easily becoming the 🐐 of chess interviews

You should make a video titled: “I interviewed GothamChess” in which you talk to a prerecorded version of yourself and act as if nothing is wrong

Bro sacrificed Magnus

Hikaru premoved levy's new sense of confidence

“I’m pretty confident one of the kids I played against will be playing in a world championship match.” Hikaru premoved Gukesh’s win.

Hikaru is right - by playing online he has given a huge amount of joy back to the community even if 99.9% of the players lost within 2 min. There is no other sport where this happens. Losing to Hikaru is a dream for many of us!

The next day: I INTERVIEWED KRAMNIK

Can't wait to see Hikaru premove his punches in the ring

Interviewing Hikaru after confronting him last time is a nice change of pace ;)

hikaru: i'm very proud of you levy: poker face

It's great that their wives are tolerant of being in an open marriage.

Hikaru makes an interesting point about the fact that online chess allows people to more easily play a lot of games against high rated players. Do yall think that this might be affecting older players ability to improve/maintain their edge? Because there are a lot of players who have exceeded expectations for their age, Hikaru included in that statement, also thinking of Vishy. A lot of people say that you can't really get super good at an older age because younger players have a higher cognition and more time, but maybe just raw access to high level play was a large limiting factor?

Kramnik: It's not an accusation, it's a special insinuation operation 😉

I can't believe he interviewed Gothamchess.

*SPOILER ALERT* haha 00:02 Discussing Hikaru Nakamura's insights on becoming a grandmaster 01:59 Adapting to modern chess playing strategies 05:30 Discussion on playing under different identities and its impact on performance 07:16 Online vs Offline Chess: Biases in player performance. 10:32 Online chess playing has raised the overall level of players significantly 12:09 Chess world has changed a lot post-pandemic 15:26 Streaming brought chess to a bigger audience and reignited my passion for the game. 16:59 Hikaru discusses sponsorship and motivation 20:10 Hikaru expresses confusion and surprise at accusations of cheating by KIC 21:32 Hikaru felt he played much worse than usual due to shock. 24:22 Discussion on cheating accusations in chess 25:55 Discusses the unrealistic aspect of automated cheating in chess tournaments. 28:38 Discussion on hobbies and interests beyond chess 30:12 Discussion on personal upbringing influencing success in streaming 33:13 Importance of social media for upcoming chess players 34:56 Importance of nurturing next generation chess players 38:09 Balancing chess focus with building personal profile 39:37 Recognizability and downsides of fame 42:32 Discussion about the etiquette and potential risks of chess boxing. 44:00 Hikaru discusses the potential of chess boxing and the challenges of finding a balanced match.

Thanks Levy, Hikaru. You guys got me back into chess. The first time I've played regularly since middle school. I'm hooked.

It's really nice to see the two of you creating content together again hope we see some more videos like the sub battles blindfold (blast from the past)or whatever. Hope we see more of the two of you!

Hikaru premoving his words

You know, it's interesting, the subject of Hikaru's contributions to chess (starting around 14:00). It's happened kind of subtly - in part due to Hikaru being *very* private about his personal life - but he's likely done more for chess than any player in history. Yes, he has an abrasive personality at times. He has a big chip on his shoulder, and believes everyone is trying to undermine or discredit him. This, and his hate for losing, has given rise to some rather some toxic moments. But he's also a very humble guy. He's undeniably been the biggest chess presence on the internet, second only to perhaps Levy - but in another stratosphere in terms of skill. For him to sit on stream, several hours a day, playing kids who he *knows* will study his game, who he *knows* will elevate their play level... all for us the viewers to sit back and appreciate. It's incredible to live in such an era. Not to mention, the funding of some kids travel expenses & coaching, just because he learned that the family couldn't afford his tournament expenses... that's beautiful. And beautiful that he kept it private on stream until asked about it in interviews.

Levy in shorts:😱🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 Levy in videos: ☺️🙂

You've actually dropped a tonne of great interviews in a very short time! Looking forward to this one

So Hikar.. GMHikaru: Premoves 10000 word answer.

I really enjoyed this conversation between the two kings of chess content creation. Please more of that kind!

Hikaru never fails to interview Levy again

Hikaru have been so chill in this tournament. Really feel good to see him in this way.

Hikaru is such a good interviewee - very well spoken and interesting inputs

levy, just watched your if your stuck at chess clik here vid form 3yrs back, just mentioning it helped alot, and thx for the amazing content, keep up the good work!

I feel like it's not a wild proposition for Levy to train with Hikaru to get to GM. It'd be like swinging with a weighted bat before stepping up to the plate. Plus could make for great content for either channel.

Im a fan from fes morocco, just letting you know you have a huge fanbase here, we appreciate the content and would love to have you visit our city someday.

Levy, you're really good at interviewing. You press for answers in a cool way and ask good questions. Well done! Hikaru always seems pretty open and willing to share information.

i like to see Levy grow as an interviewer. His questions and a bit more free flow style is improving.

i just saw this in my notifs and HAD to see this. W vid Gotham I also have your book!

I can't believe that Gotham still didn't interviewed Nikaru Hakamura

I suggest you to do a interview playlist. I really liked them all and feel as a chess communicator with a lot of numbers, this is something you can leverage more with interviewing those high profile players

Bro got motivated by hikaru to become GM

Levy really be sacking Magnus for Hikaru

agadmator inspired me to watch more chess and got me more into the game. I never really hear chess players give him the props he deserves as a creator.

Awesome interview, thank you so much for your content and everything you do for chess! You are largely responsible for me getting into the game pretty late in life, but I continue to learn so much from you and Hikaru that I'm seeing my ELO slowly go up. You 100% can be a grandmaster, and I am SO excited to be part of that journey! Keep being awesome, forget the haters, and remember always when you sit down at the board: YOU ARE A LIVING LEGEND. I fully believe you can and WILL get the mental game in check (pun intended) and allow your strength at the board to shine.

I didnt used to watch Levy much earlier. But after his video/interview/podcast with Sagar, i grt to know lot of his insights and now i respect him a lot. Salute to you Gotham sir.

The wide shot is getting Gothams invisible friend. 😂😅

Levy should really interview gothamchess one of these days

Hikaru is so well-spoken. It's really interesting to hear him speak longform and not on stream. He's a great communicator.

I’m sure there are many people coming up that would love that come up that you have brought. How about interviewing the new guys for the younger generation. You have a huge platform. You can brand people out with just your interest. And if that’s in a new generation content creator. Think that would help

would love to hear Hikaru's take on Magnus's suggestion that long games should be reserved for fisher random and leave conventional chess for timed/rapid games due to the level of openings amongst the top players

Great interview lads! Honest, encouraging and informative.

You two guys are really a blessing for chess. Keep on going 🤘👍 Edit: as a German i can say that Vincent Keymer is becoming sort of popular here. He already has been special guest in one of the biggest tv sport shows where usually football is featured mainly. If you ever happen to meet him please try and interview him, he is a very friendly and well spoken young man.

Hikaru definitely made his presence in the chess world, especially in a positive impact.

I think its important that Hikaru played i serious events and tournaments over the board, because it helps to show that even though you have a ton of games online for your opponents to gain information on you, at the end of the day, chess speaks for itself, and you can still have strong chances at world champion

Hikaru started talking and I needed to like the video. It's Hikaru talking stuff with Gotham! Amazing!

For gambling over chess games, I think it would really have to be games like Chess 960 or something that dissentivizes draws. Maybe a version of the game where a draw gives each player 0 | 0 or -1 | -1 instead of 0.5 | 0.5

Levi, this has nothing to do with the video but I'm 40 years old and learned to play as a child, but never played much past age 9. Seeing your videos and enthusiasm has piqued my interest and I've signed up to play online and get a rating and I really enjoy it. I doubt I would have done this had KZfaq not recommended your channel. Thanks

You are right. If it wasn't for the three of you. I wouldn't watch as much. I'll keep up with pragg but it won't be the same.

i am thankful for both your and hikaru’s channels for getting me back into following chess. i watched the whole candidates this year for the first time. i was excited to root for familiar players that i got to know through your channels. keep up the good work

Levy is honestly a great interviewer. I'd love him to just interview everyone in the chess world one by one

Best chess duo yall gotta collab more

Hikaru is so amazingly well spoken and has amazing insight into life and the world of chess. Wonderful interview!

I'm still crying Hikaru didn't quite make the comeback

thanks for finally uploading this

The amount of times Hikaru said “some random GM” lol

After magnus its hikarus turn to be milked by levi

Hi. All the best, Levy for your upcoming tournament

I do think if Magnus, Hikaru and You were gone chess would lose at least 50% of public interests

You are absolutely right about the Magnus/Hikaru/YOU 'ecosystem'... As far as Super GM's out there outside of Magnus and Hikaru, what super GM is engaging with the audience, playing in big events, and streaming and building content on a daily basis? THat has to continue with these big names. I mean I'd love to see daily content from Ding, Fabi, and even Nepo!

Hikaru is so well spoken, please do more videos together again🙏🏻🙏🏻

Even Andrea said she's going to stop boxing outside of exercise. It's quite the risky sport

18:56 the slight of hands my brother 😂🎉

This man has interviewed like half the Chess players in the world this past month wtf

Hikaru is a real one for that answer for Levy on GM

What a great interview. Thank you to you both👌

The problem with a lot of chess players is that they are these insufferable geeks with zero personality. Guys like Hikaru and you are like one of us. It is SUPER easy to connect with you guys. I am not sure that, in the chess world, that something that can be easily fixed, unfortunately.

Lmao Levy just straight up starting the interview with that question 😂 he has a grudge against Hikaru. You can do it Levy!

Still waiting for the Hans interview with Kramnik

Hikaru doing ROFL even staying on a edge of greatest of chess tournaments

@gmhikaru is a legend. thanks for this Levy

nice video, I laughed a lot with the niagara falls hypothetical tragedy and your story of the guy who didn't say your name right

Shoutout to all the small chess creators ❤🎉

HIkaru premoving a gambling stream was a big blunder

I do think that the 1 second more is a big difference. Skills in so many sports and games do hit such high skill ceilings now. In video games/real life racing, fractions of a second are the difference between league 1 and league 2 or 3!

"Levy, mentally you are not quite there" -- Hikaru 2024

Been waiting on this full interview since that GM question popped up on my shorts.

So nice you can just get them for so long. So easy based on already knowing each other

For future reference, it use to be: “l interviewed hikaru again!”

It's a great interview! Good discussions, thanks!

this aged like fine wine with the gambling drama

If blatantsweat says "2 views in 23 seconds bro fell off" I'm going to lose my marbles

Levy should get Hikaru to be his coach/mentor to become a GM

Hikaru interviews are so oddly compelling.

5:29 Hikaru good point. Other day i played against national master at around 2100 level and i actually thought that playing with the glorious title next to ur name will put u in disadvantage cuz ppl focus more.

So grateful for you guys man. Thanks for the content 🥹 love this game. Only been learning the past year or so but this is amazing

Hikaru looks well groomed as hell love this man ❤️

Always nice talks with hikaru

It started with hikaru roasting Levy and him sacrificing Magnus to gain tempo !

I liked the interview, but HK saying @31:15 that only he and Levy are the only two making chess content "day after day" -- and LR's list of chess content creators @35:33 -- and not mention the Chessbrahs... WTF? Hansen's experience of chess + university + streaming was the same a LR's, but years earlier and still continuing.

barring all the jokes and memes aside, this was a very nice podcast. Thanks levy and Nana.

maybe the most anticipated gotham video ever... for now ^^

Please make a three way video with Hikaru, Magnus, and yourself happen. I have no preference on the specifics of the video. I think anything that you COULD make happen would be a great time. This interview was a lot of fun to watch, I really appreciate the interviews you have been putting together, I suck at chess but I play daily. Shooting to eventually break 1500 rating over the coming years I play.

Just bought my first tennis racket. Hope to break into the 2700s of chess soon

I have never seen hikaru as comfortable as he is with levy at any other interview ❤️❤️

I think that if Hikaru or Magnus played on a random account they would actually score worse and not better because people would be less scared of them.

I just want to say I appreciate how you pronounced Samay's name correctly.