The Club Interviews - Episode 2: Carlsen
Welcome to my new series of blogs, "The Club Interviews"! This is an exclusive Chess.com interview where we chat with some of the most standout members in the Chess.com Clubs community. Get a glimpse into their journey, social interactions, and what it takes to thrive within the vibrant chess clubs and discussions on the platform." Our guest will be @carlsen! So without further delay, lets dive right i n!
Deflection: Welcome to our second episode, featuring @carlsen! So, Carlsen, how are you today?
Carlsen: I'm good, thanks. I hope you have a great week!
Deflection: Thank you! Tell me a bit more about yourself.
Carlsen: My real name is Youssef Mohammed, I'm 13 years old, and I live in Port Said, Egypt.
Deflection: Nicee. So how did you find chess.com clubs?
Carlsen: It all started in May 2024 where I felt a bit of nostalgia to the old chess.com UI back in 2017-2019, so I joined the Chess.com Community Club to post my first ever forum on Chess.com. After that, I saw some people commenting on my forums, so I friended them and knew more about them.. and then I came across someone named @Java (formerly JavaScript781), and he was Admin in iCHESS, where @Jared was Owner back then. And after that I knew more about the staff, and knew more about other clubs like POC, CVC, TPOC, and yeah.. the rest.. is history!
Deflection: Wow, I never knew that about you, to be honest. So, why did you become active in clubs? Did you meet some nice people there?
Carlsen: I became active in clubs because it was the summer vacation.. I had nothing to do.. I wasn't going outside, and I was kinda getting bored with chess (until I came back to it).. so I was chatting with a lot of people. There were tons of nice people, and one of the people who truly cared about me was the one and only @Jared (ilysm).. He was guiding me through how to become a massive club Admin, and he was an amazing person. But obviously I met some bad people and even trolls like the infamous Viroh.
Deflection: I agree with your opinion about the people. Since we focus mainly on Clubs here, what are your favorite clubs and why?
Carlsen: My favorite club is by far Chess.com vs. ChessKid. It has honestly the best online Chess community I've ever seen. It's a miracle that the Owner @Caleb341, along with his staff, managed to make the best community. My second most favorite club is actually the club I OWN, which is iCHESS. This was the first ever chess community I was active in.
Deflection: Excellent choices! I approve. A general question about you, what are some of your favorite hobbies?
Carlsen: My favorite hobby is obviously chess.. but aside that, I really enjoy playing the piano. As of May 8 2025 I'm currently practicing Scriabin Piano Sonata No 1 in F Minor, Marche Funebre. One of my favorite pieces to this day. Another hobby is Math. Yeah it might sound strange but I love Math and I'm genuinely obsessed with numbers.
Deflection: I don't like piano or math ;-; alright, moving on! Carlsen, since you've been here for quite a while, what changes have you seen during your time here? Also, what are some of your favorite people here on clubs?
Carlsen: Haha, I love this question. I have seen a ton of changes. Since I joined Social side on May of last year, I have seen new people emerge in the social world, and old people leaving the social world. Now since there's way too many new people, I'll only cover the old ones. People like @Nicholas_Bize, @Java, @Catto, @DisinterestedDreamer, @BestBubble7, @GMchessminator, @BasixWhiteGirl, @Timothy (one of the few people I met before I joined Social, back in 2023).. there's just so many more. I've also seen @Jared being inactive recently due to school, and jobs.. and I also remember when my username was KingOfBrilliancy, yeah before @carlsen I was known as KingOfBrilliancy (or KOB for short). My favorite people here on clubs.. there's a ton of them.. but there are some mentions like @Jared, @Caleb341, @Qoiuoiuoiuoiu, @TheAuthorOfChickens, @F1-24, @TheCosmic_Horizon, @TheMidnightExpress12, @NoahdeAlwis, @The_Storm_555.. a lot of names.
Deflection: Solid response. Do you hope to run a successful club in the future or are you content with your current club (iCHESS) right now?
Carlsen: Yes, I'm content with my current club iCHESS. I mean.. it's a huge club with over 6.5K Members.. I was thinking of starting a large project on Chess.com named "FIDE Masters" but at the end I got the Ownership of iCHESS due to Jared's inactivity. And now, it's very active and successful!
Deflection: Awesome! I have heard you're leaving Chess.com Clubs soon, why is that?
Carlsen: this is a great opportunity to mention one of my friend's post (https://www.chess.com/blog/kavarinblog/think-twice-before-entering-chess-coms-social-side).almost all of my reasons on why I'm leaving the Social side. But if anyone somehow doesn't want to read the blog, here's the reasons: Firstly: I got addicted to this social side. I don't want something to take away my time that I should be studying in. I can't believe the number of.. WEEKS that are all gone on this social thing. That's why I was in 170 clubs.. but now.. I'm in only SIX clubs, having a role in only 3 of them. Secondly: I want to come back to chess. Thirdly: Chess.com Social has become an addiction. Fourthly: I want to improve my rating. I genuinely don't care if I'm not a famous club admin - at the end of the day, who cares? And I'm posting a blog soon about why I'm quitting Social, which will explain even more things. But make sure to check the blog above! 
Deflection: Thats interesting. Ill agree Clubs are a hindrance to rating improvement indeed. Would you like to shoutout any blogs/clubs/people and if so what/who are they?
Carlsen: I'll give a shoutout to this amazing blog https://www.chess.com/blog/kavarinblog/think-twice-before-entering-chess-coms-social-side And I'll give a huge shoutout to the 6 clubs I'm in (named: iCHESS, Chess.com vs. ChessKid, EGYPT CHESS CLUB, Chess.com Community, Improvers, Chess.com Beta) And I'll give a shoutout to these amazing names: @Jared, @Scemer, @Deflection, @DrNykterstein, @CRHer700, @Admiral_ChessBeard, @Caleb341, @Qoiuoiuoiuoiu, @TheAuthorOfChickens, @mjtcan, @sailsword, @DepressoEspresso01, @OmarVahidov, @F1-24, @FullCrowdedBadger, @Isengard1.. there's so much more. I have made tons of friendships throughout this year (May 2024 - May 2025).
Deflection: Alright, good blog. Well, I think that's a wrap. How's your experience with this interview today? Want to say anything to the audience?
Carlsen: Not really. But the experience was nice.
Deflection: Sounds good. Pleasure having you here with us today. Remember to slay all day, in every way!! Stay tuned for future episodes! ❤
Well, that's it for today. Let me know what you think about the second episode of this new series of mine in the comments! And if you want to be interviewed, ask in comments
