Hikaru Is Levi's Arch Rival : Game Theory
Hello Chess.com!
Welcome to Game Theory, where pure satisfaction meets fun and mind-blowingness! Today, we are going to theorize something seemingly crazy on paper.
These guys are ARCH-RIVALS. Yep, put on your theorizing badge and come with me as we take a look at the relationship between GM Hikaru Nakamura and IM Levy Rozman AKA Gothamchess.
Point 1 :- Their Current Relationship
For IM, soon to be GM, Levy Rozman, Hikaru Nakamura is like a brother from a different mother, a long-lost brother. They make videos together, stream together, laugh together, cry together (OK, maybe not THAT one) .But all in all, their relationship is STRONG.
Or Is It?
Point 2:- Their Profession And How It Affects Their Friendship
Both of those guys are hard-working YouTubers and Twitch streamers. They are the two top chess YouTubers on the platform. They work hard for this, to succeed, TO BE BETTER THAN THE REST. So, they would have a natural competitive mind between them. But simple competition doesn't mean that there is no friendship, I have experienced that fact myself. Then how can they be enemies? Like every close friend who both are on the same level - Jealousy.
Point 3:- Why Levy Would Be Jealous Of Hikaru
Hikaru Nakamura is a common name among chess fans - even if they do not follow the social media world of chess. People know him from newspapers or magazines even if they do not follow chess at all or if it's just a common hobby. But in Levy's case, that's not really true. Sure, he's famous, he's the top chess YouTuber, the top chess streamer, but not so widely known among the aforementioned 'people who do not follow chess at all or if it's just a common hobby'. Levy has no chance of doing so in the future either, being as famous as Hikaru for the non-chess enthusiasts, if he does not perform a miracle, like being a top GM. I mean, no offense to Levy, but he just simply isn't SKILLED enough. Sure, he has beaten a few grandmasters (he just beat Ian Nepomniachtchi), but not REGULARLY, while Hikaru there has beaten every grandmaster who has dared to challenge him, consistently too, perhaps with the exception of the one and only Magnus Carlsen.
Also, Levy's only way of income, other than merch or his book is YouTube, while Hikaru can just play chess to win mega events with huge price money. Thus, Levy SHOULD have that competitive spirit to stop Hikaru from stealing his views.
So, Levy would be jealous of Hikaru for:-
- Him being more famous on non-chess followers or older chess enthusiasts,
- Him being WAY BETTER than Levy,
- Him having other sources of income other than YouTube, so Levy should have that competitive spirit.
So why would Hikaru be jealous of Levy?
Point 4:- Why Hikaru Would Be Jealous Of Levy
Hikaru obviously has WAY less subscribers than Levy. At the time of writing this, Levy has 5.38M subscribers, while Hikaru only has 2.5M. I mean seriously, Levy has more than DOUBLE Hikaru's subscribers! That's enough to not give him sleep for weeks.
Hikaru is definitely more skilled than Levy, but doesn't even have half his subscribers? I mean, he can give DAILY, UP-TO-DATE, LIVE feeds of events, while Levy can only do a recap video after the event has completed if he isn't watching it. So, that's INSANE!
So why Hikaru would be jealous of Levy:-
- Him having more than 2x Hikaru's subs
- Him doing way slower recaps but still getting more views
- Hikaru being a thousand times better but still being 'outsubcribed' by Levy
The Conclusion:-
They hate each other. Sure, they make videos together, BUT THAT'S FOR CONTENT. Nothing matters to professionals except content, that even more if their only way of income is YouTube. So, they are ARCH-RIVALS. ENEMIES! Finding it hard to believe? It's only real if you believe it.
But HEY, that's just a theory, A GAME THEORY.
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See you next time!
