh with

this many chess fans I think in

attendance there was fans in the arena

uh this is what it looked like it was at

espot which is a very cool venue it's

got different rooms and locations this

is the uh Arena the players played here

normally they have you know a row of

five cuz it's Esports on the opposite

side of this which you cannot see here

they have a like where my cursor is they

have seating so there was people who

could sit here uh the most difficult

thing there was the fact that um if the

players in the arena had an evaluation

bar they would be able to react they

would see the bar and go and then the

players in the next would go oh I can

hear the crowd is getting restless so I

have something and that's the struggle

about Chess the maybe the only way to

mitigate this when the audience has more

information than the chass players is to

put the players like this but in a big

glass box which is soundproof and

apparent this has been done before where

the players sit there's a glass you can

see the players but the players cannot

see you and the fans can be as loud as

possible cheering you know and they see

the players there um and maybe that's

the way to do it and and and then the

the audience can get a live commentary

like in the ear you know like they have

silent Raves you have headphones but

there is music playing so everybody's

dancing but it's silent

so maybe that's that's one way to do it

there was about 3 400 people there I met

a bunch of people took a bunch of

pictures with with people sign signed

stuff for people uh and uh it was it it

was quite special it was quite cool and

and and a lot of a lot of people were

were very nice I do wonder if we can

sell you know a th000 or 2,000 or 5,000

for some of the elite players of the

world uh I'm really hopeful you know I'm

really hopeful because I think I think

chess can can easily you know grow to to

an ort like 30% the size of some of the

biggest orts in the world I would hope

but we have to uh we have to get there

and there were problems you know there

were problems even

though Hans said I have you know we have

non-disparagement agreements with ch.com

um or something along those lines but uh

yeah like the you know the events page

was lagging at some points uh there were

there were some broadcast issues uh

there were uh little things that I you

know I would change about like player

walkouts or uh the crowd you know

elements of the crowd and and things

like that uh but that's all stuff that

gets solved over time and these are kind

of like the early additions and I'm

staying positive and optimistic that

these things can be can be mitigated but

espot was super cool uh chess say an

esport is a is a fascinating

phenomenon and hopefully more things are

coming in the future more Big Brand

collabs like there was no big brand uh

title sponsor for speechs championship I

know they partnered with like displate

that was a big one but you know why does

chess not have a watch sponsor watch

companies Tio scitec Casio Rolex hit us

up man I mean the clock is like integral

to the game how do we not have a watch

sponsor we need bigger sponsorships in

chess and uh that's what I'm hoping that

you know some of these things can

ultimately lead to but a wild time in

Paris it was uh the Hans demon interview

don't know if it's kayf

if you don't know what kayfabe is I will

um kayfabe is uh the fact or Convention

of presenting stage performances as

genuine or authentic I don't know how

much of it is kayab I don't know how

much of it is real and I don't know what

the future holds because now that Hans

lost up Magnus and Hikaru and gave that

interview where he had a kind of

refreshing new and humble perspective

we'll see if it carries on or we'll see

if he rattles off a few wins and says

I'm back baby Hans demon is back you

know I can't wait for the next interview

cuz um it's going to be a wild one

so those are my perspectives and

uh yeah the Chess World Keeps on

chugging

along get out of here