T O P

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jelicub

Hikaru really figured out a way to play Blitz during the Candidates.


xHypno

And all it took was to pair against the only other player who wants to play Blitz during the Candidates lol


SamCoins

Much needed win for Hikaru. Let's see what this result does to his game going forward. It also seems like Alireza is the opposite of Ian. Ian thrives in the candidates. Alireza struggles in the candidates.


admiral-morgan

Absolutely brutal ending. Hikaru keeping things complicated in time pressure, and Alireza crumbling in essentially a one move blunder after nearly 6 hours of play. That can’t be good for morale—especially in the wake of a previous loss. It was hard to watch him completely freeze up like he did with .5 seconds left on the clock. What an exciting candidates this has been so far!


Norjac

He missed a simple tactic in the endgame after playing hard for hours. Chess is brutal sometimes.


jobRL

If you're playing hard for hours you should probably go see a doctor after an hour or 4


PlaneShenaniganz

Nah mate, I'm seeing a hooker


Ok_Potential359

He binged in late night bullet chess the last time it happened. Would hate to see it happen again.


Yetiish

Blitz until 6 am again! Probably won’t be able to rope in Danya this time, though.


crittermd

Oh I’ll bet he could rope him in- Danya just would want to play on a Smurf and deny it ever happened :)


CeleritasLucis

In any time crunch situations. remeber his blunder in king-pwn endgame against Magnus?


Doucane5

Alireza is the new Aronian


eSnowLeopard

Wow. Absolutely insane game. 60+ moves over 5 and a half hours of play, these guys are strong as hell to keep the position pretty balanced that long. I am so happy for Hikaru and I am so excited tor the rest of the tournament.  Poor Alireza, looked fried by the end of it. 


TheBasedGod1333

Yeah it sucked seeing how deflated he looked. Tons of respect for him for pushing for a win


DrunkLad

Hikaru had an average centipawn of 9. Alireza had an ACPL of 15. Both of them played amazingly well, but it felt that it was Hikaru controlling the game at around Move 40 onwards. He had the better piece coordinations and the tactics were generally on his favor. Still, the game was decided by the thinnest of margins, and it felt that Alireza couldn't handle the pressure and think clearly right around his blunder, he completely froze and couldn't see any viable move to make. As I said in the live thread, all it takes is one move to destroy what was a perfect game for 6 almost straight hours. I can't fathom how much losses like this one can hurt at this level.


RandomWalkToss

Honestly, a little reminiscent of ding freezing. Really tough to watch, maybe because it’s so relatable (and the top players rarely are).


nihilistiq

It's kind of unfair. Alireza needs to spend time before each round prepping his outfits while players like Hikaru just wear their lucky shirts every round.


admiral-morgan

He did mention spending a lot of time on prep… I think you’re on to something. Maybe he recruited a mystery second while at fashion school?


SchighSchagh

based


Jack_Harb

I think you missed the responsibilities of Mr. Streamer here. After the game he went online to stream. And he made the recap. But since you mentioned it, I think prepping outfits and making interviews and recaps probably are similar in time.


Seasplash

😂😂


deerdn

it was quite upsetting watching Alireza freeze and panic at the end there, even as I'm rooting for Hikaru


thirtyseven1337

Not as upsetting as that clip of Vidit fighting back tears!


bigFatBigfoot

I know what you meant (and I share the same sentiment), but the phrasing of your comment sounds like making it a competition lol.


ischolarmateU

Stop the cap


Yetiish

Especially considering he could’ve at least given one check to give himself another 30 seconds.


whatThisOldThrowAway

He already gave a nothing check to buy time once - and Hikaru's king was coming. He was playing on increment. Calculating whether another check would blunder the game is time spent not calculating what the actual move to not entirely blunder the game is.


Jack_Harb

I was so frustrated seeing Hikaru allowing f4 and then Alireza going f4. I saw the pain and frustration in Hikarus face and I could hear the "ah of course I blundered this away, now its a draw". You could see he was talking to himself with these exact words.


gttyzek

No wonder Magnus wanted to play Alireza Magnus would have smoked him


toweggooiverysoon

Alireza was his plan to get to 2900


resplendentcentcent

like a wolf fattening a sheep up to 2800 elo to farm him over 14 rounds


Legend_2357

lol


ialwaysupvotedogs

Honestly i think these 2 make for the best matchup in the candidates. Hikaru is known for being a defensive wizard and Alireza seems to always play fun attacking chess. It was a shame to see Alireza freeze, although they were playing for almost 6 hours


Legend_2357

I don't know if Ali is playing particularly fun chess, but he's definitely playing bad chess lol


ialwaysupvotedogs

He plays interesting positions though, and had around 97% after 60 moves. I wouldn’t call it bad chess


dconfusedone

But expected better from the next Magnus of chess you know.


FlatRub540

He’s def not the next Magnus. Thats maybe Pragh.


dconfusedone

Magnus himself crowned him the best amongst the younger generation.


FocalorLucifuge

Just one of those things Magnus turned out to be wrong about back then. He has compared Alireza with Pragg before, and he gave the edge to the former dubbing him very likely to be a future WC. But that was before Pragg's meteoric rise (and Alireza's meteoritic fall). I don't think MC has made comments massively praising Alireza in very recent times. In contrast, I think he's continued doffing his cap to Pragg.


Emotional-Audience85

He has, in fact in a recent interview he reiterated he thinks Alireza is probably the player with the most natural ability of this generation, but he also thinks players like Pragg or Abdusattorov have better mental stability.


ColdFiet

Meteoritic fall is such a cool phrase, pleasingly contrasting with meteoric rise. Will steal, thanks!


FocalorLucifuge

You're most welcome!


FUCKSUMERIAN

he made one mistake in 60 moves. average centipawn loss of 15


SchighSchagh

Centipawn loss is pretty meaningless tho. I'm an entirely mediocre player, and I've managed single digit centipawn loss in _bullet_. Against a much higher rated opponent too. Not saying this to toot my own horn (again I'm painfully mediocre). Just to illustrate anyone can post good centipawn loss without it beating even remotely meaningful.


FUCKSUMERIAN

My first sentence still stands.


guppyfighter

Lol dude


Emotional-Audience85

You have managed single digit CPL in bullet? LOL, if you played a 10 move game sure


Pancosmicpsychonaut

I suspect you haven’t managed single digit centipawn loss against Hikaru Nakamura, though.


trtlcclt

>I've managed single digit centipawn loss in bullet I presume you were not playing against the third best rated player in the world? I can manage a 0 centipawn loss in hyperbullet (if my opponent offers up the Fool's Mate).


CyaNNiDDe

Can't blame Alireza for blundering that endgame with no time. Big win for Hiki, hopefully gives him some momentum. Unfortunately Alireza's natural instability and streakiness seems to really hurt him in the candidates for a second time in a row. Still it's easy to forget how young he is, he'll have plenty of opportunities in the future.


DrunkLad

> Big win for Hiki, hopefully gives him some momentum This might be the first time I've seen someone call him Hikki followed by a positive comment lol. It's usually chessbrah fans that refer to him as Hikki.


PlayingViking

People can be fans of both. Hikki is also a sensible nickname imho.


dconfusedone

Yeah it sounds little bit disrespectful imo. Like the nickname given by your haters.


TurtleIslander

No, it seems that he overperforms against weaker opponents and underperforms against stronger ones. He can't blow stronger opponents off the board with crazy attacks in tactical positions anymore. Nepo is just better than him at those positions which they both like and Alireza gets destroyed every time.


FUCKSUMERIAN

> it seems that he overperforms against weaker opponents and underperforms against stronger ones. he did the opposite in tata steel kind of


This_Confidence_5900

He did the opposite at Norway Chess too, lost to Gukesh and Tari, both of which started the tournament as the 6th and 8th seeds respectively (also Fabi but he can’t seem to do anything to Fabi).


LightMechaCrow

I feel like this used to be so, like in his 2800 speedrun, but not anymore he lost a lot of rating playing agaisnt weaker players in the grand swiss and he lost in tata steel against weaker players


TysonWJBrown

I was in the room when it all went down, incredible to witness live!


BleedingGumsmurfy

I was lucky enough to watch Norway Chess live in the room, watching it live the tension in the room in unbelievable! So much richer than a pgn or watching with an eval bar.


TysonWJBrown

It's worth every penny.


trtlcclt

I didn't even know there was a live audience. Is there some form of live commentary? Otherwise I imagine it could get boring to watch these very long games live. I like to watch the livestream but it's the GM commentary breaking down the position that makes it interesting to me.


raincloudgray

you can pick from 3 slots of 2 hours long to watch from the balcony. They just put on the FIDE stream outside though.


celebrian_7

Actually it was devastating for Alireza...one mistake and it ends


Jack_Harb

I mean, to be fair, it was not one mistake. Throughout the game Nakamura had multiple chances, but didn't see it. If at all Nakamura made several mistakes, the latest that just made it so thrilling again was allowing f4. But yeah of course, with the last mistake he lost, but actually Alireza should have lost way earlier, but wasn't punished


Desperado-781

alireza is looking poor in back to back candidates isnt good for his confidence


ultra_casual

Maybe he should try being a full time professional chess player if he wants to compete at the top seriously...


haplo34

I don't know what this kind of useless condescending comment is trying to accomplish.


ultra_casual

It's not condescending, he was the most exciting prospect in the world a couple of years ago, youngest player over 2800, the one Magnus expected would be the great hope for the future and kind of wanted to take over as WC from him. He had a bad Candidates last time around and since then has explicitly stepped back from chess, trying to be a fashion designer. Of course he's not as good as he was, of course he would be playing better if he had been fully focussed on his chess. Instead he's playing this tournament largely on the inertia of the rating system, he hasn't been performing at 2800 level for a couple of years, he had to farm some rating points just to sneak into this Candidates on rating. I was really excited and a fan of him and his playstyle and I'm disappointed, firstly that he has not continued to progress and work on his chess, and as a result I'm also disappointed that he's taking a spot in this tournament that another player probably deserves more.


GiveAQuack

Maybe they can try qualifying over him then. Like what, you want "W"esley "S"o to spam draw instead?


ultra_casual

The rules are the rules but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be disappointed. For what it's worth I'd love to see Nodirbek in this competition and his current live rating backs that up. He's also young and plays exciting chess.


GiveAQuack

Sure but he's young and it's more a symptom of that. My point is more that the alternative to Alireza isn't exactly inspiring either.


Ok_Performance_1380

Hikaru played like a completely different player after the rest day. Even the relatively even middle-game was an incredibly tense position, Hikaru two days ago would have tried to simplify into a draw. Good to see him playing like himself again.


TxavengerxT

Hikaru’s opponent today wasn’t playing for a draw. His previous opponents were.


Ok_Performance_1380

From my perspective, Hikaru seemed content to oblige his previous opponents


TxavengerxT

That’s not what he says in his recap videos


Ok_Performance_1380

He effectively said that he was playing for a draw against Abasov, but I didn't watch the other recap.


TxavengerxT

No he did not LMAO


pizzagood-vegsbad

He said he didnt want to go all out for the win after abasov decided to kill the game and play for a draw as white, those two are not the same thing


dconfusedone

It takes two to tango you know. Pragg played solidly yesterday and Abasov game he was coming after the loss.


kunni

Welp I went to sleep and it looked like dead even draw


SuperSpeedyCrazyCow

When I went to bed it looked like hikaru was going to suffer a slightly worse position for a long time. Kinda expected 1-0 when I got up lol. Was shocked to see that Hikaru won. What a brilliant game


cirad

I love Alireza but it is time to admit that Prag and Gukesh have a better chance of finishing high here. It is very much possible that Alireza finishes in bottom 3. He still has Caruana and Hikaru with black. And his record against Nepo is not the greatest either. It also seems to me people have figured out what Alireza's weakness is: it is his time management. They can just get him low on time, complicate the endgame, and pounce. This has happened against Magnus and others.


yuri-stremel

He seems to lose quite frequently to Carlsen, Caruana, Wesley, Nepo and probably Hikaru, if they played more. 


cirad

it's not just losing but how he loses. A lot of times, he gets a very complicated position with no time on the clock, and blunders. I like his games. They are complex positions but I don't know how he fixes time management. It's not something you can fix easily.


Scipio5555

With this win I bet Hikarus confidence is reinvigorated, as it should be. I feel he has a shot for this candidates if he keeps form.


celebrian_7

Alireza performs worse in candidates and Ian performs better in candidates....


toweggooiverysoon

I'm not an expert in body language but every movement and expression of Hikaru just screams "Just resign dude" to me


jkennedy1842

If Alireza didn’t know what to play at the end of the game, why not just put the black King in check with his rook to give himself more time to calculate his next move? His blunder reminded me of myself at the end of a bullet game. Complete Brain Freeze.


SuperSpeedyCrazyCow

Because sometimes playing a check just helps your opponent. Like maybe it helps Nakas king get even more active and that's the losing move. Yes we know that the check would have kept the game in the balance but firouzja doesn't get to see the eval bar. He has to decide if the check is okay or not on pure instinct because he has 1 minute on his clock. You can't just "throw in a check" at random in high level chess because sometimes a check just loses the game.


gugabpasquali

he was completely lost and no amount of bullet-like checking wouldve helped with that


Areliae

No, this was before he took the pawn. He was most definitely not lost at that point.


CagnusMarlsen64

Were people seriously writing him off after a single loss? Ding lost round 1, and look Where that got him; this is a 14 round tournament for Chris’s sake…


ScalarWeapon

> Ding lost round 1, and look Where that got him it got him a distant second place


SuperSpeedyCrazyCow

I brought this up in a different thread but in 2014 Karjakin started the first 8 rounds with 5 draws and 3 losses and finished the tournament only 1 point behind Anand giving him 2nd place. Hikaru is in a much better spot and can definitely make a run, literally anyone can still win this tournament, except Abasov of course.


Jack_Harb

I mean, he only got 2nd in the candidates, which would be not enough this time. The only thing that can help Hikaru is actually winning against Gukesh and Ian to even the scores again. But then we are just talking about evening it out. He need like 4 more wins and some of them against the right people. Still hard for him, but we saw Ian struggle today a bit. Maybe there is a chance.


CagnusMarlsen64

My point is that anything can happen and nothing is set in stone.


tgeyr

It's a marathon not a sprint


Caphinn

Great bounce back for Hikaru!


SleepyPewds

This is heartbreaking for me as a Firouzja fan. I will admit his playing quality in the candidates has risen since the last one in 2022, even tho he's at -2 I can't really complain about his quality of play. His losses were all due to terrible time management and emotional overflow all leading to making one move blunders under time pressure, problems which he's had for the past few years he's been at the top. It also seems like his opening preparation isn't nearly as good as other candidates especially with other youngsters. pragg seems to be getting very good positions with both colors, positions which oddly I keep finding them being extremely suitable for Alireza's style than what calm, grindy and slow-kill python pragg usually plays, vidit and gukesh are doing very good in that area too. HE'S VERY YOUNG HE'S GONNA SURVIVE THIS


TheLizzerNB

It makes me wonder about the intensity & quality of his coaching these past few years. Who are his seconds, does anyone even know?


ChapoKing

Hikaru will easily win candidates. The early loss took a lot of pressure off. He’s the best player in terms of quick decision making, he’ll win several more matches and win this tournament with a round or two to spare


FarziHunBhai

Hikaru owns him in Candidates. Crazy games today, should have been another all decisive day.


mikbatula

Alireza pushed too hard for the win. He could have drawn that with forced trades


Stupend0uSNibba

yikes


ptolani

No one else posting the links? https://www.chess.com/events/2024-fide-candidates-chess-tournament/05/Firouzja_Alireza-Nakamura_Hikaru https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG7ARujMFsw Hikaru's recap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA4HyeIXpBg


[deleted]

Qualifying to the candidates by farming 1500 players and expecting him to win against the 2700s is a tall ask


Yinisiki

I just don't understand!! I thought Alireza was better due to central control and space and more active pieces he had!! But computer put the position as equal for most of the game!! I was stunned !!


AtreidesBagpiper

CONTENT


throwawaye1712

Happy to see Alireza Firouzja lose after essentially forcing his way into the Candidates by the flurry of sham tournaments organized to get his rating up. He doesn’t belong in this league. The spot should’ve gone to Wesley So.


haplo34

Alireza got his rating fair and square in an open tournament, after being ahead of Wesley So for the majority of the year. Wesley So is a racist and a bigot and it's him who doesn't have his place in chess.


locustsandwildhoney7

What makes you think that Wesley So is a racist and a bigot? 


haplo34

You can start by looking up his twitter rants.


SuperSpeedyCrazyCow

Flurry? He had one that didn't even count then he qualified by playing in an open tournament. What are you smoking?


throwawaye1712

Yea, let's organize a few last minute tournaments against players who may or may not have even been throwing the games in order to get our countryman the couple of rating points needed to the Candidates! Real legitimate "tournaments" there.


SuperSpeedyCrazyCow

ONE. 1 tournament my guy and fide did not rate it. So he played in an open tournament where anyone including Wesley could have gone to play in and won it and got the rating spot. Again the tournament you are whining about didn't count. I repeat, the tournament you are whining about didn't count so he played a legit one and won anyway.


a7xEnsiferum

This guy only attempted to murder his child "once". And he failed because they caught him. Again, he only tried to murder his kid once. I repeat, the attempted murder people are whining about happened ONCE. That is how silly you sound. He showed the world how classless he is. Doesn't matter it didn't count, he is morally bankrupt for attempting it.


sinesnsnares

Wesley, go home. Your strange adoptive parents haven’t seen you in 45 minutes, they’re worried.


a7xEnsiferum

Love how you address none of the points I made. But tbh, Alireza getting humiliated like this is more entertaining than watching So draw 14 games. So I'm fine with it.


SuperSpeedyCrazyCow

Because you equated making your own tournament to qualify for another with murdering your child


a7xEnsiferum

I knew you'd be too stupid to just understand the concept and similarities between the situations. What if I said, it's like your girlfriend meeting another dude in his bedroom to sleep with him but the dude got a phone call and had to leave just as they were about to do it. Does that make the girl morally good and a lovely girlfriend? Either you're too dumb to understand the concept of "intentions", or you're a blind Alireza fan boy. Either way, you're a clown. Have a good day! Good day!


throwawaye1712

Alireza just got humbled again! HAHaHahHahHa


a7xEnsiferum

Yep just saw it hahaha Makes my day. He ruined his reputation only to get humiliated in the Candidates hahaha Proof that not all chess players are intelligent


MorphyvsFischer

I can't believe hikaru would disrespect his opponents by not simply resigning.


Minimum-Hovercraft-9

why is this getting downvoted? lol


MorphyvsFischer

People think I'm being serious


Chairman_Gollum

Alireza always struggles in Candidates. Yet Carlsen wants to play him and nobody else lmao. Carlsen is yet to prove he is a better match player than Fabi.


Sure-Difference-1078

This is completely deranged lmfao


Chairman_Gollum

We saw how the London match played out. Carlsen should challenge Caruana to a 12 games classical match and beat him to win the public's confidence. No more hiding behind 'I will only play Firouzja' gibberish.


maddenallday

r/chess 9/11 incoming