"What do you mean I'm funny? Funny how? Like I'm here to amuse you?"

Magnus goes 7/9. Zero lost games. Zero losing position. First question he hears criticism. And when he defends himself like anyone of us would do, people say he is arrogant. If this is arrogant then I am ok with it tbh

Maurice, this interview wasn't very smooth either. Seems you had some hiccups from the beginning. lol

I guess people will be more cautious when asking Carlsen questions in the future

Magnus App will get an update after this - play against Angry Magnus :)

"I hope I continue to win not so smooth games." Hahhahaha savage.

"We have with us Magnus, the king of rapids. At least he's taken that title, not that it means anything." A bit of a paraphrase but damn, I wouldn't be happy with that introduction either. Hell, who would. Then he talks about hiccups and how unsmooth his play was, but he won all the games. "What do you want from me?" That's a great question really.

Magnus got a point, its easy to say your game wasnt smooth when you already saw the engine analyzis, but the reallity is that nobody is smoothier than him and even more in rapid and blitz time controls

After all that criticism in the last few months he just blew up. Magnus just won a rapid tournament with pretty much all of the best rapid players in the world. Maurice always tries to tickle the players to say something interesting, and this time it just happened to work out.

If this performance is "not so smooth", then I hope all my chess games are forever "not so smooth".

I think Magnus is justified, after playing his heart out and winning the day it must be irritating for a commentator to start out saying the game was "shaky"

Magnus: 1v1 me right now and we'll see who has a "smooth" game

This wasn't just a random outburst because of one interview. Magnus has been provoked numerous times by Maurice in practically every interview they have been in and Magnus holds his tongue and he let it out this time. I don't blame him one bit.

I can totally understand Magnus on this one. It felt like Maurice was setting/representating the expectation that as world champion Magnus is supposed to "smooth"-ly win every game as if it wasn't a challenge and anything else is out of the ordinary. With expectations like that how can you surpass them and receive praise? For all the hard work it required to go undefeated I'd expect a congratulations not to be discredited for the effort because I didn't meet your expectations. I don't really think Maurice did anything malicious he basically represented the feelings of the entire chess community and I see this as Magnus addressing indirectly the fact that he's sick of the unreasonable expectations the chess community places upon him

Maurice is always sailing close to edge with his questions and got exactly what he was hoping for this time.

"I am hope hopeful that... that I can continue to win not-so-smooth games" *shrug* I was laughing my ass off, his taunting is just so brilliant and justified.

I think that maurice intentionally provoked magnus, when he said that he "atleast wins rapid games" And if Magnus was talking in his mother language maybe it wouldnt have sounded so childish

Magnus had every right to react that way! He just went undefeated in the rapid section and gets told that it wasn't convincing. It's a good thing that he speaks his mind and can stand up for himself!

Interviewing is a skill. Bringing out perspectives without hurting or characterizing the other. Guess GM Maurice would have learnt his lesson post this! "I hope to win not so smooth games" was a classic response by Magnus!

A win is a win. Chess is a sport.

Well, Maurice has seen the imperfections in each of the games via his engine analysis, so he sees the games from that perfect information perspective. I'm sure this must get frustrating for the players, it must feel like they fought a well, tough, human battle and then Maurice is like "Yeah but you missed this engine line here, what's wrong with u m8 it wasn't very smooth".

I can totally see where Magnus is coming from. He is the best player in the world and he plays excellent chess in this tournament. Then he comes to Maurice and he is told that his games were not very smooth. Sure, he probably missed an oppurtunity here or there, but what do you want? Although he is pretty damn good, he is still a human. It is easy for Maurice to turn on his computer and say ´oh he made a HUGE error there because he missed this 43-move sequence tactic and now he is +1 instead of +4!´. I understand that Magnus is irritated by this. Go and play these games yourselves, without your engine and see how good you play. I really think CCSCSL uses too much computer analysis. Yasser and the female do a great job and I like some insights of the other guys, but just turn off the engine. If you look at these games with an engine, the players can only make mistakes. They do not find a great move, it is a blunder if they do not find the great move. Just sittin' there with your computer and telling the world champion he was not smooth, while he scored 7/9 against super GMs ,, is not really a respectful attitude. Maurice probably did not mean it this way, but he did not seem very respectful. These guys are the best in the world so better give them credit instead of telling them the computer lines they missed. CCSCSL, I appreciate your coverage, but I think you could improve your shows by taking a look at chess24's coverage. They simply got two strong GMs that analyse the positions in-depth, without an engine. This makes the analysis much more human and interesting.

Magnus is Magnus...he's very human and reacted emotionally. That's GREAT. Maurice kind of asked for it.

The true Magnus always comes out at St. Louis 😂

I think i might have been offended too.

What I don't think most people in the comments section understands, is that top players go into the round with a different mentality than amateurs, or even weaker grandmasters. Most top players, as I have learned from GM trainers aim to just play good moves. If their opponent makes a mistake, then they win. If their opponent doesn't make a mistake, then its a draw. THAT is what the top player is going into the game tryi to accomplish. I think Magnus' frustration from the question is completely understandable. Its rapid chess after all and a win is a win. If Magnus gets a free piece, its still a smooth win, especially in rapid. He put enough pressure on his opponent to where he gave up. I think, as GM Yasser pointed out if I'm not mistaken, that Carlsen was disgusted when Maurice mentioned a computer line. Magnus plays against HUMANS. To him, and any good chess player, a free piece is a smooth win. Please try to take the time to understand how top players think before you start calling Carlsen's behavior childish. In my opinion, it was a dicey question from the start.

Instead of asking a stupid, negative and closed question, Ashley should just have shown the relevant position and asked for Carlsen's thoughts. Then he could have followed up with something like "five wins and four draws, why don't you lose even when you are in troublesome positions?". That could have led Carlsen to actually respond reasonably. Carlsen was totally justified.

I have a feeling Magus didn't like Ashley before this interview.

Great stuff. Just what chess needs. Much better than fake niceness all the time.

All Maurice does during these events is call out a sequence of moves generated by some engine while Magnus is pulling all stops to clear his name! His reaction is completely justified, what with all the criticism hurled at him of late.

I always come back to this interview to cheer me up 😄

Magnus reached 2915.4 ELO in rapid, what more do you want him to do... Commentators like Maurice are too often blinded by (superficial) computer moves and fail to see the greatness of Magnus (and some other super GMs).

Finally a snap! Toatally justified in my opinion.

You know you've got unrealistic expectations if you judge the world champion who just aced a tournament without a single loss for not playing well enough.

Am just glad to see this posted on their own site. It is getting all the reaction it deserves. We do need chess to be exciting. We don't need arguments and misconceptions, much. I figure that it is sometimes a fault of current day chess broadcasting with tech at the side that has most commentators coming off a bit belittling to the GMs playing. Hey, though, there is no way to sugar-coat the interview process. I'm been impressed for years on how the pros break down their game with or without their competitor at their side. It is easier for them to discuss the game with their fellow competitor than anyone else other than maybe their second(s).

"Magnus Carlsen has taken at least that title, not that it means anything as far as this tournament is concerned"// Ouch Maurice!

I know Magnus has had little tantrums in the past but this was totally justified. Every game can't be a crush from start to finish. Maurice handled it smoothly but he is trying to make these games too interesting with too much drama. It's chess, not some reality show.

GM Magnus Carlsen vs GM Maurice Ashley make it happen

Loved it. "I hope I continue to win not so smooth games".

This actually aged pretty well compared to the questions this year in the WCC

What’s amazing to me is the way Ashley just went with it and didn’t panic when Magnus took issue with the “smooth” comment. I understand how that would bother Carlsen, but Ashley didn’t mean anything negative with it, let’s be real. If anything, it’s a compliment to Carlsen’s ability to usually dominate the field.

omg! finally somebody says something to how maurice approaches the questions

Wow, Maurice is so calm and collected and handled this so well.

Magnus threw a hissy fit here. I don’t think Maurice’s question was unreasonable

The way Magnus say those things, it was more thrilling than the games he almost lost 😂

It's times like these that makes you remember how honorable magnus is in the chess community, magnus gets upset and people are shaking

what match is this? I want to watch.

Maurice, if you want to criticize super GMs maybe turn the engine off? You're not interviewing based on your understanding of the game, you're interviewing as the mouthpiece of the engine. Grow up!

They said after they loved his reaction all 3 commentators

I don't play chess, but just in terms of interviews, when you compare it with sports, Maurice was just offering analysis/commentary as he said. No need to overreact.

Whenever I have a not so smooth day , I come here to watch this.

A lot of the problem here is that the US coverage pays too much attention to what the computer is saying, forgetting that the analysis assumes machine v machine. So, if the players miss a continuation that the computer recommends, they assume they are not playing as smoothly as they should.

Magnus gets emotional because he doesn't really like the public image of him, that he's expected to always play the most crushing moves and find mate in 10 out of thin air. Everyone is watching the eval bar and they see it dip when he plays the slightest inaccuracy. At the end of the day you want to be seen as a man overcoming the odds, not as a Beta Zero.

The commentator was basically saying "Your games were shit even though you happened to win a few. Thoughts?"

Magnus is right. If someone feels that there's a better way to play then he should go and compete in world championship and leave the guy alone. It's very easy to comment on someone's game using an engine. He is a human being not Alpha zero.

Did Maurice play in tournament??

The reason he was perturbed was because he's not claiming to be better than chess computers/ perfect, just trying to be the best human player. I don't think Maurice had any ill intentions, and I don't think Magnus necessarily was personally afflicted by Maurice, simply the general criticism especially coming off a below average 2017 by his standards; however, he's still world champion, and still the highest rated player.

Magnus came straight from the front of a three day war with some of the strongest opponents you can find. Without a loss, beating the lot. Looks like he found the approach a bit out of place and wanted to investigate and ask some questions himself, with his brain on full analysis mode. Understandable. Maurice is a nice guy either way, looks like he got the picture and did some smooth recovery.

Maurice has every right to ask that question as interviewer and as a fellow grandmaster (I might add), and Magnus has every right to be frustrated, it shows passion and desire to win. No arrogance on Magnus' part and no belittling on Maurice's part.

very smooth interview maurice ;)

Magnus is a World Champ and has emotions just like everyone and sometimes he shows them - good on you Magnus !

Magnus Carlsen had every right to be ticked off. Why would a scrub 2400 FIDE elo rating sitting on the sidelines with the assistance of a chess engine be telling Carlsen "his games weren't so smooth". lol. Did he expect Carlsen to play like a chess engine and dominate within the first 10 moves? The GMs playing here are the best rapid chess players here, so Carlsen asked the right question, wtf does Maurice want from him? lmao

A love how as soon as he sensed the interview was over he was immediately getting the mic off him to nope out of there without acknowledging Maurice’s existence.

The people who don't agree with how Magnus acted didn't read and see what the media said about him at Norway.

0:18 It's apparent that he didn't want the interview from the beginning.

No one : Magnus Carlsen : I mean what do you want me to do?

The kid is still young, you can tell that at this stage he had not received any public speaking pointers. Questions are meant for one to express themselves and he took it personal.

"not so smooth" victories are some of the most interesting games to watch.

When an interviewer begins with a phrase like "that was not very smooth" he is opening the door and inviting the other person to comment about how his "opponent made some very good moves, and challenged me to dig deep and come up with some creative responses".... it COULD have led to some interesting discussion if Magnus had not been so defensive.

Oops Maurice, that one didn't go too "Smoothly" :-)

Loved this.

Did something happen before the interview? He looked like he was provoked before the cameras were on him

Magnus almost threw the n word

magnus has dominated chess for years now and did so very "smoothly" that's what maurice was addressing how tough the field is this time

Imagine GM Ben Finegold's potentially more humble reaction to the same intro by Maurice

At the lowest Elo of his career within last 5 years, Magnus comes to this tournament and scores a fine victory. A result that is astonishing in itself. Remember that he had not won anything since world championship until he won this one. Now, feeling relieved right after a tense game, you hear a criticism. As a semi-retired professional player, I guarantee you that what Maurice said needed a lot of nerve against'tense but now relieved' Magnus. I am glad things did not get messier.

"Not so smooth" is the new smooth! Go Magnus!

0:31 the moment it all changes

Damn nice interview xd

That was the tournament when Caruana scored +0 -6 =3 in rapid, ending up in the last, 10th place. One of the reasons I was rather sceptical about his prospects in WCC tiebreaks.

I'll tell you what didn't go smooth. That interview.

I wish I could play as not smooth as Magnus played this round... Seriously, Magnus went undefeated and Maurice says that? Very unfortunate commentary there

"He's been hit by, he's been stuck by, a smooth criminal" 😂

someone forgot that there is a camera running, haha

I've been waiting for this moment for a while. Ashley is a GM and a good commentator, a good analyst, BUT he often shoots off at the mouth... doing it right in front of Carlsen, I have no problem with Carlsen shooting back at Ashley. (I watched the entire US Chess Open, watch it yourself if you don't think Ashley takes jabs at players, gives backhanded complements, and isn't surly at times... trust me, I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner.) *Edit: I give this a thumbs up for Carlsen (who I'm NOT a big fan of) firing back at Ashley.

Ashley had it coming. He's the most annoying commentator I've ever seen. All he ever does is reading lines from the engine and freaking out when a player plays a move that's 0.2 points worse than the engine's best move. And it's not only that - he keeps pestering the world's best players after their games with those engine lines (most of which he doesn't really understand himself) as if they were super-obvious to everybody. It was high time somebody told him how dumb his comments are

I think Maurice meant 'not smooth' like it was an uncomfortable position, and Magnus thought he meant 'not smooth' like Magnus made a bunch of mistakes. A better phrasing might have been: 'We're you convinced you were winning after you took the piece or were you still uncomfortable?'

I''ll be waiting for Hikaru's take on this like a kid waiting for Christmas :D

I'm with Magnus on this one. It would have been a good moment for a quote from Captain America: Style is secondary to winning.

2:04 ... Guys back to you after he insulted me in my not so smooth interview

He has a point. First saying his title doesn’t mean anything and then saying his games weren’t “smooth” whatever tf that means

The NBA draft was last night and Carlsen was a bit uptight from the Minnesota trade....I would like to see a Carlsen versus Ricky Rubio game..

lol magnus should have pulled out a saxophone and played smooth jazz for Maurice.

RIP GM ASHLEY

Today when Maurice interviewed Vishy about his play as if he was struggling, Vishy responded with "Was I losing at some point?"

I think its just all the pressure building up on magnus. Everyone looks up to him and the boat might started to sink a little

i think this is my all time favourite video, lol

That wasn’t such a smooth interview.....

Magnus channeling his inner Bobby Knight. Good work young sir!

This is what chess drama used to look like