Hikaru doesn't believe Levy can become a GM. Says it's like his own chance of becoming World Champion: possible but very unlikely #levyrozman #gothamchess #gmhikaru #hikarunakamura #hikaru #chess
Even without being a GM his name is always mentioned along with Magnus and hikaru. And a huge number of people are interested in chess thanks to his contribution.
His point about Danya actually makes sense. Danya is always looking to beat the strongest players. That is his nature. If Levy were to play game against a GM without knowing their rating, he would probably play much better. That psychological impact of playing against a GM seems to put him in worse position everytime. It is also worth pointing out that it was Hikaru who, at one point, had said that Levy could absolutely become a GM. But, his recent performances has made him change his mind.
Levy beat 3 GM-rated opponents in a tournament when he was still a 20 year old FM (He has a video on it, really good watch). And he himself even said that at the time he didn't respect his opponents' ratings in that way and played the way he wanted, which resulted in complicated games that turned out in his favour. Naka has a point. Levy's turning into the old, positional stereotype of player who's afraid to take chances, when he should be throwing shit into the ceiling fan like he was 5 years ago. It's his best chance to upset GMs
If you haven't played the position much before there is a good chance they haven't either. Magnus does this to people all the time, plays something he knows and then takes it off somewhere crazy and just finds and advantage to win anyway, and if he realizes he's screwed only then does he go for draws.
@@Saskaruto16 does Magnus do that? The biggest criticism I hear of Magnus is he plays very conservatively and beats down his opponents in the endgame while Kasparov was the one to get into crazy positions.
@@r0b0hobo From what I have seen against the super GMs he does not do that. But against the new GMs or much lower rated GMs he does play a lot of very uncommon lines. Not total nonsense the way Kasperov or the insane Dubov do though. But he will definitely take it off the beaten path when he thinks he should be winning.
Everything he's saying is right, but it feels weird to talk about your friend like this on a live broadcast. "He's unlikely to ever fulfill his dreams" lol
He is saying " When Levy says he wants to be a GM, he isn't realistic." But what it sounds like he actually means is that Levy needs to change his mindset which is correct.
I think he should've been more considerate to a friend, have the words somewhere in there "if he keeps reaching for it then i believe one day he will make it but currently he isnt on that level yet" the way it came out was a not said well however true. because at the end of the day hes a friend. thats just my op tho
Levy also just isn't that good (relative to GMs and GM strength players). Levy is an IM and plays at IM strength. He's notably much weaker than Aman Hambleton, who himself was admittedly lucky to become a GM and basically had to become a hermit for about 18 months. He likes to get out of theory early by playing the English and some offbeat sidelines, which is smart given his content creation schedule doesn't lend itself to intense preparation. However, you still have to win by having superior understanding of chess and strategic ideas as he also isn't a fierce attacker that sacrifices. He just doesn't display this level of understanding and when he goes up against GMs and guys that earn their GM norms, it really shows. That's why Levy often ends up begging for a draw because he just doesn't understand the position as well as his opponent. He's still better than ~99.9% of chess players as well as being one of the most successful, if not THE most successful, chess content creators.
Perhaps this video will give Levy some extra motivation to hang in there and pursue his ambition. Only relatively very very few players have the talent to even think of pursuing this objective. I personally enjoy following him on his pursuit and wish him all the luck. From watching his matches against some GMs I can see Hikaru’s point; some more self-confidence and drive to win will go a long way.
I agree that I think he needs some more confidence. I've watched some of his recap videos where he is explaining his thought process on why he played an opening or line and he seems to be over thinking. Like "well I was gonna play this but then I remember this or I heard he plays this and I didnt want this to happen etc" I think he just needs to stop thinking so much and go out and play his best lines. Also, I imagine he has added pressure with all of his Gotham community following so closely.
What’s particularly frustrating about Levy’s play is that after each tournament game of his that he analyses, his mistakes are usually a direct result of second-guessing his instincts. Every time he says “I thought about playing this or this”, those moves turn out to be better according to the engine, either positionally or strategically, than the move he actually played. Levy knows this, yet he just can’t seem to shake his insecurities during the game itself.
one thing he doesnt tell you (as much) is all the times he considers a wrong move and then fighres out why its wrong, bc that isnt as interesting as missing the best move. its not instincts its he just isnt a position rn to find and justify those moves, and thats ok bc he is working on it
I am way worse than Levy, only an expert but I find he makes the same errors I do in his thinking. He evaluates a position or tactical sequence as worse but he didn’t actually calculate past the evaluation and see that no, he is actually better.
I don't think that's really the case, it's a structure of how he narrates. He always gives the actual line that was played last, and if the best move after analysis was one that he considered, he mentions it. But in a real game you're just considering several candidate moves and then picking one.
Levy can become a GM. just isn't realistic when he is running a RU-vid channel doing content. To be a GM, your sole focus has to be on studying and playing chess. Levy has too many different things going on. Again, not saying it's not possible. I'm actually rooting for him to overcome the obstacles and do the impossible.
I mean it's a helpful way of thinking but there are obviously boundaries to what you can achieve. I won't become president of the United States or world chess champion once I try and convince myself that I don't 'respect' these goal
@@dieterschneegans1850 Right the quote in no way implies that if you just don't respect a goal, then you will absolutely achieve that goal. It's just a recommended attitude in terms of approaching or attempting to achieve a goal.
Hikaru's not insulting Levy in a way "youre too stupid to become GM" He's saying in the manner/style Levy's is playing combined with how much effort he puts into content, he wont become GM. If he would change these things Im sure Hikaru would make a new statement
I wish more people would be honest like this. This isn't 'I don't think he can do it', this is 'at his level of ability right now it's not likely'. It's unfortunate that becoming a grandmaster requires, of most people, the sole dedication of study and practice. Having a full time business on the side takes a lot of your time, and I just don't think it's compatible with that pursuit. I do think Levy is going to have a hard choice in the future.... if he absolutely wants the GM title (and there's no shame in going either way), he may be faced with putting his channel and other business interests on the backburner. I think he has an amazing niche right now with with his channel, his charitable interests, his devotion to increasing the level of the chess community as a whole, and the support of a partner who is in it with him. If he chose not to pursue the GM title, I think he would absolutely still be in the big win column. I do hope he is happy with whatever decision he makes. I'm pulling for him either way.
@@KeithDCanada If there's gonna be a Fischer Random or Chess960 tournaments and ratings in the future, maybe it will be possible to reach for the GM or even super GM title even for those who have side jobs, since you don't need to spend that much time in preparation.
@@p.avatar8079 I do like the way Fischer Random disarms opening theory. It leads to games that are far more creative early on, and less about standard book responses in 'the best lines'. I'd watch that tourney.
Something that was cut from his stream were that he also said that he believes Levy can become a GM but then he would have to stop RU-vid and streaming and solely focus on chess.
Levy needs a sports psychologist. He gets angry at himself way too easily, and it's not good for keeping his head in the game. Once Levy does that, his game will improve again, whether he's still streaming or not. It might not get him to GM level on its own, but I feel it's an essential element.
i wish levy would start talking to gm aman hambleton. training with hikaru may technically be better, but levy needs to learn to how to chill his energy and training with hikaru just deepens his defeatist mentality
He has a shot if he goes full Aman Hambleton and just lives like a monk for a couple years only studying chess and little else. Aman also barely made it and rode the London wave before people knew how to neutralize it and I think Aman is just more talented than Levy too. Aman hasn't been doing a ton of intensive study afaik and his current FIDE rating is higher than Levy's last few tournament performance ratings.
As a B rated player, of course I cannot comment on whether or not I believe Levy can become a GM. But IMs like Levy are those who are making chess more accessible to the masses. I would not be watching high level chess games if it was not for their explanations. They translate the game of the grandmasters into language I can understand.
I know what you're saying, but a lot of times the explanations by GMs are even more on point why something is bad or good. I think a lot of IM consider themselves great chess players or even great teachers, when kind of they're not on the highest level.
@@PHeMoX IMs are phenomenally good chess players and I hate this weird ass disrespect that people online have for IMs, just because they watch GMs who are considerably better and so they see IMs as being way weaker than they really are. Also, most GMs and IMs aren't the best chess teachers because they see the game in a way that is completely different from casual players and so even communicating why something is good is hard. Imo casuals players like myself and probably yourself too are straight up not good enough to even get anything from an IM/GMs explanation.
Well put. I said the sentence “I use Caro-con against kings pawn openings when playing black and Accelerated London when playing white” and then explained the reasoning behind all the moves I make, and the person I was talking to was blown away at how much I knew, and that’s totally thanks to Levy. Honestly I’m happy with the fact that I’m rated 850 and striving to get to 4 digits.
@@PHeMoX IMs are masters, and far far better than the average person. GM's are the exception, theres only a few hundred in the billions of people on earth. Saying IMs are bad because they don't compare to GMs is dumb Besides that GMs tend to be less sociable or worse at properly explaining their thought process in general. Super GMs are even worse (example of magnus playing blitz, he gives good ideas that i can follow, but someone rated in the triple digits may not understand). This may just be because alot of IMs do lessons and so have experience explaining, but thats besides the point
I'm just fascinated that he can maintain this train of thought while playing Chess with only 1 minute . edit: I get it. Hikaru's a chess god. You don't have to keep dunking on me for thinking he's amazing. I'm appalled at how people feel the need to downplay my fascination with him just because he's amongst the best players in the world.
He's playing against a 1000. If he'd concentrate I'm sure he could win 200 games in a row with a queen and two rooks down. This is no different than watching a pro esports player warm up by beating easy bots while talking to someone. It's trivial at some point to beat much much lower skill opponents
@@Seifer_42 Did you see his opponent? Hangs a queen, hangs (sacrifices..) a rook, hangs an inevitable mate. Nah, these games were easy, even for an intermediate chess player that has no title.
I think the bigger part of Levy's struggles are the mental aspect of pushing forward. He has picked up winning positions against a few GM's this year, but hasn't converted them because he second guesses himself or assumes the opponent didn't play an inaccurate move, when they actually did.
@@zizhdizzabagus456 Hikaru is certainly not "making fun" of Levy. Way to get the wrong impression my guy. No need to project your own douchiness on other people.
2.5 years later, Levy starting his gm grind again - I need to get out of my head and actually go for wins instead of second guessing myself out of winning positions and refusing to take risks
Had a friend some years ago that played incredibly well (in the tournaments we attended, he often ended first and I ended second just because I couldn't beat him). But he had a slight problem: against strong players in, for example, the national championship, he would just try incredibly hard to get a draw. He got a draw in 8/9 games once. However, he made a change during lockdown: he started going for the win every time. Last year he won the sub-16 national championship, and I'm sure this year he'll win the sub-18!
Funny how the same happens with Hikaru when he plays against Magnus. He is always on the defensive, getting a slightly worst position and trying to hold it.
@@aayushadlakha7425 To be honest from what he said it sounded like he had a better shot at becoming a WC than levy becoming a GM, which i think is at least debatable
not the biggest hikaru fan, but his opinion on this topic in PARTICULAR certainly has more weight than the strange stuff i'm seeing in these comments here. He knows levi can become a gm, but not current levi with his current mindset. As someone who has played chess and other sports competitively myself, revamping your mentality and facing reality over and over in an attempt to break plateaus and overcome time creeping up on you is part of the job. Doubters will be part of it and a VERY important reality check as well. It's not all "face all and rise, prove them all wrong", its "I understand, this is how it is, now what can i do to change it?"
the only real problem is Levi has got his peak in the past, there's no reason he could achieve the GM goal with more age on his side and less time to work on chess. He's facing 12/13 yo at same elo he has now, the kinda player he should beat and he thrashes agaisnt them, so really unrealistic he can get the 3 norms he need
@@xxchxxzero The thing is, content creation (not even just content creation but daily uploads) take a ton of time, which could be used to study, but he prefers to do YT, if not I think his chances would be way higher
@@xxchxxzero There are dozens of GMs in the 12-14 age bracket... age isn’t so limiting in chess. The young kids he faces are extremely talented players, their age is irrelevant.
@@yoosh9034 I think what he means is that the more you age the more free time diminishes. 12 - 14 year olds have nothing to worry about except what's for dinner so older players are at a disadvantage here. The same reason super GMs are so young
Hikaru is right, it's hard for me to admit this as a Levi subscriber, but it's true. And I'm pretty sure most of us would agree to give up video during tournaments to give him extra time to prepare and study
@Gabriel Mirukaj lol wtf, chess is his passion, but more specifically teaching chess. You can clearly tell the guy loves what he does on RU-vid, and it's certainly feasible that sharing his wins and losses with his community energises him.
It is not about time to study. He's been studying chess for.how long now? It is about potential. You either got it or not. If you don't no amount of work will help you.
@@stephen6272 i can do 2+2. It's impossible to become GM with the effort Levy is making. Every GM would tell you that if they're being honest. Levy is not stupid so it's doing it for other reasons. If you look at the views to the recaps of his games at the tournaments you get your reason. You're free to think otherwise.
Makes sense and this video is not just for Levy but for people aspiring to be a GM ,you have to look to beat them not to survive against them,this might actually change the mindset if Levy to go after them ,thanks for the advice Hikaru,needed it .
I agree with Hikaru but I still submit that the main reason Levy will not become a GM is that he cannot afford to stop doing all of his other stuff for a while. He has become a hostage of his RU-vid/Twitch empire - which is not saying that is a bad thing, I for one think that he has done awesomely great and he is super-good in what he does. However, now it looks like he simply cannot say smth like "f**k those money and those videos, I really want to become GM and then I will come back to this" - alas it does not seem like that can happen. Basically, a few others did the GM thing first and only then started being streamers or lecturers on YT. But Levy did that after becoming an IM and now this behemoth that he has created (a beautiful behemoth though it is) is standing in the way of the GM dream. Again, I for one truly believe that he simply should admit that he is not going to be a GM but he is not in any way a worse chess teacher / streamer / promoter for not being a GM, imho. Dixi.
All his content is chess related though. How much extra time does he need when he constantly is reviewing chess material? I don't see what removing twitch or RU-vid would really add, except living like a homeless person? If anything he gets more time than the average person with a 9-5 job.
@@itsyourenotyour9101 Preparing chess content for public consumption is not the same thing as working on one's own game. You might want to check out Levy's interview of Anish Girl on his Gotham City podcast. Anish described his preparation that is focused, and obsessive, in a way Levy isn't. I think Levy would do himself a big favor if he narrowed his opening repertoire (for now) to reflect how he likes to play so that he can get positions he is comfortable playing no matter the level of competition. When I watched his recaps from his last few tournaments, it seemed to me he got into trouble whenever he played openings he did not know deeply.
One of the goats right there PS: I have a duck video, a chicken video, a video where i am begging for money on Twitter, a walking video, a video where i am playing with my nuts. A short with a blog. A Naruto Arena video, a corn shelling video... Also a patreon
I think Levy needs to stop over thinking so much going into his games. A bunch of times he explained why he played a certain line and it seemed like he was getting too cute. Just go out and play your best lines and play with conviction. Also imagine he has a decent amount of added pressure with the Gotham community following so closely 👍
I think that's a guaranteed way to fail, unfortunately. That's a very passive way to play and will make it very easy for his opponents to prepare side lines. That puts the ball in their court from the get go. If your opponent can control exactly which side line you end up playing, they'll have all of the moves fresh in mind.
He also makes fundamental positional mistakes. Plays the Trompowsky but doesn't seem comfortable keeping the tension with the Bishop pin which means he doesn't understand the positional requirements/deficits of an opening that has an (too) early Bishop sortie. These are things a young strong IM would know. That said he is stronger than most of us.
Every time he does his tournament recaps, everything he does is done because it was drilled into him and he doesn't take the opportunity to improvise lines and outplay. All of his opponents can blitz out moves because they can feel confident in knowing the line well enough to where they don't need to calculate to a Stockfish level depth
@@JM-tj5qm That isn't what I'm saying at all. I'm saying it seems like he plays lines that are sub optimal in terms of his familiarity to try and either surprise or take opponents out of their comfort zone when he would probably be better off just playing his best stuff
Levy would agree with you that he doesn't have much of a shot at GM. But that is what makes watching him try entertaining. The rest of us feel like he is one of us trying something extraordinary. Levy is a expert teacher and creator of chess videos. As such he is of great value to the game whether or not he succeeds in his GM quest.
I have a very similar problem, normally when I know I'm going against a rated or strong chess player I totally whiff it but when I don't know the rating of my opponent I tend to get better results like the other day I was able to draw a 1700+ rated player without training(tbh the position was in my favour and I won in pieces) in a tournament just because I didn't know he was good at the game.
Right now the way he plays in his tournaments he always let's his opponents dictate how the games go. He never takes a game in initiative and drive it all the way through.
He just can't help it cause his prep isn't enough at all , if you were following his tournaments you can see most of his losses are where he can't match his opponent's prep and if you can't match prep basically you are going to end up in a slightly worse position if not lost and that also happened to him regularly.
@@countdracula7896 Gms put like 10 hours and more in prep a day. Levi can’t match that, he has to put a lot of work into his channel. Even IMs who prep twice as much as Levi struggle, chess is ruthless.
It’s weird to outright say he won’t. I think that statement requires specifically addressing “because of how he currently plays”. You could also say: IF he wants to become a GM, these are the things he has to change or work on.
I have to reluctantly agree, after watching Levy's tournament recaps where he talks about tying himself into indecisive knots against higher rated players.
I like Levy and if he truly wants GM I hope he achieves it one day. I don’t think Levy will become a GM though, because I don’t think he actually wants it enough. Seems like he was pressured into going for it and thinks he needs to work towards it in an effort to create more content. If you’re heart isn’t in it, you just cannot do what it takes to achieve something that difficult. My bet is that he will quit within a year or two tops, and he’s said on his podcast this would probably take him at least 5 years to achieve. My reason for thinking this is that on his podcast he has mentioned feeling like he’s running out of content and also expressed doubt over whether GM even matters to him. And he clearly struggles with a variety of emotions during and after tourneys in a big, big way that is not imo healthy or beneficial to his goal.
Levy is however, likely the paramount chess teacher today. The best teachers are often not the best of the best, but are the ones who instinctively know the struggles of learning the game.
Hikaru has about as much tact in his delivery as someone who studied chess all his life. To translate what I THINK he’s saying is “At the moment Levy has a long way to go, but he certainly is not there yet, Thats just the reality of it. He needs to change a lot of things about his play before he’s seriously a contender for the title”
Levy's chance is only zero or close to zero if he consistently sabotages himself. He's smart enough and he has enough time to become a GM. Is it likely that he becomes a GM? Who knows. If he keeps working towards it, I only see his chances increasing. Is it good that he's trying? Hell yeah, without a doubt.
@@joejtkelly it's a lie and Levy knows it perfectly, it's impossible for him to be GM at his age while studying a couple of hours a day and be a RU-vid creator. It would be next to impossible even if he would quit RU-vid and only study all day for a year. He is doing it only because his recap tournaments get a lot of views
Yea I was thinking the same thing, there was definitely a minor deficiency in empathy from Hikaru here. Maybe that's just his personality. Like I'm all for someone fearlessly putting his honest opinions out there, that is commendable. However, Hikaru has a wide audience in the exact same community as Levy, and is a respected, top player - so those comments have weight. They are definitely going to make their way back to Levy, and as far as I know, there was no bad blood between the two (and hopefully that continues if it's true). So I could imagine the unapologetic and blunt delivery without any attempt at emotional support would feel kind of blind-siding and maybe hurt a little. Hopefully Levy, if he really wants to prioritize becoming a GM, can use this as motivation.
@Anthony JS feel the same, I think it’s just his personality , but empathy goes a long way. For example imagine if he put it like this ‘I love levy and I think he’s a great content creator but ‘give reasons’ and end with I hope he proves me wrong.
Don't spell his name that way, lol. I mean Idc but once I wrote something nice in his twitch stream, he just got mad about nothing else but the way I wrote his name "levi". LOL it was kinda funny to see him angry just because of that but low key I felt like thats the reason why he's never becoming a GM , haha. He just didn't see what I wrote after his name. I had written nice thing about him but there you go, I lost respect for him.
@@CaoNiMaBi no really, you should have seen the dudes reaction. He was mad and his mods were all over me for just saying that, lol. Probably they would have banned me if I had replied. I don't know if that's just how they roll, like trolling others no matter what, even if they say genuine things but meh I'm done watching his content
I think Levy currently plays at "IM strength" and not "GM strength", and that's his biggest problem. As Hikaru correctly points out, he psyches himself out by perceiving GMs as being stronger and by being too strategic about doing "just enough" to get a norm. Levy should train until he feels he's "at GM strength" and should play to beat everyone. He respects his opponents way too much and often opts for "safe lines" instead of the most aggressive lines. That being said, we all love him and are rooting for him to succeed.
@@brucewayne2184 There are two distinct components to getting norms (or just playing well in chess tourneys, in general): 1 - improving one's chess knowledge and chess ability through study, practice, and training (i.e. prior to the tournament) 2 - employing the right strategies during the tournament (including choice of opening, selection of in-game lines, adapting to opponents, going for a draw/win, etc.) Levy falsely believes he's strong enough to be a GM, but is just making poor meta decisions. I contend that the real problem is that he simply isn't as strong as he thinks he is, and should instead focus on improving his baseline strength.
@@macnolds4145 I think the last two tournaments should have been an eye-opener for him. Going into that invitational Norm tournament, he was saying that he was underrated; the last two tournaments have demonstrated that in reality, he was actually extremely overrated at that point, and probably still is (his playing strength at his last two tournaments has been NM-ish). Great content creator, but nowhere close to as good of a player as he thought he was a few months ago, and a weaker player than most of the other chess RU-vidrs at this point (but probably a better content creator).
@@JM-tj5qm Yeah, chess heroes like Ashley and Finegold made it a personal mission to get that GM title (and had no desire to make a career out of playing competitive chess at the GM level). They never really played consistently at "GM strength", and within a year of getting their GM titles leveled back down to "strong IM". Still, every case is a bit unique... Ashley started taking chess seriously a bit late in life, and didn't even make his high school chess team. Yet, somehow, he became an NM two years after graduating, and then a GM about 13 years after that. Ashley was a vicious attacking player, but dedicated his life to promoting chess and currently plays at about 2200 strength under timed, competitive conditions. Finegold focused on teaching and took a long-term plan. I think he currently plays at about the same strength level as Levy. Finegold has more chess wisdom than Levy, but Levy is much more up to date with the latest trends. Honestly, Levy currently plays like a teacher and not like a competitor. He will correctly calculate all the key lines in a position, but then pick a passive one.
Coming from the future to say that Levy did it about 6 months after this video. He knew what he was struggling with, and he went for it and has now become a GM.
My first time playing chess, I lost badly because I didn’t think I could beat this guy. When the light bulb suddenly came on and I realized I can beat this guy, it didn’t mean I won every game, but I play much better.
I'm glad to see very little comments saying that Hikaru is shit talking him and that his point came across correctly. Levy getting GM is indeed unrealistic, atleast at this moment. His focus is on streaming, youtube content and teaching. You need to be completely fixated on chess and only chess, studying day in day out to get to the level of GM. I do think he CAN acheive that goal, just not right now. He has a lot of time to keep learning and improving.
I remember when hikaru was saying that he thought levy had what it took and that he just lacked sheer experience. But this makes a lot of sense he's only drawing and losing to higher rated players and struggling against and equal or lower rated match up
Even though Hikaru is objectively correct about what he is saying here, i lost all respect for him a long time ago and this video proves it to me once more. He draws it like Levy was boasting "I'm becoming a GM" like he would be naively overestimating himself, which he is absolutely not. Levy is smart enough to know himself how hard it will be and what he needs to make better, Hikaru ain't telling anything he wouldn't be aware of. His GM pursuits purpose is mainly the one thing all RU-vidrs are constantly striving for; content. And it's working for Levy, actually way better than all of Hikarus Speedruns and whatever as he left Hikaru long behind and became the biggest chess RU-vidr. Hikaru is just mad that his former sidekick who he was constantly able to low-key bully on stream turned out to be the better entertainer and content creator - probably because he's not as much of an narcissist prick as Hikaru is.
@@JuanBautista-fd7yv with Magnus not participating anymore he does have a legitimate shot now if he wins a candidates tournament. he came really close to getting the second place spot that Ding Liren is in
Its not just nerves. He's outclassed and he knows it. Thats why he's nervous in the first place. He needs to train harder, as hard as a GM should, and build his confidence by improving his game.
@@jootpepet Training doesn't help if every game is an emotional rollercoaster, where you can't think straight. You have to take the emotions out of it, if you wan't to reach anywhere close to your already existing potential.
@@emanuelrosenthal4271 I agree with you, emotions should be checked in a game of chess. But im not as naive as to say that its all about emotion. Thats stupid. Even Levy will tell you that. All GM's success came from hard work and dedication, and with that comes confidence and focus. If you're better than your peers, then your skill shall take over your fear.
@@jootpepet I simply believe my order is better. Get your emotions together, play as you wan't to play and get to maybe 2420-2450. Then work from there with the actual chess. If you start working on things like openings without a stable ground, that simply leads to mental stress and little to no to even worse results.
Levy has admitted he studies for 2 hours every day? No way that's enough. Levy's current skill level of around 2350 is honestly kinda accurate. To hit 2500 he'll need to dedicate much more time doing serious study given his lack of knowledge in all sorts of places, just like the younger wonderkids and chess professionals are most likely doing. Like Alireza gave up streaming and playing bullet and look at how much progress he's made recently. Levy's content creation is definitely getting in the way of his progress to GM.
Sometimes I don't realize how far away the GMs are from me, like I know I'll never draw with one of them once. But Hikaru is just straight up talking about levy, reading the chat and beating guys of my rating. And it looks like he's not even thinking.
@@allanshpeley4284 That's not what I meant. When Levy analyzes his own games he's not guessing at his own intents, he's remembering them; and in many of his analyses he specifically mentions having avoided drawish lines he could have gone into. I suppose I'm forgetting that Hikaru is specifically talking about Levy's games vs GMs but he's not doing too hot against the IM's either, tbh. Again, I say that based solely on his own road to GM videos. I'm not referencing his records or anything to draw that conclusion so I could have a narrow window.
