You both need to workout. The faces look huge compared to bodies

Speakers: Russians Interview: English Location: Canada Hotel: Trivago

Nepo's hilarious. "It wouldn't cost that much to get me to chessbox. I've been practicing boxing for cardio, and beating people up is fun. Maybe if I liked them, it would cost a bit more."

Levy: "How much to chessbox?" Fabi: "10 million" Nepo: "I'd beat someone's ass for free, what are you talking about?"

This interview is the reason why I think Levy should bring his podcast back.

Nepo in the Candidates is something else 👑

Every time Nepo answers he always humble himself and acknowledges his mistakes or his shortcomings, he also keeps on empathizing with Ding . This man is truly a gentleman i'm glad i'm a fan

Ian is super chill. The first time that levy is not wearing a full suit😂😂

Big thank you to Ian for interviewing Magnus

"That's fair " Levy

Credit to Ian for proving all the critics wrong 💪

My brain completely refuses to process reality after watching Levy give an interview in russian and interview Ian in english back to back

Extremely rare footage of Levy not mentioning Cagnus Marlsen in a video

I really want to see this guy becoming a world champion.

"It's the process of hurting someone" I nearly fell off my chair laughing. He not only wants to win, he also wants to hurt someone in chess boxing. Great interview! I enjoyed more than the Magnus one. His decency and honesty are so clearly evident!

Levy never fails to kidnap GMs

Fun fact, Nepo was also playing Dota professionaly, even got a win against 1st international -NAVI. He had Frostnova nickname. He also commented couple of matches on Starladder as an play-by-play commentator(searchable in KZfaq)

My money is on Nepo. I would also be happy if Fabi wins as he is a class act. I feel like Nepo is the most naturally talented chess player in the field but he loses patience or has anxiety sometimes and loses. He has proved many times that his best is better than everyone.

Don't ask me why but I was expecting this interview to be in Russian Edit: in case you're wondering, I don't speak Russian

I’m rooting for Ian, seems like a chill and humble guy. Feel bad that he’s been through so much. Hope he wins the Candidates and the World Championship!

Ian actually seems like a really chill person, i know hes been in controversy before but here he just seems really cool

Besides being an insane player, he looks a very calm and great person. I am very happy to watch his fandom getting bigger and bigger. Best wishes for him

My favorite player. Cant wait to see how he wins candidates once more and gets his well deserved crown in the championships

Levy catching these GMs like Pokémon

I must say, Ian always impresses me with how he expresses himself. He and Fabi always share very interesting and honest insights into that level of competition. Also, great interviews Gotham! Enjoyed them all.

looking back, I think Ian deserves to be world champion even though I've routed for the opposite side both times, dude is always dominating in the candidates and still is, wish him the absolute best

We need the drunk Nepo vs. Levy match fr

Hope Nepo wins the candidates, if anyone deserves to be a World Champion, its him.

Ian gave us one of the most painful visuals in recent memory during the rapid tiebreaks. I’m just glad to see him playing at his best again.

Is it me, or is Nepos English much better than it was a year ago? (Language, not the opening).

34:30 ‘no no no no just the process of hurting others’ 😂😂

Great to see this new format continued! I hope you bring back your Gotham podcast, loved listening to it before it went on hiatus!

Hope Ian wins the candidates,he deserves it

i love the both Guys but it is just hilarious the cultural differences, Jan is such an honest and no bullshit guy and then Levy acting in the most American way ever. really hoping that this Time Jan will close the Title

So kind of levy to be welcoming aspiring chess players onto his channel. So humble and inspiring😊❤

When a dota player meets with chess nerd.😂

Thank you Gotham for helping us keep up to date to the candidates and get to know more about these players inside and outside their chess, hope to see more and more of these interviews ❤

Ok it’s settled. I want a round robin competition with top GMs 10 shots in, playing against a bunch of lower titled players.

The best part - Levy and Ian both speak Russian

Ian is probably the chillest chess dude out there

I was so much looking forward to this interview. Thank you Levy and Ian !

You know for me chess players like him are great and so fun to wach mainly beacause they look so human, you emphatize with them so much, but still they are genious, facinating

"I have my own unique way of qualifying" 😂 love you Ian

i LOVE how Levy lets the other person talk. I have never once see him take the talking stage away from anyone. As normal as that sounds, a lot of interviews get lost because of overtalking or cutting the other person off. This is chill, smart and insightful. Wonderful job, Levy. Huge respect. Ian, kudos and all the best. Bring it home!

i love this dude, such a cool guy really hoping Ian makes it to the big stage again and wins it

Nepo is always such a chill guy. Seems like one of the few super GMs that aren’t ego maniacs.

So informative. Love to hear the chess giants up close. Thank you both for agreeing to give the fans this treat.

Mad respect for Ian after this one

"Depending on the opponent it would be for free" Now I´m curious who Nepo wants to punch in the face

I am so glad you finally interviewed Ian Neapomniatchchtechichi!

"Yeah I have my own unique way of qualifying" guy is a genius :D

My favorite interview so far, can't really tell why but you seemed to connect with him quite well compared to what we see from him in more formal interviews. Great job!

Great interview. Really like Nepo so nice to see him a bit more.

I love that whatever Nepo talks about, he sounds like he’s just analyzing yes ok

Levy, in addition to digging all the chess content and your reactions, I thoroughly enjoy how you pronounce all the names so fluidly, regardless of what country, language or complexity of phoneme combinations are presented. Cheers!

You do a great job in interviewing. It's very fluent, relaxed, much better than the fide one. I enjoy it a lot more than your normal videos haha

Thank you Gotham for having this interview. Ian is a great guy 🙂

I don't know why Nepo always looks like a sweet guy to hang around

He deserves to win the world chess championship He has a great fighting spirit to keep coming and trying his best every time I wish this year will be his best year Good luck for every player in the tournament ❤

Man poor Ian... my heart goes out to him. He's really fighting the sadness from everything being so unfair

Brilliant interview 👏 Nepo is a legend. Definitely a fan favourite. He will crush his opponent in Chess Boxing 👊

Готэм - первый американец, кто смог выговорить фамилию Непомнящего:) ps я знаю, что он русскоговорящий

Thanks for the Interview Nepo is a humble but serious guy off to a good start here in his third candidates looking forward to some Great games coming up he’s got Pragg than Fabiano right after that those will be some telling games Good Luck

Very candid interview - I am always surprised how openly Ian speaks out his mind. I wish him all the best to do the hat-trick of winning three candidates in a row!

Big thank you Levy for interviewing one of the big talents in chess. You will see that Ian will win again 😊

Спасибо за интервью, Леви 😘

28:40 he won world cup and other classical events Also he played 63 classical games, he played more than %95 of super gm s

Great interview. Love Ian. Easy to root for, funny, willing to open up and share his thoughts and experiences. Thanks, Levy.

OMGGGG thank you for giving my Nepo an interview

My Fav player❤❤

Ian deserves the championship and he has a great personality. Best wishes for him. He won our hearts❤

Ian is super chill, Rooting for him!

levy never fails to talk to gms while not being one

The dynasty of poets fully explains Ian's charm and charisma. Top fan

Nepo is the actual chess genius! He is just too comfortable to try to win 😂 The guy literally chills and plays some chess.

I love that unlike Magnus, Ian put real thought into the “how many drinks before you’d lose” question. I do get that they are all in the best in the world but Ian’s answer shows he’s still got humility and humor on top of that. Thanks for the interview!

Nepo is looking fiire ❤

Ian never fails to include Magnus in his world championships.

You should add time stamps to section off parts of the interview (and future ones too). It makes it much more digestible.

Yooooo, thats the interview I was waiting for

So dominant. He needs to win this year

when you realize gotham could've answered ians question and just edited it out

Gotham podcast would be awesome. Even interviewing young, up-and-coming chess players would be really cool. Hope to see more of this!

I agree on what Ian said regarding when he didn't know much opening, and played more intuitively... It happened to me as well when I was young (didn't play chess for like 12 years until 2 years ago), I think I was much better compared to now (know a bit opening, and play more solidly compared to before) but I realised I think my younger self played much better (sharper and more precise) compared to now (where I often blunder, almost never blunder when I was young) Btw, from the interview, Nepo looks like the genius who doesn't need to study much but still ace the test 😂 Definitely a role figure (for me) in chess!!

Ian haircut looking fire 🔥

*/ian is a whole vibe*

Hey Gotham! Congrats on the big interview! Great job! If you could do anything to improve I would suggest being more direct in your questioning so there isn't a ramble of him just talking. For example you asked the difference between first and 2nd candidates, that's pretty open ended and he went on and on . Instead you could have asked about his first candidates and more specifically most difficult opponents, specific positions. Then switch to 2nd... then ask about a comparison.. also, some opening questioning about how they got started in chess, their favorite foods, how much time do they spend preparing for the candidates? Does he have any special regimes when training for chess matches? He spoke a little about it but we really could have gotten a better look into how much they prepare. Need any help reach out!

It's insightful to hear from Grandmaster Yan and his experience in these competitions. Appreciated his openness about the physical and mental toll of such high-stakes games.

Favourite chess player, no cap он слишком крут🙏🙏

Levy get your podcast channel active, your interviews Are great

I do have to say that what Ian has accomplished is criminally underrated. It takes serious fortitude and persistence to do what he's done and doing*. Idc that he didn't win the world championship I have a ton of respect for Ian as a competitor.

Wow! These interviews really reveal the people who are behind all those beatiful but faceless moves and ideas. Thank you so much Levy for doing this, I love it ❤

Levi and Ian competed in Russian accent (of course Ian won). I hoped so much for at least a part of interview in Russian.

For every like I’ll do 1 puzzle

Great interview .. like the others. Keep up the good work!

Credits to Ian for attending the interview and good job to mr. Rozman

Nepo is one of my favourite personalities. He's a true gentleman!

Levi never fails to kidnap GMs

"The process of hurting someone..." My man Ian couldn't be more ready 💀

Thanks to both of you and for all these interviews