100% Accuracy. 3100 Elo. 

“buying nerds” got me laughing. Gotta love magnus’s style of talking

8:00 “that would work if your opponent has brain damage” Levi is going savage mode lol

Every time I get beat I say they’re cheating

Really opens up our eyes to all the hidden tricks and plans the grandmasters had going on. Especially impressive was Caruana's ability to manipulate and control the game.

Levy, the kind of content you’ve been putting out lately is, well, like you say, fantastic. There’s a ton of high level games for you to review throughout modern history and your insight, analysis and commentary on current tournaments and players is top notch. You are a good teacher and you simplify complicated chess ideas into smaller understandable pieces for lower rated players like myself. I’m really happy to see you focusing more on this type of content.

the look on his face when he mentioned that his colleagues thought he was cheating is just heartbreaking. Imagine finding out that people who you look up to, some of which you may consider friends, thought you were cheating at a sport you put your life into. I hope Fabiano Caruana is doing okay because from personal experience, that sort of thing hurts badly. I got accused of cheating in an online tournament a while ago, because I beat a CM when none of the people in that small community had heard of me, and the only evidence I had that I was actually a skilled player was a local tournament in 2021 in which I placed second by half a point (first was one of the best female players in the country). That really hurt, but we're sorted now but there's still some resentment that that's the first conclusion they jumped to.

Fabiano is such a beast! Just a shame he was born in the same time with Magnus cause if not he'd most definitely be the best

Honestly, Fabi is so solid, so smothering, so controlled. I'm really hoping he wins the candidates and takes the title, he deserves a lot.

Hey Levi, hockey has had trendy offensive and defensive systems over the years. A good example is the neutral zone trap, popularized by the New Jersey Devils in the mid 90s. It stagnated games and limited scoring, but was very effective and widely adopted for its success. As a consequence, two-line passes were removed from the game and the goalie's ability to leave the crease and play the puck was limited to specific zones behind the net in order to bring additional offensive options into the game.

7:58 "That would work if your opponent has braindamage ... that might work on your level" lmao

6:52 Idk if it's still popular but around 2010 in waterpolo, the main formation had a mix up. Traditionally when attackers set up it's 3 and 3 with 3 people close to the goal but a driving system developed where 4 would shift to a side and rotate driving towards the goal looking for passing opportunities while 1 sat in front of the goal to keep constant pressure on the opposite side.

Can we just appreciate that the second best chess player in the world is also one of the most generous and humble guys in the world🤘

Fabi has always had an incredibly unique and solid style of playing. I’d love to see more highlights from the 2010s when he was in his prime against Magnus

6:50 This happens a ton in hockey, but about half of it comes from rule changes. An example of a top level players changing the way a position is played would be Patrick Roy popularizing butterfly style goaltending in the 90s. The style had seen some use for a while before him, but it never caught on because it had a number of flaws. Roy and the goalie coaches he worked with ironed out those flaws and, in doing so, brought about a goaltending style that, though it's a more advanced and polished version, is still used today.

One trendy strategy that was briefly popular in NASCAR was drafting in pairs. In around 2011-2012 you saw a lot of this especially at the bigger tracks like Talladega and often with teammates or close allies. Dale Jr. pushed Jimmy Johnson to a win like this at that track and ironically although literally on his bumper finished 4th as another pair was drafting that way and finished side by side in a photo finish.

I love how subtle Fabiano's play is; and his counterattacks (in other games) with squeezing winning chances out of stone

Levy, I love these kind of rewinds of old and iconic games, such wonderful matches and wonderful players to be praised. keep up with the good work, because thats why you are our favorite chess content creator

Levy never fails to explain the first 3 moves of the Spanish in great detail

When you've been watching levy's videos everyday for over 3 yrs and realize he already covered this game in a video dedicated to all fabi's wins in this tournament, a couple of years back 😊. ( This is definitely more detailed though)

hey levy, in football (or soccer iirc) the newer "trend" is teams usually want specific skills in their goalkeepers: they want someone who can build an attack with their feet, whether it's a slow play from the goal to the enemy goalie, or just a quick counter they should be able to provide the ball without esitation and margin of error, that's why the best and most requested goalies in the world rn are all superb at building a attack with their clinical passes

That’s the best video I’ve seen on your channel in a while, indeed best game by Fabi, what a player he is! You can do more of those videos in the near future as you do now, like famous Morozevich-Vashier Lagrave game for example

Being accused of cheating while you are not is the greatest compliment imo

Nice game to highlight Levy, thanks! Speaking to the trends in sports topic, I'm a big hockey fan and we see trends constantly, which sometimes get taken up en masse, or sometimes cause rule changes to get rid of a trend that is seen as negatively impacting the game (at least in the eyes of the fans watching- a trend that perhaps slows the game down or seems to be an unfair advantage). Power plays in hockey are a prime example, as well as the newer Overtime format of 3v3 for 5 minutes before a shootout- many teams right now following the trend of "possession first" mentality, hanging on to the puck and even retreating from the offensive zone with the puck when they need to regroup as opposed to just taking a shot. Definitely see trends like you mentioned in many major sports!

Fabi stayed 1 move ahead all game. He never made a mistake. And Levy did a fine job of describing it.

Match starts @3:00

Thanks for the content you’ve been making recently. I stopped watching for a pretty long time and these pulled me back in. Loving the style! Keep it up if you can and it’s lucrative enough

7:06 about this topic, i think that the main difference between other sports trends and chess is the physical aspect. At really high level in sports you play most of the time according to your genetics whereas chess there is no physical limit to learning new lines

Such a phenomenal game. Don't let Kramnik see it! 😀

Fabi never fails to be my favorite gm

Never had the pleasure to meet Fabi but I’ve seen him on Coffee Chess playing normal guys he’s a stand up guy

"that would work... only if your opponent has brain damage". That hurt my soul

Caruana, of course, was born in Florida and is a US citizen. He's an Italian citizen too, because his parents are from Italy, but he's never lived in Italy and doesn't speak Italian. He was playing for the Italian federation because he was qualified (through his parentage) and was living in Hungary, so it was close enough for travel and was a good job.

21:08 levy never fails to include magnus even if theres no magnus in thz video

Levy's notifications never fail to make me fail in Geometry Dash.

8:00 "This move won't work unless they get brain damage or are at your elo" .... fair.

Levy never fails to talk into the camera.

I love when levy analyses deeply because sometimes he skip analyses the opening and just analyses the peak break moment

What you are describing in sports (and more prominently in eSports) is called metagame, or the meta. The trendy stuff that trickles down from the pros becomes the Chess meta.

This shift in baseball, the wildcat formation in football, the calf kick in MMA. It happens from time to time.

remember, even if levy isn't lebron, he still dunks his opponents

“That would work if your opponent has brain damage” has to be the hardest line I've heard in months. 💀

Your tips on risk management really helped me out.

Levon probably at the end of the game didn't even know what he did wrong, what a performance.

unless you're actually cheating, getting called a cheater is the highest rank of respect you can receive from anyone

The excitement I get when you post is just indescribable

Great game, good analysis. Interesting that Fabi picked up on Magnus’s idea from his Candidate match & delved very deeply into the position to uncork this exceptionally fine positional masterpiece which seems to have no wasted moves. Fabi’s deflection shot… Na4! is a real stunner… & nicely caps all the play, including the pawn moves, that came before & all that came after. Poor Aronian must have wondered what hit him! Thanks for sharing this Ruy Lopez masterpiece by Caruana. Question: When W played Nc3, why didn’t B immediately hunt down & trade of W’s bishop with Na5? Presumably, Fabi was not afraid of Na5, otherwise he would have played a3 (giving the Bishop an escape square) before playing Nc3. If Levy or any viewers know the answer to this question and could explain it would be most appreciated… not only by myself but many chess fans who have probably wondered & been mystified by the same question… why was Fabi not concerned that his Nc3 would be answered by Na5, eliminating his bishop (& doubling his Queenside pawns)? Can anyone explain this? Cheers!

there are definitely trends in other sports too - they can be stylistic variations or tactical variations that become popular after someone is successful with them. In my sport (karate), there are both trends as to how the top people execute certain techniques and also as to which kata are seen more often at the top level (and also sparring looks very different in different eras, which also has a lot to do with rule changes).

Trendy stuff in sports - some of which stuck and some ofwhich didnt: Baseball: shift, yanking starters after 2nd time thru order. Basketball: 3pt shooting over deep 2s and midrange shots Football: wildcat and RPO

Ello Gotham I love your videos ur one of the reasons I started chess and now I love it thank you so much.

Such a high level of strategic game. Levy is the only person who can fully deliver the wholesomeness of this game to chess lovers.

Levy never fails to include Magnus Carlsen in first minute of the video

"Every pawn move he makes is a temporary fix but it's a band-aid for a bigger problem" I like the way you put it

Thanks for making a Fabiano video! He's my favorite top player, hope to see some more about him!

In video games and in card games there is a term to refer to trendy strongest ideas. We call it META, and varies depending on what is crazy busted at the time and what new things are added. Chess is not unique in the concept, but is cool to watch how it changes naturally in this non changing rule environment.

Levy never fails to teach us traditional wisdom

Levy forgot to pay magnus his clickbait money, so now we get to see some other players games.

Man, Fabi's play is so Waitzkin-esque here. Constantly taking the space left behind. Constantly adjusting his plans to entice weaknesses in the opponent's camp. Staying calm and wise in the face of adversity.

I really like the Spanish Main line. Normally my opponent over extends which gives me an advantage. Then I blunder my queen and lose😢

Lmao, when levy said "Levon is not taking on e4 because then his grandmaster title should be revoked" and then looking at the 3 pawns parade is just hilarious.

There might be a Levy, Who Always Fails in a Parallel World.

Fun fact: first few times I watch Gothamchess, I thought Levy was Fabiano Caruana😂 I didn’t know too much about the great chess players and I thought they looked very similar. Even after googling a pic of Caruana, I wasn’t completely sure😅 I later learned his name was Levy of course.

Na5 speaks for itself

Gotham never fails to upload videos

Football: it’s called “the tush push”. Quarterback sneak that everyone is trying to replicate but can’t. It happens in other sports too

to some extent, NBA is the main sports league of micro trends. It's not as obvious, as it is in the chess, but sometimes a certain offensive scheme is being played hundreds of times a season across the association, and then the next year you don't see it at all. Remember when warriors played a shit ton of two man action between Steph and Klay in the late 2010s, and out of nowhere every team started playing two guards schemes. As soon as KD arrived in GSW, they toned down the usage, and I barely see it nowadays, unless a team has quite specific pairing of an off ball shooter and main playmaker guards

Levy never fails to never fail

Levy never fails to tell us how a Bishop is slightly better than a Knight

100% buying nerds 😂

Such a beautiful game. Magnus is my favorite but Fabi is certainly a very close second. Love his preparation and style of play.

LOVE these deep dive analyses Levy! Keep them coming!

Fabi's style in this game really reminds me of Capablanca and Ding

"The knight never made it back..." Levy tells it as if he's talking about a sad mid century story😭

Levy sounds like a tv pastor when he narrates like this

The best sports metaphor I can think of for “trendy” moves is when Steph Curry started shooting 3s like no one else. He almost single handled made it a corner stone type of shot where before most people were happy to take a lay-up. Now everyone shoots 3s but he’s still the best at it.

There are a *lot* of parallells drawn in the comments now, but there is also a thing happening in athletics right now, especially in middle-distance, where people are doing two sessions per day of training just below anaerobic threshold, repeating this a few times per week. This has been popularised by Norwegian runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and is based on the experimentation of another Norwegian named Marius Bakken, who did extensive testing of lactate levels and muscular recovery and how this approach allows athletes to maximise the amount of intensity suitable to increasing work capacity they can fit into a week. Ingebrigtsen's father managed to coach three of his sons to European titles using this method. Now you suddenly see recreational runners doing double threshold sessions.

3:17 targeting the pawn in the center looking like your game, so far so good😂

A game so good that it would've made Kramnik contact the FBI

Dang, there were some really cold-blooded moves. Thanks for sharing about Fabi's immortal game.

Kramnik definitely thought he was cheating

"Trendy" things, is like meta-games in literally every esports games. "Oh this guy ran that build? - Now every team picks up that build."

18:28 Corbin stealing the show with his tail wagging 😍

knight goes on vacation, never comes back

00:02 Fabiano Caruana played a sensational chess game that his colleagues thought he was cheating 02:25 Fabiano Caruana's exceptional performance and strategy 06:18 Chess players explore trendy and innovative strategies 08:04 Fabiano plays a novelty move Knight to A2 11:55 Rook maneuvers in a closed position 14:01 Fabiano maneuvers to create weaknesses in Levon's position 17:52 Knight A5 disrupts opponent's position strategically 19:57 Fabiano strategically dismantles black's position 23:38 Knight on B6 dominated, unable to reenter game 25:36 Understanding the impact of pawn moves in a closed position

“That would work if your opponent has brain damage” LOL

Levy literally said “meta doesn’t exist” with a totally straight face lol

"probably the best game just not easily explainable" you did a good job thank you

The "run and gun" offense in the NFL is a pretty decent example of a trend.

A trend in the NFL in 2008-2009 coaches dabbled with the wildcat formation before it became completely ineffective.

6:58 Tiki taka football (soccer) became very popular after Spain and then Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona won everything using that style of play from 2006 onwards.

Kramnik would find this...

"Combination of Magnus and Stockfish" ... Man I love that comparison. What a genius. And your passion man your passion. A whole new level.

Levy never fails to fail.

"How do you even defend yourself!? You can't it's unpossible !" (Unbelievable and impossible at the same time), Fabi's so good he's making Levy invent new words! 24:01

bro says this is like "vintage Fabiano" after showing a 2014 game

6:18 Isn't that guy playing for Machester City now?

Other trends in sports would be like the euro step, the step back three pointer, or intentionally ripping ball through to cause a foul in basketball.

Plays and systems becoming trendy is a sports wide normalcy. West coast offense in American football, total football, triangle offense, pick and roll, the infield shift in baseball, setup pitchers in baseball. The list could go on forever and I haven’t even crack specific plays like the forward pass in football all the way to the play action pass and flea flicker. Analytics pushing 3 pointers in the current basketball meta.

6:50 Its really common on esports. Its called "meta"

soccer is another sport where strategic trends and fads catch on quick: playing out from the back, putting fullbacks in midfield, playing two number 6's, keeper sweeper, wing standing on touchline staring into the field etc.

Levon Aronian 🇦🇲 never fails to be my favorite chess player anyway