Very much agree with no. 1, but with the tour line up and open qualifying spots from chesscom I would argue that the strength is there to make a legitimate claim
- strong players, yes, and a title to covet for sure, but still not the same (in any type of contest) if the best does not compete. It’s been interesting. 🙃
I love any Foucault references, so thanks for adding that. FIDE is maybe the panopticon but without real power to punish behavior it doesn't like. The player/prisoners don't care about the gaze upon them - or at least one doesn't. Carlsen doesn't have much to lose.
I think Magnus has kind of gone overboard a bit. He has some power as the best player in the world right now. But he's using it in the wrong way, and expecting that he would be above rules and regulations, just seems too much like the direction that the US is headed in right now, which is leading into a lot of anxiety and uncertainty. While Hans Niemann may have had a point, he's not someone who sets the best example either. Trust me, with Hans' level of arrogance, if he was close to as good as Magnus is now, his behavior would probably be even worse. The best part is that players like Magnus and Hikaru has, for the moment, taken an edge off of some of his arrogance. I don't care much for free-style chess, and really have no issue with them claiming a world champion. Just as long as it's clear that it's categorized as a freestyle chess championship. If anything, whether people believe they were the two best in world, the Ding-Gukesh match did wonders for putting classical chess back on the map, and provided us a glance of how psychology, in addition to having two-highly skilled opponents, can have a huge effect on a classical chess match. I look forward to more classical matches like that. It was a joy to only have to follow a match a day, and see some real opening prep in use instead of watching GMs fall due to instinctive errors or mouseslips trying to compete in 3 or 1 minute games. The fact that the best player decided not to compete is not the fault of Ding or Gukesh. We can't simply delete the world chess championship because one player doesn't like playing classical any more. Whether many want to believe it or not, chess needs classical tournaments and matches in order to survive. Imagine the wasted endgame books if all the world's chess players started to play blitz only? While it looks exciting, even non-chess playing fans would get sick of it after awhile.
1- Freestyle is for those so good and experienced that they’ve tired of normal chess- very small minority.
2 (and possibly unrelated) - any world championship without the best player isn’t really a championship. It’s just a title.
Very much agree with no. 1, but with the tour line up and open qualifying spots from chesscom I would argue that the strength is there to make a legitimate claim
- strong players, yes, and a title to covet for sure, but still not the same (in any type of contest) if the best does not compete. It’s been interesting. 🙃
But compare the player’s with the FIDE edition of 2022: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE_World_Fischer_Random_Chess_Championship_2022
FIDE controls the definition and award of titles
I love any Foucault references, so thanks for adding that. FIDE is maybe the panopticon but without real power to punish behavior it doesn't like. The player/prisoners don't care about the gaze upon them - or at least one doesn't. Carlsen doesn't have much to lose.
When I studied history I spent a semester studying the history of punishment, so for some reason, this idea appeared :)
Excellent article. Thanks.
As always, thank you, Brian! And also for being one who added some views to my YouTube videos ;)
I would much rather watch your YouTube channel than any Freestyle game! Unless you decide to start playing Freestyle....!
I promise you that when I make the next video it will not be freestyle :D
I think Magnus has kind of gone overboard a bit. He has some power as the best player in the world right now. But he's using it in the wrong way, and expecting that he would be above rules and regulations, just seems too much like the direction that the US is headed in right now, which is leading into a lot of anxiety and uncertainty. While Hans Niemann may have had a point, he's not someone who sets the best example either. Trust me, with Hans' level of arrogance, if he was close to as good as Magnus is now, his behavior would probably be even worse. The best part is that players like Magnus and Hikaru has, for the moment, taken an edge off of some of his arrogance. I don't care much for free-style chess, and really have no issue with them claiming a world champion. Just as long as it's clear that it's categorized as a freestyle chess championship. If anything, whether people believe they were the two best in world, the Ding-Gukesh match did wonders for putting classical chess back on the map, and provided us a glance of how psychology, in addition to having two-highly skilled opponents, can have a huge effect on a classical chess match. I look forward to more classical matches like that. It was a joy to only have to follow a match a day, and see some real opening prep in use instead of watching GMs fall due to instinctive errors or mouseslips trying to compete in 3 or 1 minute games. The fact that the best player decided not to compete is not the fault of Ding or Gukesh. We can't simply delete the world chess championship because one player doesn't like playing classical any more. Whether many want to believe it or not, chess needs classical tournaments and matches in order to survive. Imagine the wasted endgame books if all the world's chess players started to play blitz only? While it looks exciting, even non-chess playing fans would get sick of it after awhile.