"We're not creating value for ourselves, we're creating value for the entire chess community."
Thibault Duplessis, our founder and lead developer, on his vision for Lichess, recent projects, the Take Take Take agreement, interests outside of chess, and more!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtIJ...
so much chess from before I was even remotely paying attention. thank you!
I'm team Boris. Just glad everyone is playing
..flak, but i'm still annoyed, 15 years later, that nobody even tried figuring out, or asking, if there was more to it than simply 'my best format is blitz, i'm going to crawl over broken glass and humiliate myself to get to blitz'.
9/n
this is a good moment to introduce this interview:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=DaUp...
because boris is always worth listening to, and also because at around 1:30 he mentions, umprompted, a few things that support what i'm about to say re: the openings in that tournament, and also a little..
3/n
ok take 2
the reason i appear to care - i was there when it was written etc etc, i was part of team grischuk in kazan 2011 (together with bacrot and riazantsev) so i had a front row seat to it
I’m with you. But then again, I’m a Fischer Boomer and was thrilled to see him run away with the candidate’s matches in the 70s.
I wonder how a 3-1-0 scoring system affects a player’s approach to a tournament. Do they play safer, not risking the dreaded goose egg?
Probably fun to watch. Wouldn't help the people who felt this candidates wasn't great because one player ran away with it. But I am not personally in that camp
No chance it was dumped to drafts?
The stream is starting soon, in 2 and a half hours!
If you have a question for us, feel free to share it in advance in the comments below.
and not the one where it mattered
Wasn't sure on bottom right but just had a look. Yu Yangyi
think that's baby Wei Yi
I like how he talks about the 19 skills or whatever like you're setting off on an RPG quest. He clearly knows how to talk to the kids.
I used to be an Uzbek teenager recovering from a Counterstrike addiction, but that was many years ago
With Roman Vidonyak’s 54 step plan, we can all reach 2900.
There's still a path for Magnus to 2900
He has to try for a match with Garry Chess next!
Turkish 14-year-old Erdogmus after reaching 2700: "Now I'll try to reach 2800. That's my next goal. (...) But I need to work very hard for it." www.chess.com/news/view/er...
That makes sense. I also pay close attention when there’s some aspect of the position which 1) is key to the solution, 2) I didn’t notice, and 3) seems like it could’ve been easy to notice. That makes a good flash card.
Top players today calculate unbelievably well, but understand positions less well than previous generations imho. Part of the change in how players work and train these days. And, curiously, modern engines like thevery old fashioned opening principles of the Tarrasch school. Space and mobility.
I love how these 100-year-old games start to look more and more like modern top-flight chess (albeit without the engine-like precision)
Very glad you're sharing your articles here @leontxogarcia.bsky.social! Thank you!
Still from linked YouTube video: The Super Coach who transformed Javokhir Sindarov reveals his secrets | IM Roman Vidonyak Chessbase India's IM Sagar Shah speaking outdoors with IM Roman Vidonyak. Someone is filming by hand a second phone on a tripod is recording Vidonyak close up.
"Now I call him TNT. Do you know this song from AC/DC? You have to hear it. It's 100% Javokhir. TNT. Yes. Dynamite."
Entertaining interview from Sagar Shah with Sindarov's coach, Roman Vidonyak. His coaching method, early chess influences, and many top-tier students
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6VD...
I saw in Ben Johnson's newsletter that there's a Sagar Shah interview with Vidonyak that I haven't seen yet. Next in the playlist
My interview with Sindarov yesterday in Cyprus has been also published by @elpais_america in English: english.elpais.com/culture/2026...
Podcast Alert!
Episode 9 of Masters and Matches: Linares 1994.
Karpov's Biggest Triumph & The Touch-Move Incident.
open.spotify.com/episode/35Sy...
do you think it's an island or a rock? @anishgiri.bsky.social on the candidates tournament, javokhir sindarov, roman vidonyak and his new project, chessmonitor.com
www.newinchess.com/blog/post/ni...
You can find this at freopen.org
The highest rated opponent I've beaten on Lichess in blitz is TN-2012, whose best win is against EmirSharshenbek, who has multiple wins against GM David Howell. Howell has not played any games against Magnus Carlsen on Lichess as far as I can tell, but has surely beaten him elsewhere a time or two.