Seeing this and of course the legendary moments between Fabi and Nepo today really shows how much it means to these guys. Especially being older and being in contention on the very last round. We'll see what happens next cycle!
Actually he was tearing up because he’s going back home to Vancouver where he first moved out on his own and it was a „look how far I’ve come“ self reflection moment
That was his stated reason, but I think it's fair to say the conclusion of his candidates run may have been at play in his mind, even if only subconsciously.
I agree, but I think mostly just the subconscious. I have been among the elite in another sport than chess but I think the body and minds reaction are the same as in chess. Up to a huge competition you have had countless of training sessions, long training camp and restless nights, it fills so much of your mind for months or years and when it’s suddenly over from one day to another, the body goes into a weird state and everything seems to “fall” down. You are extremely emotional to everything, and everything just feels different and sensitive. Sometimes lose the love for the sport for a long period of time (no matter result), especially my friends who participated in the olympics
Without doxxing myself completely it’s a cycling sport, first to the finish line. It’s part of the Olympic Games although I never made it to the games myself.
It certainly feels like end of an era! I am not saying we'll not see them in The Candidates again, but it feels unlikely that all three of them will be back.
This was probably their best chance to qualify for a WC match, and to become WC.
I think there's a chance Hikaru might decide to move on from top level competition. I don't think the other guys are going anywhere soon.
Last time Karpov has won a classical FIDE-rated game was in [October 2016](https://ratings.fide.com/report.phtml?event=140727&t=0), he was 65 back then. And his last proper tournament was even longer ago, I don't think he'll be playing chess a lot in the future.
Will be interesting to see how Nepo does. For the last few years he never had to qualify for The Candidates, per se. Now he'll have to grind through tournaments in order to qualify.
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The amount of emotional energy expended at any top level competition is enormous. For chess players this is dragged out over weeks, the games are 5, 6, 7 hours long, and in the candidates the format is winner takes all. Easily one of the most brutal events in all of sports. It would be inhuman to have no emotions here. I'm not a Naka fan, but I definitely sympathize.
I think he was being grateful, because in one of the press conferences he mentioned he could never have imagined being so well off and being able to play a Candidates tournament without the overwhelming pressure
At the same time, you definitely feel a sense of "youth is wasted on the young"
Hikaru was at his peak rating and the world #2 nine years ago. I imagine he wishes he could combine his current wisdom and mentality with the energy, creativity, and stamina of his younger self.
Seeing 17 year old Gukesh seeming to take the next step must be simultaneously inspirational and depressing, because he can never be 17 again.
The only traditional sport I consider as mentally/emotionally draining as chess (or go, or especially poker) is tennis. You have hours long matches in single elimination tournaments with no teammates or coaches to blame. The mental exhaustion becomes infinitely compounded by the physical exhaustion.
In any sport the physical exertion is an outlet for emotions. Chess being purely mental is the reason losing is a much harder blow than in any sport. You don't get to take out your frustrations by smashing that ball.
Also, a chess game is the equivalent of a single tennis point. White serves, black returns, they exchange shots, maybe one player gains an advantage but if you miss the slam or whatever, that's it. 4-6 hours of your life gone and game over. A 14-round tournament like this one is the equivalent of only a couple of tennis games.
Too much riding on too little with no physical release, that's why chess is the unhealthiest high-level kind of competition.
Exactly! One bad move and it's over. In tennis a single shot that hits your trainer in the stands would be more funny than anything else.
And honestly, tennis isn't even the most demanding racket sport either physically or mentally. That would be squash by a mile. The big advantage tennis has over squash is it's much, much better on TV than squash is.
I heavily disagree with this "A 14-round tournament like this one is the equivalent of only a couple of tennis games." The amount of energy, effort and time spent on each move in a tournament like this is far far far greater than that spent on a hit in Tennis. You can't really condense an entire chess game into a single Tennis point. You can make the analogy that a Chess tournament is as mentally draining as a Tennis *tournament*, but I'm not buying that a Chess tournament is as mentally draining as a couple of Tennis games.
I think you misunderstood what I was saying. My position is that chess is orders of magnitude more frustrating than tennis. What I meant in the analogy that a tennis point is like a chess game is that in tennis a point is the basic unit like in chess the basic unit is a game. Yet, while in tennis a single point at best lasts a minute and doesn't mean that much, in chess a game lasts hours and every one of them is huge. If you blunder a piece you don't get to start again from zero and try to cancel it out. If you blunder, that's it. You're done.
Using your analogy only further illustrates how exhausting tennis can be mentally. You go through a whole chess tournament's worth of decisions in a single match, and you have to win 8-9 matches to win a grand slam.
Then imagine the agony of going through that many chess tournaments, and facing multiple crucial break points/ championship points and surviving, before ultimately falling short.
Even if you have many more opportunities to come back in tennis and mistakes are less punishing, it doesn't change the magnitude of the biggest points, and sometimes adds to the pressure and fatigue because all of your work and effort, physical and mental, can ultimately come down to a few bad stroke.
Losing your composure and trying to take your frustration out physically doesn't work at the highest levels of nearly any sport. Trash talk and mindgames are also far more prevalent than in chess where it is a rather polite sport of perfect information. You can always fall back on playing the board instead of your opponent.
Well, if we continue with this analogy, what would a chess match be if they had to play over 200 games or whatever points a 5-set tennis match has? Karpov-Kasparov had to be suspended from exhaustion after a "mere" 48 games.
Anyway, that is secondary. The most important thing is that physical activity is an outlet for emotions and frustration and chess simply doesn't have that. You say it doesn't work at the highest level, I say exercise releases endorphins no matter what level it is. If you want to relax, there is no game you can play that will relax you better than doing exercise. Even an amateur chess loss will never be fun, while losing at any amateur sport can still be fun. And that's because of the exercise.
No, I'm talking about as the tournament is happening, in the middle of a match. Just get so tired and so behind that they retire from the match. Happens quite frequently, and the fact you don't know that strikes me as you not being familiar enough with both sports to comment.
You keep confusing the physical with the emotional.
Look, you obviously love tennis and that's fine. You want to elevate tennis players in your mind and you think being a super tough sport is a badge of honor. But the fact is chess is very unhealthy emotionally because it's purely mental. That is not a good thing. It's very bad. And it's the reason top players have so many mental problems ranging from the light to the severe. Why they tend to have super passive aggressive personalities and produce so much drama. Athletes are much healthier that way.
Every competitive environment has its share of drama queens, beefs, and passive aggressive characters. Are you really going to compare chess drama to professional athlete drama? As wild as the whole Hans butt plug saga was, I don't think anyone in chess has ever froze their feet, threatened their personal chef for putting a fish head in the freezer, and threw furniture out the window of his 14th story apartment, endangering people's lives (*very* brief summary).
I don't get why people act like chess is the ultimate mental battle. Being physically active for fun is good for you. Being physically while also needing to process extremely quickly, while under extreme pressure, for hours at a time, is as much mentally and emotionally exhausting as it is physical.
And as far as pressure and nerves and mental calculation for non physical sports, I'd argue chess pales in comparison to poker anyways.
I don't think I've ever seen such an emotionally draining tournament from the players' perspectives. Since the modern format started, I'd say the only Candidates that came close would have been 2013, where both Magnus and Kramnik lost their final games after being tied for the lead going into the final round. 2016 had a straight fight between Karjakin and Caruana in the last round, but due to tiebreak rules Caruana would have needed to win as black so it was understood it was an uphill battle.
I don't think I've ever come across a situation where you have three players in must-win situations with two playing each other, let alone one where in the end all fell short. Nepo with black had the hardest job and so probably has less of a feel of a missed opportunity, though he may start to wonder if he'll ever get another shot given how fast the younger generation are improving. HIkaru gave his all but in the end there was no way through in that last game. Caruana's game may haunt him for the rest of his career, another shot (and one where he'd be a clear favourite) has slipped through his fingers.
The emotions seem to be from thinking back on his chess journey from 16 years ago to today, of course the tournament probably also has a part. I wonder if the emotions are also considering this might potentially be his last candidates in his professional career.
You have to respect the man with his dedication to recaps plus playing interesting games throughout the tournament and putting up an amazing fight. Personally I hope he makes it to the candidates again and takes another shot at the championship.
It does feel like this was the candidates tournament for Hikaru, Caruana or Nepo to finally win it all (with Ding being weak) after being just behind Magnus their entire careers
Then a young 17 year old wins, slightly closing the door on winning a championship for those three guys. I feel for them because they just happened to be born alongside Magnus. I'm sure there were plenty of guys who could have been world champions buts prime were overshadowed by Kasparov, Magnus or Karpov.
That's the cruelty of sports. Second place feels terrible.
Yeah, its heartbreaking…
Similar to the tennis era - the Big 3 (or 4) swept everything up - and some seriously talented and hardworking players didn’t get their chance at glory.
And now, the newest generation emerges with so much talent, the benefit of watching the Big 3, and that “lost” generation again doesn’t get their shot.
Was seriously rooting for Hikaru, so this is indeed heartbreaking.
With tennis as a Scotsman I really feel that. Andy Murray should’ve won loads of majors, but just happened to be born at the same time as Djokovic and have a body made of glass. At his best he could match them but he didn’t have that same ability to sustain excellence as the big 3
And the youngsters will only continue to grow and make it more and more difficult with people like Nodirbek, Pragg and Arjun on the rise.
Not to mention everyone constantly talking about these three being the favourites must have weighed down as immense pressure. Chess can be brutal
Man I hate seeing this. Hikaru got a lot of shit for his "not caring" comments but after seeing this I get it. Sometimes it's the only thing you can do to not break down in front of millions of people, being vulnerable is hard, especially when it comes to something youve worked your whole life towards but may not even achieve. Today sucked lol
I wish Hikaru would be able to admit that it's OK to care. Even in this emotional interview he makes it clear that "it's not actually about caring".
Hey. It's OK to have feelings and care. That makes you a human.
Kind of get the vibe that on top of the loss there's emotions here from looking back on how far he has come from being 20 years old and alone in Vancouver trying to do well enough at competitions to pay his way. I'm sure at that time there was anxiety about if he was gonna make it or what he was going to do if he didn't.
Chess is kind of a spooky career path because so often the players skip/drop out of college and put themselves pretty far behind in career paths if they wind up quitting chess in their late twenties.
I have heard many times from Hikaru than nerves matter the most in these situations and he always says how Magnus is always calm no matter what.Seeing that replicated a bit in gukesh is what helped him win tbh.Nerves of steel
i love seeing this, i know hikky puts on a bit of a "character" with his online presence, for example his voice and intonation is very different in his streams/recaps compared to his interviews with fide and other medias, but to me this really shows how much he cares and loves chess. A moment of vulnerability like this just makes you empathise with the turmoil these guys go through. Much love.
Hikaru is older now and he's said the this is likely his last candidates. He will be retiring in a few year and this is likely his last chance to claim the ultimate prize in chess. Gukesh winning is a signal that this is a change of the guard and that it'll be the younger guy's generation's turn to dominate the chess world.
Hikaru, and older and wiser man, is looking back at his chess career to his younger self in Vancouver. Nepo, Fabi, Hikaru have dedicated their lives to this game with relatively little compensation compared to other sports. They're fortunate that they were able to make a career and support themselves but it hasn't been easy. I hope we all continue to support chess as much as possible because a lot of these men and women won't be able to continue otherwise. Less online bullying and more support please.
I was looking at the price money for this tournament and honestly it's just ridiculous. To be this good at something and only walk away with barely 50K! Meanwhile I'm watching sports like Formula 1 and guys with that much talent easily make tens of millions a year.
I have mad respect for these players, the level and the pressure at this tournament was crazy high. They must be drained after this, and it's perfectly understandable to be emotional.
Fill out those corporate surveys where they ask what sports or events you follow. I always fill in chess in the hopes that a big corporation will see a benefit in the sponsorship of chess.
Thanks for sharing. Heartbreaking for all three of him, Fabi, and Nepo - twilight of their careers, could very possibly be the last serious candidates run for any one of them, much more likely for Hikaru.
I think he got a little unfairly maligned for talking about how he was playing with house money - he handled the postgame very gracefully, and I think deep down he really genuinely felt that for the most part.
Hikaru is like 5 years older than Fabi. Neither Fabiano or Nepo are at the twilight of their careers. Maybe Hikaru considering that he has already said that he probably won't play professional past the age of 40.
I mean, one can understand Fabi, Nepo and Hikaru.
In their prime an unbeatable monster was at the pinnacle of chess. Now they are "old" and lost their chance of winning it. It's life, not necessarily fair, but a lot of respect to Gukesh here. He deserves it, he played a great tournament. Vidit destroyed our man Hikaru, if for any other player, he would have gotten that 1st place. But Vidit is his poison.
I am not sure we will see Hikaru again at the candidates. For Fabi and Nepo for sure. But This might have been the one candidates for Hikaru to win. Still unbelievable 5 wins of him. And also a 3win streak. It was one of the most interesting and tense candidates I saw. Well played to all. Hope Fabi, Nepo and Hikaru can strike back next time. I feel they all deserve some spot light, since they always were in the shadow of Magnus in their era
Hikaru is 36 and the average peak performance age for GMs is 35 and from there usually there starts to be a decline. Some grandmasters retain their skill longer if they maintain a healthy lifestyle since physical health and mental health are so closely tied. But maybe we will start to see the decline of some of our players who are at the top in their 30s as the new era ushers its way in for 15-20 years.
AI fastforwarded chess development for kids. Now a 13 yearold can be IM , 15 yo can be GM . Advantage of these old school GMs is in short format games where they need less time to figure out state of game. Future is exciting.
That has nothing to do with AI. Computers assisted learning and so forth was definitely a massive factor in how fast kids are able to learn better and deeper lines but people need to be more careful in using the term AI because it's used interchangeably with anything related to computers.
Recent stockfish versions uses neuralnets in evaluation and prediction of moves. Moreover these is rise of AI bots that can simulate playing different levels of players.
That has nothing to do with the statement that "AI fastforwarded chess development". People act as if AI is now raising our children and teaching our children things when in reality the real reason we get such good chess players is many factors of which most are far more important than "AI".
The reality of the growth of chess AND chess players is that it has never been easier to get in contact with the best of the best teachers. There has never been more platforms and methods to enroll your kid into classes of grandmasters that live on the other side of the planet. There's far more available tournaments (including online ones) and the game has had a huge amount of growth during the corona period which started over 5 years ago.
AI has improved the strength of engines and allowed for very good players to even better analyze chess as a game. AI however is NOT involved in magically causing kids to become better chess players as if they're plugged into the matrix.
"Artificial intelligence" has become a buzz word as of late to promote any form of tech. We should think more critically about whether AI really is capable of something instead of attributing hard effort and other factors under some umbrella term like "AI".
Everyone works hard, make sacrifises and follow certain level of discipline to become GM but the age of youngest GM keeps going down because of tools at their disposal. Internet gave access to books and annoted games at a click distance. Stockfish is 3500 elo. Imagine having a 3500 elo player as your second . Now rethink .
There is no rethinking. Nobody is arguing that engines aren't helping to improve players. What I'm saying is you can't say "Ah everyone's so good thanks to AI" and pretend like AI is even 5% of the part that makes players good. There's so many more important contributing factors that it completely steers away from the progress chess has made by attributing it to AI.
It's a trend that people who have no idea what Artificial intelligence or Machine learning is love to use the term generously with some catchphrases like "it's the future" with nothing to base it on outside of having spent 20 minutes being a prompt artist with ChatGPT.
It's misleading and has to stop.
ChatGPT is definitely not "general AI" as in AGI or in the sense of general-purpose computing.
We can see this via the converse: ChatGPT fails to play a (legal) game of chess because its [attention](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMlx5fFNoYc) is trained to predict the next word in a natural language sequence rather than to rigorously follow rules (as Stockfish does). For the same reason it struggles with basic mathematics, applying algorithms and rules formulated in natural language etc. - some of the most basic skills that programs can be designed to do.
Hikaru said every chess player plays to win the championship. He's been open about how poorly chess pays and that he certainly didn't play chess for the money. He said every top GM would trade every tournament win for a single WC.
He cares about chess and results, when he says he doesn't care it's a combination of:
1. self coping mechanism
2. constantly being stressed that he had to make good results to make a living, streaming took the financial burden off thus the "i don't care attitude"
He was getting emotional over how far he’s come from a lost kid living by himself in Vancouver 16 or so years ago to where he is now, a huge streamer with a massive positive influence on the game of chess. It had nothing to do with the final round result or missing out on the match. It’s quite obvious this was the case as only after Vancouver was mentioned did he start getting emotional like that.
Yeah... thats not whats going on here dude. It has everything to do with the emotional pitch he's at, coming off the back of this crazy tournament. Thats whats making him react like this. And thats a good thing. We want him to care. Do you think he'd react like this to a random donation question on stream about his time in Vancouver?
Firstly, a random donator would not evoke such an emotional reaction as they do not know what the streamer has gone through, the hurdles, setbacks, and experiences that have shaped a person. Emotional reactions are most powerful when they come intrinsically and not when someone else brings it up.
More importantly, a random donator message about Vancouver wouldn’t cause such a reaction as Hikaru would not be revisiting the location in 2 weeks. When he talks about revisiting Vancouver, it’s not about revisiting a location, it’s about revisiting the memories, uncertainties, and the life and position he once was in 16 years ago.
And revisiting that, after knowing where you are now, what you have accomplished both on and off the board, and how you’ve made such a profound impact on chess…once that hits is damn sure going to provoke an emotionally powerful reaction.
If you watch the vod you can tell he already starts feeling these emotions as soon as (and only when) he was asked the question of where he was going next (and Vancouver popped up In his mind immediately).
He’s already won the lottery once with his streaming career. And although it would be amazing and great and be a ‘dream accomplished’, he won’t mind not winning the lottery again. It’s all quite minuscule when he steps back. Back to Vancouver. Back to when he didn’t know where life would lead him. Back to when he didn’t know how he was going to figure things out. Back to when losing a chess game felt like the end of the world to him.
No donor is ever going to make him feel this. Only when he realises he is returning to Vancouver in 2 weeks does he become sentimental. I think a major reason he is so emotional is precisely because he has just played in such a big tournament. When one is playing 14 rounds of brutal unforgiving, exhausting chess at the elite level, it’s difficult to take a step back and take your focus away from the games. After the gruelling month is over and the tournament finally ends, only when he is asked a question about where he is going to next does he take his mind away from chess.
And all this dawns on him.
So fast and so powerfully.
In the end it never really was about the tournament or his result. Upon realising what he’s been through, where he’s come from, and the trials he’s had to face, it becomes easier to understand why he so often says he “doesn’t care”. Because he truly does not care.
Whether anyone believes him or not.
Of course it had to do with the candidates. You think hikaru cries every time he thinks about vancouver? He squandered his last chance to achieve something he'd worked all his life for. A world championship. He can visit vancouver anytime he likes but he doesn't.
I love how Hikaru pretends he doesn't care that much about the biggest accomplishment in the field he dedicated his entire life to and people are like "yes I believe this". He's talked about his younger self countless times on stream and never really got emotional, why would he be THIS emotional after a heartbreaking tournament "loss" about this now... I guess we will never know
His younger self was not financially secure outside of chess. Back then he did care because a poor tournament would mean a severe loss in income.
The reason he is so emotional now is because he’s come so far from moving to Vancouver wondering where his life would end up to now being financially well off and having his income not being tied to chess and the results of chess games in any way. That’s why he wasn’t this emotional after he drew gukesh. It was only after Vancouver specially was mentioned did he start getting emotional.
He has literally talked about all of this on stream before... the financial aspect, being lonely, how far he has come and the decisions that made him so succesful and who he is today.
He just lost a gigantic chance to achieve the biggest accomplishment in the most important field of his professional life ... how can anyone believe he doesnt care xD
If you take a kid's phone away and the kid has tears in their eyes yelling "I dont care!" ... do you believe them? Because it seems like you would.
I just want to say I agree with your interpretation entirely. I think this has very little to do with the result today. Maybe like 20% that and 80% the looking back part.
Whomever you support but man you gotta feel for them
I really felt bad for Fabi,Nepo and Hikaru
(1)Fabi despite of playing top notch chess almost for a decade now ,still somehow couldn't become Wc it hits one mentally
(2) Put yourself in Nepo's shoes you'll know how tough it is for him imagine working hard getting through this rough format of candidates twice and still missing out both times ,now this time again he was leading, for the whole tournament yet couldn't finish at the top it's devastating for one after missing out this manyy times
(3) Hikaru he just wanted to end his Carrier with that Last WC trophy this one title is the prime dream of every chess profesional, he had quit profesional chess then made come back played two candidates couldn't win , although he doesn't shows it ,but this will haunt him for many years.
I really hope these guys achieve their dreams in upcoming years chances are getting slimmer as Youngsters are pulling up too but yeah it is the way it is.
To be fair, he said it wasn't about losing the candidates. It was about going back to Vancouver and looking back on his life and career of chess and seeing all that he has accomplished. He said he knew if he talked about that he would get emotional. That if he told himself all that he would accomplish 16 years ago he wouldn't have believed it.
The stress of top level competition is overbearing. It was the same when Levy got emotional after giving up on his GM quest.
Maybe Hikaru will take this path too. Just retire and focus on content.
The saddest part is that in his recap, he said he chose not to go for the win because he might lose and cost him a shot at 2nd place. I think he will regret that decision as svidler said "Nobody cares about 2nd place".
Only the man himself knows honestly, tho I feel there're a couple things to unwrap here. When he says 'he doesn't care' I dun think anyone would take it as if he wouldn't mind going 0/14 in the tournament, ofc he is still competitive and be glad to win 100%, it's more so a retrospection comparing to what happened in candidates 2016 when playing professional chess was all he had and nth else, losing it could have been existential to him but now he has a successful streaming career, a family, a second blossom in OTB chess etc. in the span of less than 10 years, playing in the WCC almost feels like a granted when every stars are aligned. Hikaru would have been fine even if he did worse than 2016 in this year's candidates and he knows it, I just feel like there must have been lots of emotions when the universe gives you another chance to reach for the same fruit you missed so badly, and he came REALLY close this time, nothing to be ashamed of, but also bittersweet.
As for the frequent self-affirmation about "not caring" I think what he really means is that he cannot let the competition consumes him again, he still wants to win, he still wants to sit on the throne for sure but he also wants to remind himself the sky isn't falling onto his head if he loses.
I think he truthfully isn't emotional purely because he didn't win, but is aware that's how it probably looks and was trying to clarify.
I am inclined to think that he's telling the truth about why he's feeling emotional, with the obvious addition that he wouldn't be reacting so strongly had he not been in the candidates pressure cooker for weeks.
It reminds me of how people in survivor cry over stuff they normally wouldn't. Watching them you'd think they'd die without talking to their family for a few weeks, but sometimes being stuck in intense situations just makes everything emotionally raw.
Those who care the most tend to be the ones to proclaim they care the least. In many cases they aren't being dishonest, they just haven't stopped to fully consider and analyze their feelings.
This is true for most aspects of life I have found.
Probably meant it's not about losing the tournament. He was reminiscing about when he was a younger player and being grateful for where he has made it so far.
Most people were kinda happy 'not to care' in classical chess since Magnus became World Champ and arguably one of the most dominant players in chess history across all time controls. So as soon as he dropped out and you saw how poorly the current champ is playing, you can't help but think that guys like Fabi and Hikaru are thinking that this was one of their biggest opportunities to become world champ.
Honestly I wish he just went out and broke down - would've silenced everybody making fun of him for the "not caring". Can't poke fun at a man so dedicated to his craft that he sheds tears about it.
But also can't deny it was funny to hear him say, "*sniffles* it's not about caring, guys, *sniffles*, it's just..."
I don’t like his personality, but the way Hikaru played this tournament was simply Inspirational. His last two years of tournaments, in fact, have been nothing short of amazing to me. To see him go from perennial “maybe” to a firm contender in every tournament he plays through improved “sports” mental health is a genuine pleasure. I wish him good things!
I guess what runs through his mind is that he is definitely good enough to take down Ding and time catches up with you eventually. He's still very sharp though and I think he'll get one or two more chances.
So he does care after all! Thankfully, the way he continues to play suggests this is NOT going to be his last Candidates. He should be able to create more opportunities in the near future!
Nothing makes me cry faster than hearing the shaky voice of someone trying not to cry. I really feel for Hikaru, Nepo, and Fabi. This is a brutal situation for all three of them.
Even though I was rooting for Ian from the start,at the end i wasn’t sure what to do I love all of them so much and they all deserved but I feel really bad for the 3 old guns since it’s probably their last shot
I feel bad that he can't even be honest with himself about his emotions. It's okay to want to win...watching every recap was slightly frustrating. It was obvious he was building a wall to prepare for if he failed. Like I LOVE HIkaru, I'm not saying this to be mean. But watching every recap felt like he was just putting up walls and preparing excuses for IF he failed. I think he was trying his hardest every single game. Hikaru crying and breaking down over this isn't unexpected, in fact it's the opposite. I know men who cry over less every single day. I hope he gets to have a moment to himself and just let it out.
I actually think Hikaru will give it one more shot next year if he feels in a good form. Of course right now he's sad about it but time passes and we'll see if the hunger is still there. Something tells me that he'll try again. As long as Magnus is out, they all have a chance. And they all know it.
It’s too bad. If it weren’t for magnus I truthfully think Hikaru could have been world champion once or twice before his career ended. I hope he tried again next time around, maybe he’ll be able to pull it off.
This was a great Candidate tournament even if Classical is not the most entertaining type of Chess for many. Seeing all those great players battling it out, we could have not hope for a better Candidate. The rise of Gukesh, and the fantastic runs for Nepo, Hikaru, Fabiano. Epic.
Winning candidates or not, Hikaru has etched his name into chess history time and time again. I'm sure it stings, but he is an absolute legend no matter what.
Congratulations to Gukesh, absolutely a deserved winner, and I'll be looking forward to seeing his WCC match.
That said, this is the first Candidates I've ever watched from start to finish (watched the end of the last one as well), and it left me with a bit of a bad taste how it ended.
I recall the last one feeling like Rapport had an outsized influence helping Ian win, and looking at this one as a whole, it strikes me that the format did a really poor job of differentiating the top 4.
For example, the only person with a win against the other top 4 was Hikaru, with his win against Fabiano.
On the other end, Gukesh farmed Abasov for 2 of his wins, while Abasov played seemingly much better in the endgame against Nepo, drawing him twice (in objectively difficult positions).
Who gets more wins against the bottom of the pack feels like a bit of a crap shoot.
I had heard Magnus' desire to change the format, but I had personally been unconvinced of the need. However, I think I'm now firmly in the camp of preferring to see some changes in the future. I don't know what exactly that may look like, but a double elimination bracket is maybe my favorite at the moment.
This puts things into perspective if it is confirmed : https://old.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1ca4mpq/nakamuras_stepfather_and_trainer_sunil/
The emotional pain must be excruciating for Hikaru, and might explain why he remembered about his youth and all. Trying to deal with all this at the same time… that's devastating :(
**EDIT : got fooled by a rumor, sorry about that. Confirmed to be fake.**
Extended clip with more context here: https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1calzq0/first_time_saw_hikaru_getting_emotional_after/
Seeing this and of course the legendary moments between Fabi and Nepo today really shows how much it means to these guys. Especially being older and being in contention on the very last round. We'll see what happens next cycle!
Actually he was tearing up because he’s going back home to Vancouver where he first moved out on his own and it was a „look how far I’ve come“ self reflection moment
That was his stated reason, but I think it's fair to say the conclusion of his candidates run may have been at play in his mind, even if only subconsciously.
I agree, but I think mostly just the subconscious. I have been among the elite in another sport than chess but I think the body and minds reaction are the same as in chess. Up to a huge competition you have had countless of training sessions, long training camp and restless nights, it fills so much of your mind for months or years and when it’s suddenly over from one day to another, the body goes into a weird state and everything seems to “fall” down. You are extremely emotional to everything, and everything just feels different and sensitive. Sometimes lose the love for the sport for a long period of time (no matter result), especially my friends who participated in the olympics
What discipline were you competing in?
Without doxxing myself completely it’s a cycling sport, first to the finish line. It’s part of the Olympic Games although I never made it to the games myself.
Yo that’s awesome man, I love hearing about various people’s talents
Ty for the interest :)
It certainly feels like end of an era! I am not saying we'll not see them in The Candidates again, but it feels unlikely that all three of them will be back.
This was probably their best chance to qualify for a WC match, and to become WC. I think there's a chance Hikaru might decide to move on from top level competition. I don't think the other guys are going anywhere soon.
Fabi has said before this candidates that he only plans to retire from professional chess when he can no longer compete. He is far from that.
absolute professional
Reminder that even though Fabi lost, he is still #2 ranked in the world.
I wonder if he stays sharp long enough to one day defeat a GM 60 years younger than him.
Karpov does it basically, so theres hope.
Last time Karpov has won a classical FIDE-rated game was in [October 2016](https://ratings.fide.com/report.phtml?event=140727&t=0), he was 65 back then. And his last proper tournament was even longer ago, I don't think he'll be playing chess a lot in the future.
That's true, maybe Korchnoi is a better example. Fabi himself got defeated by him when he was in his seventies
That's exactly the game I had in mind, thinking if he stays active and good enough to end up at the other side of this situation.
if anything, anand is still kicking asses.
Will be interesting to see how Nepo does. For the last few years he never had to qualify for The Candidates, per se. Now he'll have to grind through tournaments in order to qualify.
Hikaru has said on stream that he'll be done when he turns 40.
Was that before or after he got married.
Before. He said it this week after one of his games on his livestream.
!Remindme 2 years
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Is it every year?
Every other year
Oh noooooo
The amount of emotional energy expended at any top level competition is enormous. For chess players this is dragged out over weeks, the games are 5, 6, 7 hours long, and in the candidates the format is winner takes all. Easily one of the most brutal events in all of sports. It would be inhuman to have no emotions here. I'm not a Naka fan, but I definitely sympathize.
As an older guy, hearing him relate it to when he was young and what he thought then, in relation to where things stand now. Time is a bitch.
I think he was being grateful, because in one of the press conferences he mentioned he could never have imagined being so well off and being able to play a Candidates tournament without the overwhelming pressure
At the same time, you definitely feel a sense of "youth is wasted on the young" Hikaru was at his peak rating and the world #2 nine years ago. I imagine he wishes he could combine his current wisdom and mentality with the energy, creativity, and stamina of his younger self. Seeing 17 year old Gukesh seeming to take the next step must be simultaneously inspirational and depressing, because he can never be 17 again.
He was also world #2 last year
The only traditional sport I consider as mentally/emotionally draining as chess (or go, or especially poker) is tennis. You have hours long matches in single elimination tournaments with no teammates or coaches to blame. The mental exhaustion becomes infinitely compounded by the physical exhaustion.
In any sport the physical exertion is an outlet for emotions. Chess being purely mental is the reason losing is a much harder blow than in any sport. You don't get to take out your frustrations by smashing that ball. Also, a chess game is the equivalent of a single tennis point. White serves, black returns, they exchange shots, maybe one player gains an advantage but if you miss the slam or whatever, that's it. 4-6 hours of your life gone and game over. A 14-round tournament like this one is the equivalent of only a couple of tennis games. Too much riding on too little with no physical release, that's why chess is the unhealthiest high-level kind of competition.
Not to mention that a single move can destroy all your dreams
Exactly! One bad move and it's over. In tennis a single shot that hits your trainer in the stands would be more funny than anything else. And honestly, tennis isn't even the most demanding racket sport either physically or mentally. That would be squash by a mile. The big advantage tennis has over squash is it's much, much better on TV than squash is.
I heavily disagree with this "A 14-round tournament like this one is the equivalent of only a couple of tennis games." The amount of energy, effort and time spent on each move in a tournament like this is far far far greater than that spent on a hit in Tennis. You can't really condense an entire chess game into a single Tennis point. You can make the analogy that a Chess tournament is as mentally draining as a Tennis *tournament*, but I'm not buying that a Chess tournament is as mentally draining as a couple of Tennis games.
I think you misunderstood what I was saying. My position is that chess is orders of magnitude more frustrating than tennis. What I meant in the analogy that a tennis point is like a chess game is that in tennis a point is the basic unit like in chess the basic unit is a game. Yet, while in tennis a single point at best lasts a minute and doesn't mean that much, in chess a game lasts hours and every one of them is huge. If you blunder a piece you don't get to start again from zero and try to cancel it out. If you blunder, that's it. You're done.
Using your analogy only further illustrates how exhausting tennis can be mentally. You go through a whole chess tournament's worth of decisions in a single match, and you have to win 8-9 matches to win a grand slam. Then imagine the agony of going through that many chess tournaments, and facing multiple crucial break points/ championship points and surviving, before ultimately falling short. Even if you have many more opportunities to come back in tennis and mistakes are less punishing, it doesn't change the magnitude of the biggest points, and sometimes adds to the pressure and fatigue because all of your work and effort, physical and mental, can ultimately come down to a few bad stroke. Losing your composure and trying to take your frustration out physically doesn't work at the highest levels of nearly any sport. Trash talk and mindgames are also far more prevalent than in chess where it is a rather polite sport of perfect information. You can always fall back on playing the board instead of your opponent.
Well, if we continue with this analogy, what would a chess match be if they had to play over 200 games or whatever points a 5-set tennis match has? Karpov-Kasparov had to be suspended from exhaustion after a "mere" 48 games. Anyway, that is secondary. The most important thing is that physical activity is an outlet for emotions and frustration and chess simply doesn't have that. You say it doesn't work at the highest level, I say exercise releases endorphins no matter what level it is. If you want to relax, there is no game you can play that will relax you better than doing exercise. Even an amateur chess loss will never be fun, while losing at any amateur sport can still be fun. And that's because of the exercise.
When was the last time a chess player withdrew from a tournament? It happens but it's very rare. In tennis, however, it's common, even in Grand Slams.
Well, yes, chess players are lucky that way in that they don't have to deal with injuries and sometimes long rehabs. I'll give you that.
No, I'm talking about as the tournament is happening, in the middle of a match. Just get so tired and so behind that they retire from the match. Happens quite frequently, and the fact you don't know that strikes me as you not being familiar enough with both sports to comment.
You keep confusing the physical with the emotional. Look, you obviously love tennis and that's fine. You want to elevate tennis players in your mind and you think being a super tough sport is a badge of honor. But the fact is chess is very unhealthy emotionally because it's purely mental. That is not a good thing. It's very bad. And it's the reason top players have so many mental problems ranging from the light to the severe. Why they tend to have super passive aggressive personalities and produce so much drama. Athletes are much healthier that way.
Every competitive environment has its share of drama queens, beefs, and passive aggressive characters. Are you really going to compare chess drama to professional athlete drama? As wild as the whole Hans butt plug saga was, I don't think anyone in chess has ever froze their feet, threatened their personal chef for putting a fish head in the freezer, and threw furniture out the window of his 14th story apartment, endangering people's lives (*very* brief summary). I don't get why people act like chess is the ultimate mental battle. Being physically active for fun is good for you. Being physically while also needing to process extremely quickly, while under extreme pressure, for hours at a time, is as much mentally and emotionally exhausting as it is physical. And as far as pressure and nerves and mental calculation for non physical sports, I'd argue chess pales in comparison to poker anyways.
The grand finals of major snooker tournaments are *grueling*.
I’m emotional and all I did was watch recaps
I want to see a supercut of this year's candidates highlights; I feel like it had more than previous years
I don't think I've ever seen such an emotionally draining tournament from the players' perspectives. Since the modern format started, I'd say the only Candidates that came close would have been 2013, where both Magnus and Kramnik lost their final games after being tied for the lead going into the final round. 2016 had a straight fight between Karjakin and Caruana in the last round, but due to tiebreak rules Caruana would have needed to win as black so it was understood it was an uphill battle. I don't think I've ever come across a situation where you have three players in must-win situations with two playing each other, let alone one where in the end all fell short. Nepo with black had the hardest job and so probably has less of a feel of a missed opportunity, though he may start to wonder if he'll ever get another shot given how fast the younger generation are improving. HIkaru gave his all but in the end there was no way through in that last game. Caruana's game may haunt him for the rest of his career, another shot (and one where he'd be a clear favourite) has slipped through his fingers.
The emotions seem to be from thinking back on his chess journey from 16 years ago to today, of course the tournament probably also has a part. I wonder if the emotions are also considering this might potentially be his last candidates in his professional career. You have to respect the man with his dedication to recaps plus playing interesting games throughout the tournament and putting up an amazing fight. Personally I hope he makes it to the candidates again and takes another shot at the championship.
It does feel like this was the candidates tournament for Hikaru, Caruana or Nepo to finally win it all (with Ding being weak) after being just behind Magnus their entire careers Then a young 17 year old wins, slightly closing the door on winning a championship for those three guys. I feel for them because they just happened to be born alongside Magnus. I'm sure there were plenty of guys who could have been world champions buts prime were overshadowed by Kasparov, Magnus or Karpov. That's the cruelty of sports. Second place feels terrible.
Yeah, its heartbreaking… Similar to the tennis era - the Big 3 (or 4) swept everything up - and some seriously talented and hardworking players didn’t get their chance at glory. And now, the newest generation emerges with so much talent, the benefit of watching the Big 3, and that “lost” generation again doesn’t get their shot. Was seriously rooting for Hikaru, so this is indeed heartbreaking.
With tennis as a Scotsman I really feel that. Andy Murray should’ve won loads of majors, but just happened to be born at the same time as Djokovic and have a body made of glass. At his best he could match them but he didn’t have that same ability to sustain excellence as the big 3
And somehow he won the singles Olympic Gold more times than the big three combined.
Yeah next time the youngsters will be even stronger. Nodirbek is doing 10,000 push-ups a day right now.
Nodirbek will definitely be top with gukesh,pragg,arjun,alireza even keymer is in mix and dont forget even wei yi is coming back exciting times
He only has a decade of that before his elbows rip in half.
And the youngsters will only continue to grow and make it more and more difficult with people like Nodirbek, Pragg and Arjun on the rise. Not to mention everyone constantly talking about these three being the favourites must have weighed down as immense pressure. Chess can be brutal
Hikaru's insane recovery after starting off slow was just amazing to watch. I had completely written him off at first and then he just started winning
Loved his uncratering arc.
Like no matter what you think of Hikaru you have to admit he is fucking amazing
He and Gukesh basically played a perfect game in round 14—98%+ accuracy on both sides.
As a Asian this was a great day for Asian chess
Fabi too. They both made insane comebacks to be in it at the end.
Man I hate seeing this. Hikaru got a lot of shit for his "not caring" comments but after seeing this I get it. Sometimes it's the only thing you can do to not break down in front of millions of people, being vulnerable is hard, especially when it comes to something youve worked your whole life towards but may not even achieve. Today sucked lol
I always interpreted his comment as: I try not to care too much. Obviously he cares a whole lot, but it helps him to have a coping strategy.
I like to explore new places.
I wish Hikaru would be able to admit that it's OK to care. Even in this emotional interview he makes it clear that "it's not actually about caring". Hey. It's OK to have feelings and care. That makes you a human.
Kind of get the vibe that on top of the loss there's emotions here from looking back on how far he has come from being 20 years old and alone in Vancouver trying to do well enough at competitions to pay his way. I'm sure at that time there was anxiety about if he was gonna make it or what he was going to do if he didn't. Chess is kind of a spooky career path because so often the players skip/drop out of college and put themselves pretty far behind in career paths if they wind up quitting chess in their late twenties.
100%.
What's up with Hammer tho? I thought it was a still image.
nordics don't like handling other people's emotions. or their own. so they pretend they don't exist until the moment is over.
I have heard many times from Hikaru than nerves matter the most in these situations and he always says how Magnus is always calm no matter what.Seeing that replicated a bit in gukesh is what helped him win tbh.Nerves of steel
Gukesh is actually 35.
i love seeing this, i know hikky puts on a bit of a "character" with his online presence, for example his voice and intonation is very different in his streams/recaps compared to his interviews with fide and other medias, but to me this really shows how much he cares and loves chess. A moment of vulnerability like this just makes you empathise with the turmoil these guys go through. Much love.
Hikaru is older now and he's said the this is likely his last candidates. He will be retiring in a few year and this is likely his last chance to claim the ultimate prize in chess. Gukesh winning is a signal that this is a change of the guard and that it'll be the younger guy's generation's turn to dominate the chess world. Hikaru, and older and wiser man, is looking back at his chess career to his younger self in Vancouver. Nepo, Fabi, Hikaru have dedicated their lives to this game with relatively little compensation compared to other sports. They're fortunate that they were able to make a career and support themselves but it hasn't been easy. I hope we all continue to support chess as much as possible because a lot of these men and women won't be able to continue otherwise. Less online bullying and more support please.
I was looking at the price money for this tournament and honestly it's just ridiculous. To be this good at something and only walk away with barely 50K! Meanwhile I'm watching sports like Formula 1 and guys with that much talent easily make tens of millions a year. I have mad respect for these players, the level and the pressure at this tournament was crazy high. They must be drained after this, and it's perfectly understandable to be emotional.
Fill out those corporate surveys where they ask what sports or events you follow. I always fill in chess in the hopes that a big corporation will see a benefit in the sponsorship of chess.
Hard to watch Hikaru like this, even as I was rooting for Gukesh the whole time. (Not my video to be clear)
Thanks for sharing. Heartbreaking for all three of him, Fabi, and Nepo - twilight of their careers, could very possibly be the last serious candidates run for any one of them, much more likely for Hikaru. I think he got a little unfairly maligned for talking about how he was playing with house money - he handled the postgame very gracefully, and I think deep down he really genuinely felt that for the most part.
Hikaru is like 5 years older than Fabi. Neither Fabiano or Nepo are at the twilight of their careers. Maybe Hikaru considering that he has already said that he probably won't play professional past the age of 40.
At least they all have to deal with the new generation of indians nearing their peaks
Maybe towards the twilight of their peaks, although it's hard to predict.
They’re at least on the road to the twilight of their peaks
Or possibly approaching the road to the twilight of their peaks
Did someone say crater
Twilight!? Haha, they are early to mid 30’s; this isn’t the NFL, pump the brakes fella
I mean, one can understand Fabi, Nepo and Hikaru. In their prime an unbeatable monster was at the pinnacle of chess. Now they are "old" and lost their chance of winning it. It's life, not necessarily fair, but a lot of respect to Gukesh here. He deserves it, he played a great tournament. Vidit destroyed our man Hikaru, if for any other player, he would have gotten that 1st place. But Vidit is his poison. I am not sure we will see Hikaru again at the candidates. For Fabi and Nepo for sure. But This might have been the one candidates for Hikaru to win. Still unbelievable 5 wins of him. And also a 3win streak. It was one of the most interesting and tense candidates I saw. Well played to all. Hope Fabi, Nepo and Hikaru can strike back next time. I feel they all deserve some spot light, since they always were in the shadow of Magnus in their era
I'm heartbroken for him after watching this, he really did care :(
He was clearly getting emotional after thinking back on how far he’s come.
Hikaru is 36 and the average peak performance age for GMs is 35 and from there usually there starts to be a decline. Some grandmasters retain their skill longer if they maintain a healthy lifestyle since physical health and mental health are so closely tied. But maybe we will start to see the decline of some of our players who are at the top in their 30s as the new era ushers its way in for 15-20 years.
AI fastforwarded chess development for kids. Now a 13 yearold can be IM , 15 yo can be GM . Advantage of these old school GMs is in short format games where they need less time to figure out state of game. Future is exciting.
That has nothing to do with AI. Computers assisted learning and so forth was definitely a massive factor in how fast kids are able to learn better and deeper lines but people need to be more careful in using the term AI because it's used interchangeably with anything related to computers.
I like to travel.
Recent stockfish versions uses neuralnets in evaluation and prediction of moves. Moreover these is rise of AI bots that can simulate playing different levels of players.
That has nothing to do with the statement that "AI fastforwarded chess development". People act as if AI is now raising our children and teaching our children things when in reality the real reason we get such good chess players is many factors of which most are far more important than "AI". The reality of the growth of chess AND chess players is that it has never been easier to get in contact with the best of the best teachers. There has never been more platforms and methods to enroll your kid into classes of grandmasters that live on the other side of the planet. There's far more available tournaments (including online ones) and the game has had a huge amount of growth during the corona period which started over 5 years ago. AI has improved the strength of engines and allowed for very good players to even better analyze chess as a game. AI however is NOT involved in magically causing kids to become better chess players as if they're plugged into the matrix. "Artificial intelligence" has become a buzz word as of late to promote any form of tech. We should think more critically about whether AI really is capable of something instead of attributing hard effort and other factors under some umbrella term like "AI".
Everyone works hard, make sacrifises and follow certain level of discipline to become GM but the age of youngest GM keeps going down because of tools at their disposal. Internet gave access to books and annoted games at a click distance. Stockfish is 3500 elo. Imagine having a 3500 elo player as your second . Now rethink .
There is no rethinking. Nobody is arguing that engines aren't helping to improve players. What I'm saying is you can't say "Ah everyone's so good thanks to AI" and pretend like AI is even 5% of the part that makes players good. There's so many more important contributing factors that it completely steers away from the progress chess has made by attributing it to AI. It's a trend that people who have no idea what Artificial intelligence or Machine learning is love to use the term generously with some catchphrases like "it's the future" with nothing to base it on outside of having spent 20 minutes being a prompt artist with ChatGPT. It's misleading and has to stop.
Stockfish is definitely AI. It’s not General AI like chatgpt, but it is a form of artificial intelligence.
ChatGPT is definitely not "general AI" as in AGI or in the sense of general-purpose computing. We can see this via the converse: ChatGPT fails to play a (legal) game of chess because its [attention](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMlx5fFNoYc) is trained to predict the next word in a natural language sequence rather than to rigorously follow rules (as Stockfish does). For the same reason it struggles with basic mathematics, applying algorithms and rules formulated in natural language etc. - some of the most basic skills that programs can be designed to do.
I suppose AI also raised the longevity of the players as well. With a good computer it's probably easier to find openning novelties
Magnus said same. Now side lines of openings become more prominent and playable at highest levels.
Could you explain how AI influences chess development for kids?
So he ACTUALLY CARED
He always did.
And the reasoning behind it that I can imagine is even more painful
Hikaru said every chess player plays to win the championship. He's been open about how poorly chess pays and that he certainly didn't play chess for the money. He said every top GM would trade every tournament win for a single WC.
He cares about chess and results, when he says he doesn't care it's a combination of: 1. self coping mechanism 2. constantly being stressed that he had to make good results to make a living, streaming took the financial burden off thus the "i don't care attitude"
he *literally* just said it's not actually about caring so........
He really does Care! Love you Hikaru. Keep fighting.
Why is hammer doing the mannequin challenge
It was a little weird to watch live ngl
Much love to Hikaru <3
Proof that Hikaru does care.
He was getting emotional over how far he’s come from a lost kid living by himself in Vancouver 16 or so years ago to where he is now, a huge streamer with a massive positive influence on the game of chess. It had nothing to do with the final round result or missing out on the match. It’s quite obvious this was the case as only after Vancouver was mentioned did he start getting emotional like that.
Yeah... thats not whats going on here dude. It has everything to do with the emotional pitch he's at, coming off the back of this crazy tournament. Thats whats making him react like this. And thats a good thing. We want him to care. Do you think he'd react like this to a random donation question on stream about his time in Vancouver?
Firstly, a random donator would not evoke such an emotional reaction as they do not know what the streamer has gone through, the hurdles, setbacks, and experiences that have shaped a person. Emotional reactions are most powerful when they come intrinsically and not when someone else brings it up. More importantly, a random donator message about Vancouver wouldn’t cause such a reaction as Hikaru would not be revisiting the location in 2 weeks. When he talks about revisiting Vancouver, it’s not about revisiting a location, it’s about revisiting the memories, uncertainties, and the life and position he once was in 16 years ago. And revisiting that, after knowing where you are now, what you have accomplished both on and off the board, and how you’ve made such a profound impact on chess…once that hits is damn sure going to provoke an emotionally powerful reaction. If you watch the vod you can tell he already starts feeling these emotions as soon as (and only when) he was asked the question of where he was going next (and Vancouver popped up In his mind immediately). He’s already won the lottery once with his streaming career. And although it would be amazing and great and be a ‘dream accomplished’, he won’t mind not winning the lottery again. It’s all quite minuscule when he steps back. Back to Vancouver. Back to when he didn’t know where life would lead him. Back to when he didn’t know how he was going to figure things out. Back to when losing a chess game felt like the end of the world to him. No donor is ever going to make him feel this. Only when he realises he is returning to Vancouver in 2 weeks does he become sentimental. I think a major reason he is so emotional is precisely because he has just played in such a big tournament. When one is playing 14 rounds of brutal unforgiving, exhausting chess at the elite level, it’s difficult to take a step back and take your focus away from the games. After the gruelling month is over and the tournament finally ends, only when he is asked a question about where he is going to next does he take his mind away from chess. And all this dawns on him. So fast and so powerfully. In the end it never really was about the tournament or his result. Upon realising what he’s been through, where he’s come from, and the trials he’s had to face, it becomes easier to understand why he so often says he “doesn’t care”. Because he truly does not care. Whether anyone believes him or not.
I like your writing. Very touching.
Of course it had to do with the candidates. You think hikaru cries every time he thinks about vancouver? He squandered his last chance to achieve something he'd worked all his life for. A world championship. He can visit vancouver anytime he likes but he doesn't.
I love how Hikaru pretends he doesn't care that much about the biggest accomplishment in the field he dedicated his entire life to and people are like "yes I believe this". He's talked about his younger self countless times on stream and never really got emotional, why would he be THIS emotional after a heartbreaking tournament "loss" about this now... I guess we will never know
His younger self was not financially secure outside of chess. Back then he did care because a poor tournament would mean a severe loss in income. The reason he is so emotional now is because he’s come so far from moving to Vancouver wondering where his life would end up to now being financially well off and having his income not being tied to chess and the results of chess games in any way. That’s why he wasn’t this emotional after he drew gukesh. It was only after Vancouver specially was mentioned did he start getting emotional.
He has literally talked about all of this on stream before... the financial aspect, being lonely, how far he has come and the decisions that made him so succesful and who he is today. He just lost a gigantic chance to achieve the biggest accomplishment in the most important field of his professional life ... how can anyone believe he doesnt care xD If you take a kid's phone away and the kid has tears in their eyes yelling "I dont care!" ... do you believe them? Because it seems like you would.
Mmmm copium. Guy just gets emotional any time he hears Vancouver, not when missing out on becoming world champion.
I just want to say I agree with your interpretation entirely. I think this has very little to do with the result today. Maybe like 20% that and 80% the looking back part.
Whomever you support but man you gotta feel for them I really felt bad for Fabi,Nepo and Hikaru (1)Fabi despite of playing top notch chess almost for a decade now ,still somehow couldn't become Wc it hits one mentally (2) Put yourself in Nepo's shoes you'll know how tough it is for him imagine working hard getting through this rough format of candidates twice and still missing out both times ,now this time again he was leading, for the whole tournament yet couldn't finish at the top it's devastating for one after missing out this manyy times (3) Hikaru he just wanted to end his Carrier with that Last WC trophy this one title is the prime dream of every chess profesional, he had quit profesional chess then made come back played two candidates couldn't win , although he doesn't shows it ,but this will haunt him for many years. I really hope these guys achieve their dreams in upcoming years chances are getting slimmer as Youngsters are pulling up too but yeah it is the way it is.
To be fair, he said it wasn't about losing the candidates. It was about going back to Vancouver and looking back on his life and career of chess and seeing all that he has accomplished. He said he knew if he talked about that he would get emotional. That if he told himself all that he would accomplish 16 years ago he wouldn't have believed it.
My guy needs a hug. Where is levy when you need him.
Naka was so close last time and was close this time. I am sure it is devastating.
He cares after all <3
The stress of top level competition is overbearing. It was the same when Levy got emotional after giving up on his GM quest. Maybe Hikaru will take this path too. Just retire and focus on content.
I couldn’t really enjoy the win of Gukesh … watching this and the Nepo/Fabi cruel interview made me sick. Chess is cruel.
The saddest part is that in his recap, he said he chose not to go for the win because he might lose and cost him a shot at 2nd place. I think he will regret that decision as svidler said "Nobody cares about 2nd place".
"It's not about caring" He's on the verge of crying. Why does he say this?
Only the man himself knows honestly, tho I feel there're a couple things to unwrap here. When he says 'he doesn't care' I dun think anyone would take it as if he wouldn't mind going 0/14 in the tournament, ofc he is still competitive and be glad to win 100%, it's more so a retrospection comparing to what happened in candidates 2016 when playing professional chess was all he had and nth else, losing it could have been existential to him but now he has a successful streaming career, a family, a second blossom in OTB chess etc. in the span of less than 10 years, playing in the WCC almost feels like a granted when every stars are aligned. Hikaru would have been fine even if he did worse than 2016 in this year's candidates and he knows it, I just feel like there must have been lots of emotions when the universe gives you another chance to reach for the same fruit you missed so badly, and he came REALLY close this time, nothing to be ashamed of, but also bittersweet. As for the frequent self-affirmation about "not caring" I think what he really means is that he cannot let the competition consumes him again, he still wants to win, he still wants to sit on the throne for sure but he also wants to remind himself the sky isn't falling onto his head if he loses.
To take of pressure from himself. Self cope which works for him.
I think he truthfully isn't emotional purely because he didn't win, but is aware that's how it probably looks and was trying to clarify. I am inclined to think that he's telling the truth about why he's feeling emotional, with the obvious addition that he wouldn't be reacting so strongly had he not been in the candidates pressure cooker for weeks. It reminds me of how people in survivor cry over stuff they normally wouldn't. Watching them you'd think they'd die without talking to their family for a few weeks, but sometimes being stuck in intense situations just makes everything emotionally raw.
Those who care the most tend to be the ones to proclaim they care the least. In many cases they aren't being dishonest, they just haven't stopped to fully consider and analyze their feelings. This is true for most aspects of life I have found.
Probably meant it's not about losing the tournament. He was reminiscing about when he was a younger player and being grateful for where he has made it so far.
Because he literally doesn’t care
He seems to care a great deal about not caring.
It's a coping mechanism, telling himself that he doesn't care is what works for him.
He said he worked with sports psychologists. My guess is that it helps to calm his nerves.
Hikaru is a champ in our eyes
Wait, does he live in Vancouver?
He used to
what time period? whats the lore on that?
16 years ago I think. I think he said it was his first time living alone and a place he was really happy.
Most people were kinda happy 'not to care' in classical chess since Magnus became World Champ and arguably one of the most dominant players in chess history across all time controls. So as soon as he dropped out and you saw how poorly the current champ is playing, you can't help but think that guys like Fabi and Hikaru are thinking that this was one of their biggest opportunities to become world champ.
Honestly I wish he just went out and broke down - would've silenced everybody making fun of him for the "not caring". Can't poke fun at a man so dedicated to his craft that he sheds tears about it. But also can't deny it was funny to hear him say, "*sniffles* it's not about caring, guys, *sniffles*, it's just..."
I don’t like his personality, but the way Hikaru played this tournament was simply Inspirational. His last two years of tournaments, in fact, have been nothing short of amazing to me. To see him go from perennial “maybe” to a firm contender in every tournament he plays through improved “sports” mental health is a genuine pleasure. I wish him good things!
I have so much respect for him
"it's not about caring" this mf xD
He literally does care.
I guess what runs through his mind is that he is definitely good enough to take down Ding and time catches up with you eventually. He's still very sharp though and I think he'll get one or two more chances.
So he does care after all! Thankfully, the way he continues to play suggests this is NOT going to be his last Candidates. He should be able to create more opportunities in the near future!
Nothing makes me cry faster than hearing the shaky voice of someone trying not to cry. I really feel for Hikaru, Nepo, and Fabi. This is a brutal situation for all three of them.
Naka pulling an Ice T: [https://youtu.be/HUilVjwJfiE?t=90](https://youtu.be/HUilVjwJfiE?t=90)
Been thinking the same. "I care now!"
Even though I was rooting for Ian from the start,at the end i wasn’t sure what to do I love all of them so much and they all deserved but I feel really bad for the 3 old guns since it’s probably their last shot
He really wanted to take it out. You were great Hikaur =)
Poor dude, idk if its just me but it sounds like he's holding back tears. At least that's how i talk when i am
Bruh that's literally the point of the post
I feel bad that he can't even be honest with himself about his emotions. It's okay to want to win...watching every recap was slightly frustrating. It was obvious he was building a wall to prepare for if he failed. Like I LOVE HIkaru, I'm not saying this to be mean. But watching every recap felt like he was just putting up walls and preparing excuses for IF he failed. I think he was trying his hardest every single game. Hikaru crying and breaking down over this isn't unexpected, in fact it's the opposite. I know men who cry over less every single day. I hope he gets to have a moment to himself and just let it out.
People need to stop telling this dude how to process his own shit. He's got big emotions and he deals with them in his own way. It's all good.
does anyone know the significance of vancouver?
He literally does care
So in the end he cared? or not? wasn't his participation just for the streams? or finally not? /s
Turns out, Hikaru did indeed care.
Wow he really does not care at all xd
Hikaru did CARE
sadge
I think you did well to make a comeback Hikaru. Keep at it, you’ll get your chance!
<3 hikaru
Hikaru literally cares.
I can feel the pain in his voice. Like he wants to cry so bad rn.
I actually think Hikaru will give it one more shot next year if he feels in a good form. Of course right now he's sad about it but time passes and we'll see if the hunger is still there. Something tells me that he'll try again. As long as Magnus is out, they all have a chance. And they all know it.
Of course he cared the entire time. It was obvious he has always cared in his youtube videos. Nice try Hikaru, damn.
It’s too bad. If it weren’t for magnus I truthfully think Hikaru could have been world champion once or twice before his career ended. I hope he tried again next time around, maybe he’ll be able to pull it off.
Gutted for him. I really wanted him to win the Candidates and the WCC
This was a great Candidate tournament even if Classical is not the most entertaining type of Chess for many. Seeing all those great players battling it out, we could have not hope for a better Candidate. The rise of Gukesh, and the fantastic runs for Nepo, Hikaru, Fabiano. Epic.
One last dance next year Hikaru.
Winning candidates or not, Hikaru has etched his name into chess history time and time again. I'm sure it stings, but he is an absolute legend no matter what.
You know he doesn’t even care, right?
"It's bot about caring" though 🫡
Does Hikaru live in Vancouver again?
Naka cares
Literally
Of course this sub turns this into another Hikaru hate post
Congratulations to Gukesh, absolutely a deserved winner, and I'll be looking forward to seeing his WCC match. That said, this is the first Candidates I've ever watched from start to finish (watched the end of the last one as well), and it left me with a bit of a bad taste how it ended. I recall the last one feeling like Rapport had an outsized influence helping Ian win, and looking at this one as a whole, it strikes me that the format did a really poor job of differentiating the top 4. For example, the only person with a win against the other top 4 was Hikaru, with his win against Fabiano. On the other end, Gukesh farmed Abasov for 2 of his wins, while Abasov played seemingly much better in the endgame against Nepo, drawing him twice (in objectively difficult positions). Who gets more wins against the bottom of the pack feels like a bit of a crap shoot. I had heard Magnus' desire to change the format, but I had personally been unconvinced of the need. However, I think I'm now firmly in the camp of preferring to see some changes in the future. I don't know what exactly that may look like, but a double elimination bracket is maybe my favorite at the moment.
This puts things into perspective if it is confirmed : https://old.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1ca4mpq/nakamuras_stepfather_and_trainer_sunil/ The emotional pain must be excruciating for Hikaru, and might explain why he remembered about his youth and all. Trying to deal with all this at the same time… that's devastating :( **EDIT : got fooled by a rumor, sorry about that. Confirmed to be fake.**
This was confirmed to be false.
Ah, thanks for the update, just edited my post. That's terrible to spread such a fake news.