Is Ben Finegold as big a jerk as he seems in his videos?

The "Poop" emojis in the painting behind Ben are, to quote the man, "very suspicious."

Nice painting.

Cool, yet i dont compare him Yasser or Varzhuan

   I can't believe this stupid conversation is still going on.

I just noticed that Ben Finegold in this picture does not have a beard.

Which means one of two things:

1)  Either I am in the alternate 'evil' timeline ... 

2)  Or bearded "evil" Ben is in our timeline ... 




Hmmmm ...




hmmmmm, indeed.

_

I think he's extremely funny - yes, I could see being put off by some of his comments ("why don't you make more noise?")...but overall he anlayzes each position well and the humor helps.

He is super funny but his great jokes are kind of wasted on those kids because they never get them, neither do they help to keep them more concentrated .                                                                                  Varuzhan Akobians handles the kids classes a bit better, he never lets the class attention drop.

Ben is just a harmless fuzz ball.

The humour is exhilarating.

Interestingly, some players play better the noisier the conditions.

Lots of contradictions here.

Not surprisingly, Ben is a very polarizing lecturer.

For me... when I watched one video of him, I found his abrasive teaching style to be offensive and disorienting at first. But I watched another video, and tried to place myself in the classroom with him.  The video I watched was "Beating Lower Rated Players: Beginner Beatdown". And my mind is changed; he engages and challenges his students. This is more than can be said for many teachers.

Also, maybe it's just my competitive nature, but instantly you feel the desire to beat him. The put-downs stoke some students' competitive fires. So maybe he's not for every student, but I appreciate his engaging & flamboyant teaching methods.

Also, give him a break for seeming uppity at times. This is the curse to people born in the Year of the Rooster.

I have met Ben.

He is far worse in person, than in his videos.

Much, much worse.

Meh, he's more entertaining than he is instructive.

He makes some random jokes about a move instead of explaining it.

Sure, I've laughed while watching his videos, but have I learned?

I learned which premoves work in 30 second chess.

I go to agadmator's channel to learn (since returning to chess in the past month). But Grandmaster Finegold has been very helpful too. Just from the few videos I've watched. The instruction does come thru, people. I don't know why some people seem to think he's just up there doing stand-up.

I'm too lazy and old to truly study up on this game in any serious way, so if I watch a chess video, it is usually one of Finegold's, since they are insanely hilarious.

It is not a contradiction.  the "noise" comment was a quote from Ben when he was making fun of some people who were being loud... he said "why don't you make some more noise?"  I thought it was funny, but some people think it is rude.  Those people are verrrrry suspicious.

I'm trying to decide which would be a better ringtone:

agadmator's      "Hello, Everyone!  or
Ben Finegold's  "Very Suspicious"

...

given the people who call, I might favor the latter.

_

Benny. Gotta love BENNY!!

I definitely think he come across as arrogant, things like "Im grandmaster Ben Finegold, and you're not"...just strike me as plain condescending. I know people who have been put off or nearly, from chess, by trying to learn and coming across his videos. The quality of humor is poor at best..do not recommend. Plenty of other great teachers out there.