Magnus Carlsen: Greatest Chess Player of All Time | Lex Fridman Podcast  

ty bro

its okay lex ily

No worries! Just keep 'em coming! :D

Love you lex

I promise you, you’re 1000x more annoyed at this than anyone who watches the video. Great content, as usual.

There was an attempt

Agadmator! pause the video to find the winning move!

Sorry about that

Lex at the beginning of the podcast: "Sorry about that"

The crossover we all need

First, why didn’t lex use the other camera

Hikaru is the best. Magnus is overrated.

@@lms904 literally don't even care..

Did you know that Magnus Charlsenn id the best checkers player in the world?

@@lms904 who knows, they are both the goats

May I ask how else? I’m not too familiar with him outside of chess, and I’m not a huge chess player either.

@@Cholaspen he plays poker

@@Cholaspen Persona?

he's white @@Cholaspen

Yes, I came upon instances where I kept staying in a kind of "extended zugzwang" state, most certainly out of lack of positional insight and strength. In fact, when I think of it, this usually happens when I'm severely outclassed by an opponent with a very dominant positional style.

Mine is at 1515, dreaming to get into 1800's. 2861 seems ok I guess 🙂

This is the most Magnus thing Magnus has ever said.

@@luke31ish 1515 is good

I have the same rating as his Dad, “which is really low.” That one hurt a little, I have to say.

"My current rating is 750, which is disgusting" - Me

Carlsen, not Carlson

@@vibovitold, edited. Thanks.

that's terrifying

To "see".

as opposed to waiting for lex to interview magnus, fakely?

​@@akattom Yes -- as in: "I'm not using hyperbole when I say that I have been waiting for years for this interview."

@@jacobsykes8467 chess players... You will always find people who tries to show everyone how much smarter they are than you under chess videos.

Where have you been waiting? A bus stop?

Because they didn't know the video was messed up till after filming and that camera wasn't on the whole time? I mean really? How is that even a question?

Samme her as, gøy

Samme her også! Artig! Nice guest Lex!

Samme her, det her var artig.

I wasn't surprised, it was always meant to be.

Helt nydelig!!

I came to write the same thing. The fact that HE has imposter syndrome, proves how human he is and makes it even easier to connect too. Great interview, Lex never disappoints.

T

Watch or Listen to Huberman's podcast as well, those videos are goldmine!

In which video and what part?

Are you talking about RU-vid ads? He doesn't pick those.

based channel listening to based podcast

Jubilee - you are what this world needs less of.

get outta here with your fake az videos. average iq of 128 in that iq video, get outtttttttttttaaaaaaaaaaa heerrree

@@c.chinaski3156 couldn’t agree more

How does Jubilee know about Magnus

It seems to be a theme among chess players. Hikaru also has this trait. Even Danya, who is known to be very neurotic, will openly admit his lower-rated opponent just played better than him and deserved to win. It really does seem like chess fosters objectivity, and it's not just a cliché.

@@maxkho00 chess can be very humbling game lol maybe that is one of the reasons

@Despize Perform deterministic for all intents and purposes is meaningless for human and even the strongest computer chess. It's ceiling of complexity will never be reached by human players, at least not until science can create 1000IQ humans somehow. In theory it should be solvable, but for now to say it's deterministic is pedantic and meaningless.

I think he's actually pretty devoid about anything but chess.

@@0willow0 he just means there is no element of randomness so you have no one to blame but yourself for a loss. Try to understand the meaning of someone's words before insulting them

The best in the world are often viewed as cocky or arrogant, but that is typically only people that don't understand what it takes to achieve that level. I've wondered if that attitude is a result of the success and confidence they have or whether you need that attitude to be that good. I suspect it's a bit of both. I compete at a fairly high level in my sport so I see the same thing that you are saying in the elite in my sport but I definitely feel like I don't mistake it for something negative.

Arrogance is a false sense of superiority and thats not the case with Magnus. He just is superior and has a down to earth relationship with it, not going for the false humility thingy.

He’s had a long time to put away his feelings properly.

I'm so glad people here are able to see it so easily. Everywhere else I go, I see people calling that attitude arrogant when it's just so not. There's a general sentiment within the chess community that to some extent Magnus, but especially so Hikaru is arrogant and has a big ego when that's so far from the truth. They are both simply a combination of very competitive, aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and objective in judgment. People who lack one or more of these qualities will mistake this combination for arrogance, so I'm very glad that there are at least some people out there who don't make the same mistake.

his rudeness rating is well in the GM-range.

To me it seems like the imposter syndrome thing meant he didn’t want people to see his facial expressions because they give a lot away in chess

Indeed I can't imagine Kasparov playing bullet or blitz drunk, calling his opponents "morons", showing them middle finger, and what's more posting this publicly for everyone to see. So arrogant, that guy

@@vibovitold that's great and all, but its not like he's objectively wrong lmao. He still kicks their ass even after being flat out drunk

It's because he has imposter syndrome. He knows there is more to life than chess.

..but you also have to imagine if Morphy, Kasparov & Fischer had 3000+ rated engines to work with, and decades of tested theory to use. I prefer to say there's a bunch of GOATS who made their mark on Chess history & it's a pleasure to watch Magnus in real time

@@bhaveshdas7819 the comment i responded to claimed that Carlsen - as opposed to Kasparov - isn't arrogant or rude. which isn't really true, as Carlsen often engages in behavior that's far from classy, whether in informal situations or formal ones (like angrily storming out of press conference after Karjakin's win in their WC match) i'm not questioning that he's beating people left and right, but that has nothing to do with character or professional conduct. "You're not wrong Walter, you're just an asshole"

He play a lil bit chess himself I think

Puhh-Lease, These were ALL sterotypical questions. especially towards the end lol

@@RamonesFan201 No, they aren't. They are common questions for experts, not for outside interviewers, and they are asked with elegance and depth.

Lex is such a good interviewer.

Lex isn't a high level chess player, he's a complete beginner. And these are very basic, beginner chess questions. Not that I'm complaining. They're the right questions for Lex, and his audience. But I enjoyed the parts of the interview where chess conversation led to other philosophical ideas about life.

@@JunkBondTrader Okay

@@JunkBondTraderit’s just a game, nothing special to be philosophical about it. Anyone who spends thousands of hours playing it, practicing it and learning the theory behind it can become high level. Nothing special, just like any other game

It's amazing anyone can play chess for a living and not be humbled. Losing a chess game is the most humbling experience you can have, intellectually. It makes you question yourself in ways most sports can't. It's a direct attack on your ego and intellect but I'll forever be amazed at the ego's some people have I suppose. Magnus is a huge inspiration. He lives streams some of his games, providing his thoughts and comments real time. 10 to 20 years ago a chess player wouldn't do that even if they could.

Do you have a time stamp of where he mentions this?

@@saucymew The very end :)

If he thinks that then imposter syndrome's spell is getting broken from my eyes.

well, i don't think having an imposter syndrome equals to being humble. Magnus seems to me not at all humble. Brutally honest for sure, but not humble. In one of his banter blitz sessions he mentioned it himself: He even takes being called "modest" or "humble" as an insult. Maybe his "nonchalant" attitude in such encounters like here creates a bit an impression of modesty...

@@johnmcmillen4540 I'm 99% sure Magnus was being sarcastic when he said that line. I mean, he couldn't agree with the person calling him humble since that sounds less humble than anything else.

Magnus, like say, Einstein, are extreme human outliers, so of course he's going to do what he wants. There's no great epiphany there. Those that are the greatest at a thing will always do what they want. And the reason he gave up his title is that he's not interested in playing yet another slog of a match whose outcome has already been predetermined. Magnus wants to play the anti-Magnus, which everyone thought would be Alireza Firouzja, but he's not ready. Then yet again, Nepomniachtchi wins the candidates so why would Magnus want to play Nepo when it would be more of the same? Ultimately, it's bad for everyone. Whoever wins the next championship will have an asterisk next to their name, which is a shame.

Or, how Millenials killed Chess.

It's such a simple fucking common sense concept, so I don't understand why the vast majority of people don't get it. Many lives have been ruined because someone wasn't allowed to do what they wanted just because of other people's flawed notions.

@@Micas099 What came first, the chicken or the egg? Maybe Carlsen is an outlier precisely because of his refusal to abide by other people's rules. Maybe there are many people like him who'd lead overall better lives if we allowed them to do things their way.

yeh thats why it never worked out with Kasparov... he was a tireless, disciplined worker... apparently total opposite of how carlsen likes to study

Wow, look who's here 🙏

Extremely unprofessional not having a second camera.

@@bubnjarovski this is not his profession, it's his passion and a gift for us all to witness such great minds. and he's one of the best at it. ever heard about the word "gratefulness"?

@@bubnjarovski understanding Lexs character I will almost guarantee you this won’t happen for another 100+ interviews so youll be ok for a while

especially since when openings were being discussed there was still footage of the board on the screen so no harm done. it was a great thing to listen to on the train on my commute to work. thank you lex

@@Augustus_ImperatorMaybe it wasn’t his profession but it’s his main source of income now. He makes a ton from his channels.

Yeah Gotham was pretty spot on too he said ding would start bad and do better while other players are the opposite.

Its usually bc of a chill longtime format that brings this effect, just human are allowed to speak freely while not much is going on.

@@sigmundfreud2443 Correct as always, Mr. Freud! This is not really an interview setting, it's a talk. Lex is not a journalist interested in some specific information that's relevant to the moment. You can't usefully compare the different formats and they're not competing. Don't overshoot the target putting these videos against other people's work. Just enjoy it for what it is. No need to see who has the longest dingdong.

There’s a few reasons. 1) it’s long format, so lex can give them as much time as they want to answer each question. 2) because it’s long format, he also doesn’t need to cut them off at all, a lot of issues that interviewers have, is that they have x number of questions that they have, and they’d rather ask every one of those questions, then get in depth answers for the ones they do ask, so a lot of interviewers end up cutting people off, answer parts or all of the question they ask instead of letting the person actually answer the questions unimpeded in their own words. 3) he does ask about controversies, and tough questions, but he does it properly, he doesn’t go into the question with any biases or judgements, he isn’t asking to gain information to be able to judge, he is asking simply to gain the information, so he allows the person to really think about and answer the question as they please, and if they are lying in their answer, he doesn’t attack them for it, he will move on (which gains him favor with the interviewee), but he will ask other questions down the line, that tie back into the original question, and does so in a way that doesn’t call them out directly for lying or showing any form of judgement, and he does it so well that he can get the real truth out of someone without them even realizing it. Lex really does an amazing job, a lot of it is because he allows the person to actually answer, he doesn’t go in with pre judgement, and he doesn’t act like he knows anything about what he’s asking about regardless of how much he does know, he goes in asking like he knows absolutely nothing, allow the interviewee to be able to explain it in depth, which is good because it lets the interviewee give in depth answers, and it allows the professional to be able to explain to the viewer so they can understand, even if he already gets it, his viewers might not, so he always asks like he has no idea, and when the interviewee says something in an answer that only people with prior information would understand what they’re talking about, he slows it down, and interjects then to allow for the viewer to understand by asking a detailing question about what the persons talking about (for example, he could ask magnus about a chess opening, and magnus says something about the opening that only people who play chess would understand, he will then ask, so by “the London opening, you mean moving the bishop to c4 pinning x piece, that means that the opponent can no longer move their piece without losing the piece that is being blocked by that current piece right now” something like that, which gives the viewer a better understanding of the details of the answer). There are so many different techniques that interviewers can do to draw out information, the biggest one that most interviewers don’t do, is actually let the person answer the question…. Interviewers a lot of time have a problem for some reason to just sit and listen for an extended period of time without interjecting, which is the biggest problem that interviewers have when interviewing people, which is funny because it’s the most important and main point of actually interviewing people, but for some reason a lot of people just can’t simply shut up and listen and let them respond for as long as they want with as much detail as possible.

@@Nitidus I agree and to specify the "Lex isnt the genius Interviewer approach": I think he gets carried by the format more than that he is doing something specifically good with the format. He even mentioned that he isn't really good with language (translating his own thoughts and the complexity of them in words) and I feel you can see it here. He isn't bad either but certainly no one that opens the other "geniusly". His style is openes and vulnerability that provide some sort of ego death in his interviewpartners so you have a good thoughtful and open conversation but in it there seems to be plenty of room for depth which he isn't really able to reach.

@@danielandree3947 This is exactly how I would describe his success as well. He also just has a natural ability to match the other person's energy and or play off of it which is extremely hard to do if you can't understand the other person. I think that's his biggest strength when looking at how he gets people to open up

also the longest

i found it strange at first, but you're right, it loosened things up

Fridman gambit

I saw the upload and was blown away. I’m a huge Magnus fan even though I’m not super into playing. Hearing them speak together is amazing.

Best podcast on youtube right now

Why do you think he is a good podcast host? To me, he comes across as pretty ineloquent (often being unable to formulate his question precisely), repetitive (just count how many times he used the word "beautiful" or brought up Messi out of nowhere), and simplistic in his views (his takes in this particular podast were fine, but in others, like the one with John Carmack, the superficiality of his views really shines through). Some of his questions are somewhat interesting, but nowhere near interesting enough to compensate for all the other downsides. What makes you think he is a "savage" and is "killing it"?

@@maxkho00 Is the variety of subjects and guests what makes him the best. His drive and hard work and prepared questions for his guests and the quantity of podcasts per week or months. I am a poker player for over 27 years, thats all i do to earn money for my living, i was surprised he knew so much poker players and about poker world. Simply i love his hard work and no one works harder than Lex on the podcast world, thats what makes him a savage. I been following him since he had no more than 20-30 thousand subscribers, and yes he is killing it now and is well deserved because he works hard. No one surprises his followers with variety of interesting guests than Lex. Every single time a new podcast upload is a pleasant surprise and i speak for most followers of his work when i say this. He is also very up to date with the trends of the world, for example Joe Rogan and others frown upon RU-vid comments without realizing the best comedy on earth is found in RU-vid comment section, generally speaking also good people interactions. Better than twitter facebook etc, and Lex is aware of that. In fact i been following him so long i feel i know him so well now that i knew when JRE went off RU-vid to Spotify, me being a poker player i could tell Lex’s inner joy in his face that he saw himself being here today with a huge following after JR leaving RU-vid. I still like JRE and bunch of other podcasts Andrew Huberman but Lex is number one right now.

@@maxkho00 Is the variety of subjects and guests what makes him the best. His drive and hard work and prepared questions for his guests and the quantity of podcasts per week or months. I am a poker player for over 27 years, thats all i do to earn money for my living, i was surprised he knew so much poker players and about poker world. Simply i love his hard work and no one works harder than Lex on the podcast world, thats what makes him a savage. I been following him since he had no more than 20-30 thousand subscribers, and yes he is killing it now and is well deserved because he works hard. No one surprises his followers with variety of interesting guests than Lex. Every single time a new podcast upload is a pleasant surprise and i speak for most followers of his work when i say this. He is also very up to date with the trends of the world, for example Joe Rogan and others frown upon RU-vid comments without realizing the best comedy on earth is found in RU-vid comment section, generally speaking also good people interactions. Better than twitter facebook etc, and Lex is aware of that. In fact i been following him so long i feel i know him so well now that i knew when JRE went off RU-vid to Spotify, me being a poker player i could tell Lex’s inner joy in his face that he saw himself being here today with a huge following after JR leaving RU-vid. I still like JRE and bunch of other podcasts Andrew Huberman but Lex is number one right now.

I've regularly tried to visualize the board in my head as I've progressed in chess. For reference, I am now 2000 Elo rapid, and here are my 2 cents on your dispute with your friend: The better you can visualize the board, the easier it will be able to play blindfolded. Practising calculation will improve your ability to visualize the board. Being great at chess requires great calculation skills, which in turn creates strong board visualization abilities, so you cannot become great at chess without being great at visualizing the board, but it is the chess skill that causes good visualization, rather than a natural ability to see the board from the start. With regards to aphantasia and whether you have it - I have no clue how to test for it, I only have my own experience to go off. But my opinion is that if you can visualize the rooms inside your home well, you have the potential to visualize the board at least to that same extent, it'll just take a lot of practise.

20 minutes in and its already very insightful.

19.35 minutes of watching and 2.1217 hours of listening

What do you have against the last 52 seconds?

Same

just finished

you clearly are not up to date

All very competitive people have this attitude. Just having good results for them isn't enough - they need to actually be feel like they are better than their opponent to be satisfied. And when they don't feel like they are better than their opponent, they know that just a couple of games isn't going to change that, so they don't feel any regret if they lose. As someone who is also extremely competitive (in my case, probably unhealthily so), Magnus' approach to results feels very relatable.

Michael Jordan syndrome

Who was it that said, "Playing chess is all about crushing your opponents mind." I don't agree at all. I see it to be more of a communication, an interaction, but that's my personality.

@@floridaLise As a chess player, it may be nice to think of it this way, but "crushing your opponent's mind" is definitely more accurate to what it actually feels like playing the game, especially when you're on the losing side lol.

@@maxkho00 I don't ever want to be that good at chess to think that way.

NBA? FIFA you mean?

@@thor.halsli basketball

@@jorgel4867 If you watch Lex you are already a Nerd

Impaulsive >>> Lex the robot

Lex literally is boring asf but he has goats like magnus on his pod

@@lionelmessisburner7393 Tbf he's actually not boring, there's a reason he has a PhD and a wealth if knowledge in various fields and its definitely not because he's boring. It's just his robotic monotone taking style which is boring but the content (from Lex, not just his guest) is soot on.

How do you know? You made this response as soon as the podcast dropped.

he is doing live streams for years talking about stupid shit and posting videos of him playing soccer with his seconds

If you watch Levy then you're 12 years old

@@smmshoe Yup, this video of him trash talking with Naroditsky is my personal favourite- ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UMykcsXtvC4.html

@@Matthew-bu7fg wrong mate

@@Matthew-bu7fg most of his viewers are between 18 and 25

today he is the goat. He is world champion that has accomplished so much that he recently denied to play in this years world title tournament because he already beat this years challenger last year. Lol he is just so funny nowadays ngaf now that he’s been goat’d

@Superfluous The video is on RU-vid he did shake his hand it wasn’t too bad.

@@maxfightmaster1338 "he recently denied to play in this years world title tournament because he already beat this years challenger last year" no, this wasn't the reason (and it would be a rather stupid reason if it were one, but it's not). Carlsen announced he considered forfeiting the world champion title long before the challenger was revealed. it was even before the last year.

Oh yes, Magnus Carlson and Garry Kasperov 🤣

@@raducubd Magnus has tons of fans on the internet, and i kind of call them "Carlson's fans", because most of them don't really follow chess enough to even know how his name is spelled, they keep on calling him Carlson, but they know he's #1, and that's enough for them : ) there's probably something similar going on for every sport discipine

great picture

RAM

Not soccer, it’s football

He has great belief in himself and he is right most of the times,so it's justified, I mean evaluating position without engines has to be a intuitive skill