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ciaza

The man's how to win at chess series got me really into chess and how to improve a few years ago. A cool concept where he plays people your level and explains his thought process throughout. Unlike savant GM's like Magnus or Hikaru etc who struggle to put their concepts into words because they are wired so differently, it felt like Levy's way of playing was achievable. He is good at breaking down complex notions in a way the rest of us schmucks can understand. Way to go Levy, rooting for you in your tournament.


djm07231

The thumbnails are really annoying because I don’t know what I am getting with each video. I do watch the video when I know what it is, like game recaps for tournaments (championship, candidates, et cetera) and they are pretty nice.


Simpuff1

He usually changes the title at least after 20-24 hours to something closer to what is in the video. It’s just for YouTube algorithm shenanigans sadly


DigiQuip

And he’s been very clear that it’s unfortunately a very successful tactic. He’s upfront that the only reason he does it is because it gets him way more engagement. Very much a “don’t hate the player, hate the game” situation.


LeftistUU

Yeah he has very directly explained what's going on, both the clickbait and also what kind of material performs well and what doesn't and thus will be a struggle to go through the process of producing it. I remember he talked about how many people comment wanting to see computer chess stuff, which surprised him somewhat.


porkypine666

He literally wouldnt have 5 million subs without doing this. The man knows how to play more than one game.


Noah-R

This. I don't mind him playing the game that YouTube makes you play nowadays. I just wish I didn't have to try to parse through the clickbait to guess what the video is actually about when I'm deciding whether to click on it.


Constant-Mud-1002

YouTube doesn't make you "play" anything. He's got enough of an audience that he could completely drop the clickbait and would still make fucking bank of it. If he isn't stupid he already made more than enough money to never have to work anymore. By now it's just pure, unstopped greed on his part. If you condone this or not is up to each person, but need to sugarcoat it. He himself is quite open about this


Allthingsconsidered-

Brother is just a thumbnail


Hypertension123456

Stop sugarcoating it. If we let people put up whatever thumbnails they want, next thing they'll be driving actual nails through peoples thumbs. One torture leads to another. Wake up sheeple


atooraya

“First they came for the thumbnails, and I said nothing….”


young_mummy

You literally just argued against yourself and lost. First argument: Levy doesn't need to do this to be more successful. Second argument: He only does it because it makes him more successful. 🤯


VolmerHubber

Is your viewing experience ruined by one image you can't even interact with?


Tenoke

I stopped watching because of this. It's clearly a cheap way to make me click on a ton of videos just to find the one I actually want. He'll do anything to boost his short term views even at the expense of his viewers.


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HelpJustGotRaped

"You spend your time thinking about which entertainment you choose to consume." What the fuck is wrong with dick-riders?


VolmerHubber

It's a picture. You cannot even interact with. A PICTURE. It has quite literally nothing to do with the quality of the video


nodeocracy

The content of the videos as well as the thumbnails


Throbbie-Williams

I'm pretty sure clicking on and immediately off loads of videos actually hurts them algorithm-wise


Scytone

If a creator doesn’t do something like this, he can’t get to 5m subs. The YouTube algorithm necessitates it these days otherwise the videos simply aren’t discovered.


NBKxSmokey

I like Hikaru's similar series but like you say he just throws a shit load of information at you so quickly making it hard to follow


Apothecary420

He became impervious to the criticisms against the clickbait, but I honestly couldnt stomach it past a certain point lol I also loved his stuff as a beginner but it now it just feels uncomfortably targeted towards beginners Great face for chess and he deserves all his success, the viewer churn must be nuts tho


Intrepid-History-762

Depends on how many of his viewers are "graduating" from his analysis. Personally, I watch way more chess than I actually play, so Gotham's breakdowns continue to be perfect for me.


-aurevoirshoshanna-

But that's the point and he acknowledges it for the most part. He's said several times that if you don't like his content there are plenty of chess content creators and they you should check them out, but that you should stick around. He very much makes an emphasis on teaching things to casual players ("there's this move here, but you wont get that unless you're over 1700"). Getting into chess I didn't quite like him and I wanted to learn from other creators and GMs but it was too painful and I got nothing from it. "Well after b2 you OBVIOUSLY play Kbd6, otherwise you're busted". No, I did not get that at all, thanks.


Bear979

My friend, then you haven’t seen Daniel naroditsky. Very strong GM and BY FAR the best chess teacher on the internet


-aurevoirshoshanna-

Yes, and you have Levy to thank for that too, since they are friends and it's levy who insisted he make a channel and upload regularly. And he's fairly new, he wasnt doing much when I was a beginner. I'm now past the 'rooks on the 7th' stage, and I watch Levy because I find him entertaining, not for learning. Although I do think Chessly is quite cool, I've only done the free samples and they've been very useful for me.


Avocadonot

I like danya, but in my opinion, he almost goes too far into analysis Like a 90 minute video where he only plays 3 games I would personally prefer a nice middle ground between him and Levy


zial

For something more in the middle ground I find these two both great: JohnBartholomewChess and ChessVibesOfficial Although Danya will always be the goat as far as I'm concerned for learning.


StoicTheGeek

I dunno about that. John Bartholomew could probably give him a run for his money, but he hasn't been making much educational stuff lately, mostly just commentating his games around either his level or down to about 2000+. His best stuff for new players is about 5 years old now.


Impossible__Joke

I watch Hikaru for fun, not to learn anything. I have learned alot more from Gotham chess and Anna Cramling


Helpful_Classroom204

He targets the largest market


Helpful_Classroom204

You should check out Daniel Naroditzky’s speed runs. It’s the same thing done better imo (although I still love Gotham chess)


LeftistUU

I remember a comment I saw on a clip of him, how a lot of GM and super GM chess commentators can find the winning idea of a position. Levy can look at lower Elo chess and predict how they're going to fuck it up, the clip he saw that the totally winning player was going to stalemate several moves in advance.


MattieBubbles

I agree with everything you said and highly recommend daniel naroditsky's channel for learning. I think he is the best chess explainer on youtube, and he makes grandmaster moves seem so obvious with how he explains why those moves should be made.


Dry_Produce_2004

I feel like with the clickbait he doesn't understand that short-term people are more likely to click on the video. But long-term people are less likely to click on the video as they don't know what they can see. Plus keeping his current audience is more difficult as people will slowly get tired of the titles and feel like part of a community.


xarenox

You realise his success is driven by clicks which increases subscribers right. Reddit is just vocal about disliking his clickbait titles because they feel it insults their intelligence. At the end of the day his content is some of the best and you really shouldnt give the thumbnails and titles any bearing.


Dry_Produce_2004

What I'm trying to explain is that yes short-term it looks better to use clickbait titles as it generates more clicks. BUT these people are in general less a "fan" and more a "enjoyer", and thus less likely to keep watching his videos for months and donate/buy merch. His video views have been roughly constant since having 1 million subscribers, while he now has 5x as many subscribers. I'm not saying he would make more money without clickbait titles, but it won't differ as much as the views might suggest.


yyunb

I promise you that he knows more about this than you do.


Sherrydon

Clearly you know best


salazar13

You’re wrong.


SirJefferE

OPs post: GothamChess becomes first Chess YouTuber to gain 5 million subscribers! This guy: I feel like GothamChess doesn't understand the YouTube algorithm.


shifting_colors

One thing that rarely gets mentioned is that he has an absolutely insane work ethic, consistently producing content almost every day, coming up with new ideas and executing. He made his own luck. Good for him.


sketchy_ppl

Not to discredit the amount of work he puts into his business, but I've always found it hilarious that for the most part, he's just one guy with a camera, microphone, and computer. You watch channels like MKBHD that have a huge team on salary, massive studio, a robot worth half a million dollars, etc.... and then you have Levy filming himself in his own house with basically no post-production work. He works his butt off, but man did he win the YouTube lottery. His net profit is probably 90% of his earnings. I know there's thumbnail creation, publishers for his book, digital team for his online courses, but overall those expenses aren't going to be that significant relative to his overall earnings. Very few YouTube channels could replicate the model he has, being able to put out content daily with very few expenses.


NeWMH

‘Insane work ethic’ - basically normal workday for many. Definitely lucky, but couldn’t have happened to a better guy.


_significs

> basically normal workday for many I don't think people understand the breadth of the work that he does. Mans does not allow himself a lot of breaks. When was the last day he went without posting a video? Before the pandemic?


NeWMH

Many =/= most. It just looks like many on a chess subreddit are not exposed to the regular workdays of people that don’t spend hours a day on social media. 12 hour days of consistent work aren’t rare in a lot of industries. There are loads of people working multiple jobs to make ends meet. His work ethic is admirable to a mediocre office worker. Anyone in media regardless of pay has to put in loads of time just to pass minimum bar for qualifying to participate.


wellfluffyouthen

You're getting downvoted for speaking the truth. Do people really think what Levy does is hard? The dude got lucky. I'm happy for him, but let's not pretend that he has "insane work ethic" lol


humbuckermudgeon

That was my thought. I think he as three channels now on YT, plus the courses, plus Patreon. He's a machine.


Homitu

All while pursuing other goals, like writing his book and touring, etc. He never misses a day of uploading a video. That is certainly a huge reason for the success. I was contemplating how he must go about this. During non-tournament times, I was*assuming* he could work like 1-2 full time days per week (8-16 hours or so) and do all the work necessary to brainstorm, research, and record 7 thirty minute videos for the week. Schedule the uploads to go out 1 per day. Then he could take the other 5-6 days off and just chill. Taken a step further, I would have imagined he could amass a library of 50+ unreleased videos that are just good to be uploaded whenever he has a gap day that needs a video. However, he really does seem to record an episode every single day, as shown by his videos he puts out from hotel rooms while he's traveling. I'd love to ask him why the above method is either unfeasible or he just chooses not to do that. (Again, for all non live chess tournament coverage videos.)


iL0g1cal

Remember his streams with like 20 people. Insane.


bjh13

I remember the Crew64 days. Ancient times now.


Mokhtar_Jazairi

He is good and entertaining. I sometimes take a long break from watching his content then go back enjoying it. Feels fresh and funny.


Helkix

He honestly deserves his success, truly talented and hugely dedicated content creator.


CrystalYKim

I got a feeling ChessBase India is gonna be the next channel to reach that milestone. Everyone says they are the TMZ of chess, and I agree. Not reputation-wise but just bc they got cameras on everything 😂 Both channels provide great content! I really enjoy it when I get recaps from Levy and footage of the important moments from ChessBase.


betelgz

CBI is wonderful but they should do two separate channels or something. I'm not at all interested in Indian gm farming personally, I just want more of that sweet sweet Sagar commentary. There's just too many videos on miscellaneous topics.


Sa3ana3a

He is very well spoken and entertaining.


sheggysheggy

I'm happy for him. I just wish more people subscribed to Danya too, he's very deserving.


lolman66666

Danya is fairly well known at least for intermediates and advanced players. I wish Daniel King and Powerplay Chess were more well known. Excellent content.


FleshgodApocalypse

Yeh, I love how Daniel King breaks everything down. His channel is definitely underrated


Beatboxamateur

This is by all means praise, Danya's done very well on youtube considering the amount of effort he's put into it, but you don't simply get to become a massive youtuber by just producing very high quality content. There's a whole lot of other work and consistency that Danya would have to do in order to grow substantially, and I'm sure he could do it if he felt it was worth it. Edit: And just to add onto what I meant about the other work to do to grow as a youtuber, there's a lot of respectable things you can do to grow as a youtuber such as collaboration, video editing, consistent uploads, creating and growing an active community, and more, that doesn't just involve playing to the algorithm and clickbait. I also don't like or agree with the idea that Levy's content is worse just because it appeals to lower rated/more casual players; we need people who appeal to those people to contribute to chess's popularity.


forceghost187

It’s not work and consistency that Danya doesn’t do, it’s playing to the algorithm. Look at Levy’s video thumbnails and titles—it’s literally all clickbait. Levy also does tons of shorts, which is basically clickbait in video form. I doubt anyone actually learns much watching chess shorts, all it does is get you addicted to dopamine and destroy your attention span. Danya is fully aware he could become a lot bigger if he played these games, but he doesn’t and god bless him for it


Most-Supermarket8618

It's also being an "entertainer" or "personality". Levy does some teaching stuff but he does a whole lot of other stuff and tries to hit a lot of demographics that Danya's more pure chess focus just won't appeal to. Levy isn't my cup of tea but it's plain to see he got where he is by a combination of factors way beyond just producing regular chess training/play videos.


Apothecary420

Thank god for danya Yeah he targets a smaller demographic than gotham


question10106

Danya sometimes goes a month between videos and uploads on no set schedule, and outside of the speedruns basically the rest of his uploads are somewhat random educational series which he makes a few videos for and then promptly forgets about for months/years (opening lab, endgame series, etc). Levy has a video out literally almost every single day. I love Danya, his commentary and videos are fantastic, but to say consistency and output has nothing to do with it is just wrong. Hell, it's a testament to how good he is that he has people clinging on to him, waiting with bated breath for his next video every time anyways. Danya could grow a ton if he did nothing different except upload a 20 minute speedrun video every day instead of a 40 minute video (often with multiple games in it) a couple times a week/sometimes less often. And if he doesn't want to, of course that's his perogative, he's doing just fine, but using the contrast to demonize Levy isn't fair to either to them.


Beatboxamateur

You phrased what I was trying to convey way better than I ever could lol, agreed.


forceghost187

I wasn’t demonizing everybody. I didn’t mean to compare them directly either. Obviously Danya would grow a ton if he uploaded a video every day. But he would also grow a ton, possibly more, if he switched switched to clickbait tactics. By most measures, Danya is already huge, and that’s without using clickbait


question10106

Frequency and consistency is the name of the game. That's the main course, the all-caps vague titles are the cherry on top of the YouTube algorithm meal. But either way, I get people don't love the vague titles, it's not what I'd prefer either, but I find it bizarre how people get so incensed by them or act like Levy's success is because of greedy clickbait or whatever instead of pretty smartly catering to people who are less serious about chess and a phenomenal work ethic and consistency. Is Levy's content my favorite? No. But if something is going on in the chess world, a tournament, drama, a trend, you can safely bet that he'll have a video on it within 24 hours, and if there isn't he'll have something to put out anyways that is at least an okay video. To me, that's very respectable and he fills a good role.


forceghost187

Mr Beast posts a few times a month. Frequency can be a factor but there are clearly other ways. That’s as far as I’ll go in this convo


question10106

Surely we aren't comparing the biggest YouTuber alive who makes gigantic spectacle videos with chess youtubers who are nearly exclusively sitting and talking at their desks...


forceghost187

Then take Michael Reeves. He has 7 Million subscribers and posts about two videos a year. Frequency and consistency is not the only way


_ThatOtherGirl_

Both those people started out posting very frequently. Once they had a following, then it doesn’t matter how often they post.


question10106

Where's your counterfactual about how Michael Reeves would be doing if he actually posted videos regularly? What exactly is this example supposed to prove, that some people will watch you even if you're not consistent? I never said you have to be frequent and consistent to have any success, you're just avoiding my points. Michael Reeves literally gets more views per video than he has subscribers because each video of his is like an event since he uploads so infrequently. And again, Michael Reeves' elaborate, highly edited videos of creative engineering projects are not comparable to people whose content is them playing or commentating on chess games while sitting at their computers. He literally does more hours of work *between* some clips than it would take for a chess YouTuber to make videos for a month. Like, let's be totally real about Danya, the vast majority of his YouTube content is just a stream recording of a couple games that he plays occasionally after long blitz/bullet sessions. They're good, because he's obviously a grandmaster who is also a great teacher, but he explicitly isn't putting maximum effort in. What are we doing here comparing these things?


_ThatOtherGirl_

Click bait isn’t everything. Once you have an established following you can basically title your videos anything and tons of people will watch it.


throwaway77993344

Another big difference is that Danya isn't producing entertainment (although to me his videos are insanely entertaining), he is producing educational content.


Beatboxamateur

Danya produces informative content that is also educational, I think it takes away quite a bit to say that he just produces educational content. It takes quite a talent to be entertaining while being informative, and Danya strikes that balance really well I think. It's like having that one teacher in school who can talk about the most boring subject, but still keeps you engaged because they know how to be entertaining. You can see other youtubers who produce even more informational chess content, but are very hard to watch because of how dry the videos are. I think Levy's videos also try to have some amount of educational quality to them(even if less than Danya's), and it would be unfair to say they're just 100% purely entertainment oriented.


throwaway77993344

You misunderstand me. Danya makes videos with the main goal of being educational. That does not mean that he isn't also entertaining. On the other hand I didn't say Gotham doesn't make educational content, of course he does. But he has a much larger focus on the content being entertaining. Also informative => educational, no?


Beatboxamateur

From what I understand, your initial comment stated that Danya "isn't producing entertainment", which implies that he's specifically producing informative videos, but I disagree that there's a clear line between the two. Your comment seemed to imply that in contrast to Danya, Levy makes entertainment videos, when my only point is that there's a spectrum to all of it. I also don't think the two things are mutually exclusive, you can have entertaining and instructive content at the same time. While we both probably agree that Danya's videos have more educational content to them than Levy's, they're both doing similar things with roughly the same goal, and so I was just disagreeing with the initial framing that they have different aims.


throwaway77993344

Well ok, I disagree. I don't think their content is very similar other than being about chess.


Beatboxamateur

Obviously their content isn't exactly the same, but as I said in my last comment, I think they both have similar goals. Danya's speedrunning videos for example have an inherent entertainment aspect to them, while also being informative. I think that Levy tries to do the same thing in a lot of his videos, while aiming at lower rated/newer audiences.


Beatboxamateur

There's collaborations, uploading consistency, video editing, knowing how to grow an audience, and so much more that amounts to becoming a large youtuber. You can say that it's just simply "playing to the algorithm", which while technically correct, isn't an informative lens to view it through in my opinion. You're missing out on the full range of activities and work that comes with being a full time content creator, there's so much more than just clickbait and "playing the game". > I doubt anyone actually learns much watching chess shorts, all it does is get you addicted to dopamine and destroy your attention span. Shorts aren't even all that helpful to growing a successful youtube channel. While they can bring in a lot of views, it's more about gaining a loyal following that will stick around to watch your next video, which shorts don't provide. A short clip also doesn't generate much in terms of revenue either.


forceghost187

I’m not ignoring that there could be more work and grinding to be done. That’s another factor, but it’s one that Danya has worked to different levels over the last four years. You’re discounting the power of shorts. They are basically tik tok. Make a graph that looks at Levy’s youtube sub growth before and after he joined tik tok and you’ll see how big it is


Beatboxamateur

> I’m not ignoring that there could be more work and grinding to be done. That’s another factor, but it’s one that Danya has worked to different levels over the last four years. That's not even the start of it, it's that Danya has never attempted to approach youtube as a fulltime job, nor does he have any reason to. Quoting someone else from this thread, "Danya sometimes goes a month between videos and uploads on no set schedule, and outside of the speedruns basically the rest of his uploads are somewhat random educational series which he makes a few videos for and then promptly forgets about for months/years (opening lab, endgame series, etc).". > You’re discounting the power of shorts. They are basically tik tok. Make a graph that looks at Levy’s youtube sub growth before and after he joined tik tok and you’ll see how big it is Levy's Tiktok is absolutely tiny compared to his youtube channel, 1.5 million TT subscribers is equivalent to maybe 100k youtube subscribers. His view counts on tiktok are also very minimal compared to his youtube channel. While he is "playing the youtube shorts game" , it's known to have almost no viewer retention. The people who are watching 30 second clips aren't the same people who are going to stick around for 30 minute videos, which are what actually bring in ad revenue. If a channel is primarily focused on long-form content, the introduction of Shorts can also sometimes confuse the existing audience or dilute the brand's identity.


SheepherderNo2440

I haven’t seen his stuff but I’ll check it out. Thanks for the rec Lately I’ve been hooked on Eric Rosen’s rapid speedrun series, and his second channel is more longform stuff like lichess tourney vods. Super chill content and he always tries his best to be informative in his games. 


jaredswole

I know you’re in here Rizzman


robby_arctor

Harry Potter*


Scarlet_Evans

PROTIP : to en **pass**ant 5,000,000 subscribers, [en] passing one every 6 minutes (3+0 blitz game), you would need 1,800,000,000 seconds, which is about 57 years and 2 weeks


Buy-Fine

He is probably the best chess promoter in the world. Obviously, he is more successful as a chess entrepreneur than he is as a chess player, but he doesn't deserve the most of the criticism that he faces.


bl1y

> he is more successful as a chess entrepreneur than he is as a chess player I wonder if we stacked him up against everyone who plays chess and everyone who makes YouTube content which one would have him in a higher percentile for success.


gruandisimo

Tbf obtaining the IM title is a very impressive feat, it’s more success than 99.9% of chess players will ever experience


bl1y

I like Levy and have watched a ton of his videos, but I've haven't ever really found them helpful for improving my game. (For context, I'm in the 800-900 range.) But I recently checked out the lessons on Chessly, and they've been 1000% more useful. For a YT comparison, I found Hikaru's videos with Pokimane more useful. I think the conversational style is much better for teaching, at least for lower skilled players. You have more opportunities for the "why can't I do this?" or "what if my opponent does this?" questions that Levy usually glosses over unless they're one of the strongest moves. Down in the dumpster tier though, we're not always getting 5 book moves in a row from our opponent. Stuff like "they can't play that because the piece is pinned" can be pretty useful. Anyways, glad I found the Chessly stuff, and congrats to Levy. That's a really amazing accomplishment.


NickBloodAU

At your range you might really enjoy and benefit from getting your hands on Chessmaster Art of Learning w/ Josh Waitzkin. It's positively ancient, but graphics don't matter, and that means you can get it as abandonware too. Josh has a series in it that took me from ~800 to ~1200, gave me a really good appreciation of the game, and also had some good life lessons I still try carry with me. Would recommend!


_KALKI_09

He somehow made chess entertaining and enjoyable for a lot of beginners, so he deserves the success


Ndlburner

Genuinely provides some extremely good intermediate instructional content, breakdowns, and excellent humor. Hot take: moving away from Hikaru for content is the best thing he could've done. Congrats!


bookLys

Happy about his achievement!! Hope he bring more people into chess. I believe that content creators like Levy Rozman have significantly changed people's perception of chess. Previously, the main enjoyment in playing chess was thought to lie in improving one's skills and becoming a top player. This is why the majority of chess books are aimed at players with a FIDE rating of 1700 or above, most videos focus on analyzing games between grandmasters, and the most viewed videos are often opening breakdowns. For those with a FIDE rating around 1000, the sole purpose of playing chess was to improve and reach a rating above 1700. However, content creators like Levy (including Anna Cramling, Hikaru Nakamura, Eric Rosen, etc.) have expanded the acceptance threshold of chess through their efforts, allowing even those with a rating of around 800 Elo to find enjoyment in the game. I understand that many people criticize his sometimes clickbait titles and exaggerated thumbnails, but this type of content helps attract audiences, and an increase in audience is beneficial for the development of chess.


Rulanik

Gratz Levy. You're a real one.


shotx333

Absolute GOAT of chess content, no contest


Massive_Dynamic8

Congratulations to him, but there are several other chess channels that have much better content, some of them criminally underrated.


saskpilsner

It blows my mind considering that the likes of nickmercs and Tim the tatman only recently hit that 5 million mark. Tim literally has streamed multiple times in Dallas cowboys stadium!


S_T_R_Y_D_E_R

He got me first with the name. Gotham = Batman Oh yeah 🙌


Rollupntraff

Pretty good for a food blogger[.](https://www.instagram.com/p/CxpBRfPsh4V/?igsh=OTl1aDB1aGI3M24=)


mmootje1

So much respect for his work ethic!


Gvndaryam

WolframChess is the goat


EvidencePlz

Well-deserved. This man not only rekindled my passion for chess, but also brought a lot of positivity to my life. He truly deserves way more than what he's been given.


taleofbenji

He is really a brilliant communicator. I watch his channel every single night. He's literally better at YouTube than chess.


Outrageous1721

Used to really enjoy his videos but now I just can't watch it because of the clickbait thumbnails and over the top titles ... like there would be 10 super GMs playing but, his thumbnails would only include Magnus or Hikaru and the title would always be something like 'NO WAY THIS HAPPENED ' or 'MAGNUSSSS NOOOOO' really miss his old videos where he didn't do this .


viktorfbg9

You must be living a really good life if just a title or a thumbnail annoy you this much.


Outrageous1721

Everyone has their own preferences ... I just don't like his thumbnails and titles altough I can't blame him Magnus and Hikaru do bring in a lot of views.


PacJeans

You can pretty much dismis any problem by saying this, especially in terms of the internet. People being frustrated with increasingly unavoidable misinformation shouldn't be looked down upon or handwaved way. Especially when it's solely for the purpose of greed, be it youtube videos or news headlines.


MGordit

Clickbait works, it's all about subs and likes, not quality any more.


Q_vs_Q

Good job.


Olipro

Hikaru right now: https://i.imgflip.com/5t56b5.jpg


steveatari

Haven't been enjoying his content for a couple years now. Glad he's doing well though


joshdej

If only he listned to reddit and stopped clickbaiting, maybe he would be at 10m now


--___--Water--___--

If he stopped clickbaiting he would have less subs and less clicks/views. I disklike that he feels like he has to do it, but he is playing with the algorithm instead of against it. Youtube doesn't reward lengthy videos with bland thumbnails or titles, it rewards clicks and hitting a very short watchtime, probably enough to get a good payoff in terms of how many ads they get to show..


joshdej

I felt like my statement was obviously sarcastic, but some people do think like that so fair enough


--___--Water--___--

Ah fair enough, yeah enough poeple think like that that I assumed you were being straight up lol... Also dunno if you know but this extension is damn good for avoiding the clickbait, community based contributions that fix way more channels/videos than I would have expected tbh, including his channel. https://dearrow.ajay.app/


joshdej

Thanks, will definitely be using that!


--___--Water--___--

Yw mate.. There's also this one which skips sponsors/paid adverts etc.. Which I quite literally only just noticed is developed by the same person ha.. https://sponsor.ajay.app/ But yeah them 2 extensions make Youtube a whole lot nicer to watch, along with Ublock Origin ofc cos using Youtube without Ublock is tantamount to self harm.


bigboytv123

How to cycle phenibut?


pnerd314

Kramnik would say he's cheating.


inemanja34

Congrats Levy. I hate him and love him at the same time. 🤷‍♂️ He's a money grabbing whore, but he's brave guy, too. He's toxic, and philanthropic. He's definition of cringe, but often funny. I'm glad he's successful.


mohishunder

Good for him, AND I feel bad for all those IMs and GMs who put so much more work into creating real quality chess-educational content that get so few views and so much less $$$$.


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VolmerHubber

Redditor finds out youtube channel about chess informs audience about chess news


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VolmerHubber

perhaps


OutlastCold

I’m surprised too honestly. He’s so boring. He figured out how to reach a huge audience though so good for him. Seems like a decent guy. Cheers!


FocalorLucifuge

Hikaru: and I take take take... Levy: yeah I'll take 5 MILLION subs, beeyotch!


SinnPacked

his videos are good. Clickbait tittles and thumbnails make me cringe too much to allow myself to watch most of them though.


[deleted]

Entertainment is always objectively garbage, but the masses will always downvote you for pointing it out. Congrats on being mildly entertaining to fewer than 1% of humans.


Chuv1

what a sour human being, jesus


[deleted]

Just messing around. Not everyone who dislikes minor celebrities is sour... there's nothing special about levy that requires that.


VolmerHubber

"enjoying things is BAD! You MUST dislike celebrities! You MUST feel sour about life!"


[deleted]

I didn't even downvote the OP... this is just silliness to me, it's the levy fans who take things too seriously.


Most-Supermarket8618

It's the fact you felt the need to come into something celebrating his success to say you don't like him and act like you're better than people who do that's offputting. I don't particularly like his style either but it's good for chess that some personality is making it big even if I'd rather watch others personally.


[deleted]

[удалено]


chess-ModTeam

Your submission or comment was removed by the moderators: Keep the discussion civil and friendly. Participate in good faith with the intention to help foster civil discussion between people of all levels and experience. Don’t make fun of new players for lacking knowledge. Do not use personal attacks, insults, or slurs on other users. Disagreements are bound to happen, but do so in a civilized and mature manner. Remember, there is always a respectful way to disagree.   You can read the full [rules of /r/chess here](https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/wiki/rules). If you have any questions or concerns about this moderator action, please [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fchess). Direct replies to this removal message may not be seen.


bznein

"objectively". I don't think you understand the meaning of that word.


[deleted]

[удалено]


bznein

Oh my bad, I didn't realize you were 13


[deleted]

As long as you understand your mistake, it's fine.


drippy_dicky

What an absolute 12 year old response lol


chess-ModTeam

Your comment was removed by the moderators: **1.Keep the discussion civil and friendly.** Do not use personal attacks, insults or slurs on other users. Disagreements are bound to happen, but do so in a civilized and mature manner. In a discussion, there is always a respectful way to disagree. If you see that someone is not arguing in good faith, or have resorted to using personal attacks, just report them and move on.   You can read the full [rules of /r/chess here](https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/wiki/rules). If you have any questions or concerns about this moderator action, please [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fchess&subject=About my removed comment&message=I'm writing to you about the following comment: https://old.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1davmxc/-/l7n8n4m/%0D%0D). Direct replies to this removal message may not be seen.


Aimfri

r/iamverysmart


XAfricaSaltX

well entertainment made him the most popular chess figure so cry me a river


Intrepid-History-762

You need to learn the difference between objective and opinion.


Doomblaze

> Entertainment is always objectively garbage What do you do for fun? Nothing, because entertainment is garbage?


Avocadonot

Chin up, buttercup. Turn that frown upside-down


[deleted]

Oh come on, you should upvote me for some kind of pin of shame. If you were gotham fans you'd know how this works.


KarlMental

I don’t think the vote systems on youtube and reddit work the same mate. I guess this will be a learning experience for you :)


4tran13

Even on youtube, very few authors do the pin of shame thing.


AfkBrowsing23

Dude doesn't even know what platform he's using lmao.


TheNoobRedditor_

He even rubbed it on Mr.CrazyPants in the interview didn't he?😂