I think Hikaru is not listed in the fide top 100 for December as of the moment I write this - Chess Forums - Page 2

Stil1

Dec 3, 2021

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#21

His comments about him playing (and his inactivity) are at 21:54.

Steven-ODonoghue

Dec 3, 2021

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#22

NikkiLikeChikki wrote:

Actually, I've heard Ben say that Levy *could* be a GM if he wanted to be, but that it would make no sense for him. He would have to quit streaming, spend his days studying, and travel a lot, and for what? To lose a lucrative source of income for a title that hundreds of people who make very little money have? I think Hikaru's comments about Levy have been much more cutting.

As for Ben's sense of humor, you only have to watch his stream three times. After that, he just recycles the same jokes, makes tortured puns that aren't funny, and makes humor reference that nobody not receiving a social security check could possibly get. I do admit, however, that watching the amount of food he can consume in a single stream can be a source of amusement for some.

Maybe Ben said that initially... I'm not sure. But lately he certainly doesn't think so and has been very blunt in saying it. He has straight out said that Levy has absolutely ZERO chance to become a GM, because GMs need to be good at chess and levy is a terrible chess player. He's also said that Levy's "road to grandmaster" is insulting, because it suggests that any old idiot can get the title, which demeans Finegold's accomplishment.

blueemu

Dec 3, 2021

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#23

melvinbluestone wrote:

What's his secret?

Try eating the hearts of your defeated enemies.

They're not fattening.

llama47

Dec 3, 2021

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#24

Steven-ODonoghue wrote:

NikkiLikeChikki wrote:

Actually, I've heard Ben say that Levy *could* be a GM if he wanted to be, but that it would make no sense for him. He would have to quit streaming, spend his days studying, and travel a lot, and for what? To lose a lucrative source of income for a title that hundreds of people who make very little money have? I think Hikaru's comments about Levy have been much more cutting.

As for Ben's sense of humor, you only have to watch his stream three times. After that, he just recycles the same jokes, makes tortured puns that aren't funny, and makes humor reference that nobody not receiving a social security check could possibly get. I do admit, however, that watching the amount of food he can consume in a single stream can be a source of amusement for some.

Maybe Ben said that initially... I'm not sure. But lately he certainly doesn't think so and has been very blunt in saying it. He has straight out said that Levy has absolutely ZERO chance to become a GM, because GMs need to be good at chess and levy is a terrible chess player. He's also said that Levy's "road to grandmaster" is insulting, because it suggests that any old idiot can get the title, which demeans Finegold's accomplishment.

Wow.

I guess that's typical Finegold, doesn't hold back.

blueemu

Dec 3, 2021

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#25

Steven-ODonoghue wrote:

He has straight out said that Levy has absolutely ZERO chance to become a GM, because GMs need to be good at chess and Levy is a terrible chess player.

You have to remember that they are both chess streamers, and therefore competitors.

Slagging the competition is an old well established tradition.

brianchesscake

Dec 3, 2021

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#26

Hikaru has wins against Carlsen, Anand, Kasparov, Karpov, Kramnik, Topalov, and most top-10 players currently. Anyone criticizing him has absolutely no idea the level of talent he possesses.

You know the famous quote - "form is temporary, class is permanent."

llama47

Dec 3, 2021

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#27

brianchesscake wrote:

Hikaru has wins against Carlsen, Anand, Kasparov, Karpov, Kramnik, Topalov, and most top-10 players currently. Anyone criticizing him has absolutely no idea the level of talent he possesses.

You know the famous quote - "form is temporary, class is permanent."

Heh, funny choice of words, because he's classless (rude) jerk

brianchesscake

Dec 3, 2021

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#28

llama47 wrote:

Heh, funny choice of words, because he's classless (rude) jerk

He has the right to be arrogant for his achievements in chess. That's the only reason so many people still love Fischer.

And, to be honest, his personality makes him an entertaining streamer, on top of his vast knowledge and experience.

llama47

Dec 3, 2021

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#29

brianchesscake wrote:

llama47 wrote:

Heh, funny choice of words, because he's classless (rude) jerk

He has the right to be arrogant for his achievements in chess. That's the only reason so many people still love Fischer.

And, to be honest, his personality makes him an entertaining streamer, on top of his vast knowledge and experience.

He has the right to be cocky in chess, sure, but when he's rude outside of that, for example when he's talking to Levy, it's just unnecessary and classless... sure some people enjoy watching that I guess.

Jenium

Dec 4, 2021

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#30

CooloutAC wrote:

Jenium wrote:

Ben's does not beat around the bush. That's not to everyone's liking. But his content is 1000 times more informative than Levy's in my opinion.

I actually don't watch much of Levy but the few videos I've seen have helped me like his fried liver video helped me with my knights or his how to stop queen opening attacks video. I've never got anything out of Ben's videos, the guy is just a troll. I have watched alot of Levy's recent tournament recap videos which helped me understand alot about FIDE tourneys i found interesting as well.

Levy's videos are not my cup of tea, but I can see why he is popular. From what I have watched, Levy basically tries to make beginners and lower rated players feel good by selling short-cut openings and by focussing on chess entertainment rather than on long term improvement, e.g. by commenting chess like it's a football match, coaching in pog champs, creating videos like "how I catch online cheaters" or "guess the elo", playing online blitz etc.

Ben's chess instruction is more "serious". While his jokes might be repetetive, I found his lectures on great players of the past or on certain topics quite useful.

llama47

Dec 4, 2021

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#31

The difference, to me, is that Finegold is self aware. He can be a condescending jerk, at least at face value, but it comes from a place where the viewer understands he doesn't actually believe his sh*t smells like roses. That's what makes him different from Naka.

llama47

Dec 4, 2021

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#32

And just in general, Hikaru always comes off as fake... and somehow a bit dumb (?) I can't really explain that part. Maybe his comments seem superficial to me? I haven't really thought about why I get that vibe from him, hmm.

But Finegold is just being himself, and his authenticity is appealing.

IsraeliGal

Dec 4, 2021

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#33

u just like Ben cuz he's very politically left leaning lmao

llama47

Dec 4, 2021

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#34

Soniasthetics wrote:

u just like Ben cuz he's very politically left leaning lmao

Nah, he'd have to be a little more flagrant a little more often before I'd like him for that reason

I rated him poorly on his STL chess videos, because it was like 80% jokes and nonsense, and 20% information. Akobian was dry, but really did excellent lectures. Akobian was my favorite by far.

And then the more I watched Finegold, the more I realized he only has a few dozen jokes that he just repeats over and over, which made me like him even less. Also I thought his snide comments (sometimes towards kids) were a little too cutting to be written off as "oh come on it's just a joke."

But then somehow he grew on me... I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because he's moved from job to job and wife to wife I get the feeling he's just some guy trying to do the best he can in this screwed up world, and when he gets knocked down he gets right back up, never failing to be himself, warts and all. That's probably why I find him appealing.

llama47

Dec 4, 2021

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#35

CooloutAC wrote:

llama47 wrote:

The difference, to me, is that Finegold is self aware. He can be a condescending jerk, at least at face value, but it comes from a place where the viewer understands he doesn't actually believe his sh*t smells like roses. That's what makes him different from Naka.

I personally think he just trashes himself to save face. Because he knows he has to. but he actually does believe what he says about others. come on lol. . Like most chess players he is another snob with a superiority complex. just like HIkaru just like most, Its the whole reason most of you are playing chess in the first place. Its why chess is kept so exclusive and unpopular.

You often start out pretty good, but then you get into weird stuff like "this is why chess is unpopular."

llama47

Dec 4, 2021

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#36

CooloutAC wrote:

llama47 wrote:

CooloutAC wrote:

llama47 wrote:

The difference, to me, is that Finegold is self aware. He can be a condescending jerk, at least at face value, but it comes from a place where the viewer understands he doesn't actually believe his sh*t smells like roses. That's what makes him different from Naka.

I personally think he just trashes himself to save face. Because he knows he has to. but he actually does believe what he says about others. come on lol. . Like most chess players he is another snob with a superiority complex. just like HIkaru just like most, Its the whole reason most of you are playing chess in the first place. Its why chess is kept so exclusive and unpopular.

You often start out pretty good, but then you get into weird stuff like "this is why chess is unpopular."

because chess players want to feel special about themselves for playing it so it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

I think non-players get that feeling sometimes, sure.

Recently I was telling this guy I play chess, and his response surprised me... he said "that's a classy hobby." I've never thought of it as classy. Another common feeling is it's a hobby for smart people, but I've never felt smart because I play chess... if anything chess is enormously humbling. We all start out losing tons and tons of games, and then even when you get better, you're always reminded you're capable of playing like an idiot every time someone a lot worse than you beats you... and if you eventually put a few thousand hours into it, enough to start feeling decent, you look around and see other people have spent that time more wisely...

I mean, it's a pretty brutal game that way... you can only stick with it because you love it.

Sure some people are egomaniacs, but I've seen them no more frequently than in the general public.

llama47

Dec 4, 2021

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#37

I have a pretty average memory... if anything it's probably on the lower end, to be honest... but after a certain amount of skill, chess games are like movies (that's the comparison I like to make). Let's say there was a movie you really liked, and you saw it a few times... if someone asked you about it 5 years later, would you be able to recall the basic plot? Of course.

People practically crap their pants the fact Naka or Carlsen can recognize a position from a game they played many years ago... but so I can, and I'm not even a master. I don't even have a good memory... it's not impressive the same way it's not impressive to remember some basic things about a movie you liked years ago.

Pulpofeira

Dec 4, 2021

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#38

CooloutAC escribió:

llama47 wrote:

CooloutAC wrote:

llama47 wrote:

CooloutAC wrote:

llama47 wrote:

The difference, to me, is that Finegold is self aware. He can be a condescending jerk, at least at face value, but it comes from a place where the viewer understands he doesn't actually believe his sh*t smells like roses. That's what makes him different from Naka.

I personally think he just trashes himself to save face. Because he knows he has to. but he actually does believe what he says about others. come on lol. . Like most chess players he is another snob with a superiority complex. just like HIkaru just like most, Its the whole reason most of you are playing chess in the first place. Its why chess is kept so exclusive and unpopular.

You often start out pretty good, but then you get into weird stuff like "this is why chess is unpopular."

because chess players want to feel special about themselves for playing it so it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

I think non-players get that feeling sometimes, sure.

Recently I was telling this guy I play chess, and his response surprised me... he said "that's a classy hobby." I've never thought of it as classy. Another common feeling is it's a hobby for smart people, but I've never felt smart because I play chess... if anything chess is enormously humbling. We all start out losing tons and tons of games, and then even when you get better, you're always reminded you're capable of playing like an idiot every time someone a lot worse than you beats you... and if you eventually put a few thousand hours into it, enough to start feeling decent, you look around and see other people have spent that time more wisely...

I mean, it's a pretty brutal game that way... you can only stick with it because you love it.

Sure some people are egomaniacs, but I've seen them no more frequently than in the general public.

It absolutely is. Depends on your definition of smart. its mostly natural born ability like a good memory and spatiel vision. The ability to learn which comes naturally also leads to being book smart. So thats why its mostly nerds and "smart" people playing. But you are right you can be a complete dummy and still be good at chess as long as you have the natural abilities needed. Good board vision, pattern recognition puzzle solving skills etc. Still need a decent memory though to improve.

But chess in its long history has always been considered a high society game that looked down on others. The game of kings. Wasn't until the 19th century poor people started playing and it was still exclusive to women and minorities. But the fact that its not popoular leads a chess player to believe he is superior to society thinking they are simply not smart enough to play. Thats how it looks from the INSIDE from your peers, not to the rest of society who just find it boring and snobby.

That's been in the West, not in Asia.

llama47

Dec 4, 2021

0

#39

CooloutAC wrote:

But chess in its long history has always been considered a high society game that looked down on others. The game of kings. Wasn't until the 19th century poor people started playing and it was still excluded from most womena and minorities. But the fact that its not popular leads a chess player to believe he is superior to society thinking they are simply not smart enough to play. Thats how it looks from the INSIDE from your peers, not to the rest of society who just find it boring and snobby.

Paul Morphy didn't want to be known as a chess player, because that was low class... associated with gambling even. In fact 100s of years before Morphy, various religions (Christianity and Islam) have banned chess playing for exactly that reason (a waste of time and gambling).

I don't know when chess started to be seen as classy. Maybe it was loosely associated with the aristocracy? I don't know.

Pulpofeira

Dec 4, 2021

0

#40

Asian cities and caravans looked a bit like Washington Square park.