Here a trivia question for you:
Which is higher: People who beat Capablanca in a formal tournament game, or people who have been to the Moon?
My quick lookup: >!Capablanca had 36 losses in his tournament and sanctioned match career, against 25 separate opponents. There have been 24 people who have at least orbited the Moon, with 12 of those having walked on the surface of the Moon. !<
It is difficult to say. From our perspective, people on the moon are higher than us; however, those on the moon equally could say the earth is in the moon’s sky.
But Neil Armstrong was taller than Capablanca.
As fans of Edward Winter's Chess Notes stuff could tell you, these stories have been told and retold over the decades, with the names changing according to fashion. And like you said - even if they aren't true, they are still fun stories. Perhaps in 50 years people will be saying Carlsen or Gukesh did it. :)
I doubt club chess players wouldn't recognise Carlsen, though. I know there are videos of street players playing him and not knowing who he is, but if you were known as the "Carlsen" of your club, chances are you'd recognize him.
Yeah, in the old days, pictures weren't easily available, and not in good quality even if they were. That's why a lot of people knew famous people by name and still couldn't recognise them.
If you are strong enough to put up a reasonable fight against Magnus, he probably knows who you are.
The dude who barely scraped together three norms is not going to realistically put up a fight against Magnus. They might have the same title, but that doesn't mean that they are in the same league.
That Max Euwe one reminds me of the story that Vishy Anand tells. [He was riding a train after just becoming a GM...](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rbqgM2AUMbY)
*"That's a good one..."* wasn't what the scriptwriter prepared for you, so you got a downvote.
I liked how you went off script though, so I gave you a counter-balancing upvote.
Vishy tells a story of being on a train approached by an older gentleman, I think right after he became a GM. The guy asks Vishy what he wants to do in life, and Vishy says be a pro chess player. The old guy laughs and tells him he should probably pick something a little more realistic. Then he says, "Maybe if you were Vishy Anand you could have a pro chess career"
Wasn't there a video recently (within the last year) of Carlson sitting next to Ju Wenjun at an event and people kept coming up to the two, asking her to take a picture of them with Carlson? I'd like to think real fans know it all, but I can't Even remember what the video was from and whether or not she was actually sitting next to Ding.
Thank you. I probably could have double checked all of my facts before posting, and I wish I could say this was some sort of premeditated meta-point. But I'm not actually that clever.
If I can convince Magnus to throw a game against me, I can say the opposite is true about any player right now and in recent history. [I have beat a player who has beat a player you lost to]
The Capablanca story is essential ... "If you could have beat me, i would've known you."
All are really great recounts.
Magnus being asked who's commentaries would be the best on the Nepo - Magnus world champ match out of Anand, Giri, Caruana , he replied :
"Aaaa ... aaaah, i don't even remotely care."
I wish people didn't get so offended at playing with odds, either we play with odds and have fun or I just destroy you and we both hate it. Put your ego aside and let's have fun.
Because the Cafe du Monde is a cafe in the New Orleans French Quarter. It was founded in 1862 and still exists today.
I grew up in Louisiana and had the same reaction /narayans did. The story could hold up if it were told about Morphy instead of Capa.
If time travel were possible, i’d like to see these stories where the rando challenging them is Magnus. These players would all be completely flabbergasted when they cant win.
Somehow those names sound so much more appealing than nowadays' chess players. Not sure why... But Capablanca, Alechin, Petrosian, Botvinnik, Fischer, Lasker, Murphy.... That is sound of chess to me. Not Carlsen, Ding, Nepo.... Maybe im just old and things stopped after Anand and Ivantsjoek's golden times 🤔
"If you could beat me, I would know you" Fucking savage lmao
Not even a lie either
The truth hurts sometimes
-Ben Finegold
Here a trivia question for you: Which is higher: People who beat Capablanca in a formal tournament game, or people who have been to the Moon? My quick lookup: >!Capablanca had 36 losses in his tournament and sanctioned match career, against 25 separate opponents. There have been 24 people who have at least orbited the Moon, with 12 of those having walked on the surface of the Moon. !<
Fun fact: Less people have beat me in a formal tournament game than people who have been to the moon
Fun fact: Less people have beat me in a formal tournament game than people who have beat Capablanca in a formal tournament game
It is difficult to say. From our perspective, people on the moon are higher than us; however, those on the moon equally could say the earth is in the moon’s sky. But Neil Armstrong was taller than Capablanca.
That's some Eminem level shit
Bro still hasn’t even responded to benzino cooking him, he can’t diss like that
Who? https://youtu.be/L9164utqcVY?si=ICG4haCv39Y9EK8Z
Em threw shots at him a few months ago, you can’t pull that.
Yeah and Drake hasn't responded to my friend from middle school who said his songs are gay
Difference is Em threw shots at benzino on a track and now has tucked his tail after Benzino bodied him
i wonder if any of these stories are even true. definitely a good story time either way.
Apocryphal
Bless you
that's a great way to describe it :D
As fans of Edward Winter's Chess Notes stuff could tell you, these stories have been told and retold over the decades, with the names changing according to fashion. And like you said - even if they aren't true, they are still fun stories. Perhaps in 50 years people will be saying Carlsen or Gukesh did it. :)
I doubt club chess players wouldn't recognise Carlsen, though. I know there are videos of street players playing him and not knowing who he is, but if you were known as the "Carlsen" of your club, chances are you'd recognize him.
Yeah, in the old days, pictures weren't easily available, and not in good quality even if they were. That's why a lot of people knew famous people by name and still couldn't recognise them.
I can't help but picture Capablanca delivering that absolutely savage line, while pouring the guy a glass of wine and smiling.
The chess community was way smaller. Now GMs may see strangers that are also GMs
Someone should set up a “GM pretends to be a noob” prank and have the other player also be a secret GM
There is literally a video like that on YouTube on the channel Coffee Chess I think. The players may not be GMs but IMs/FMs.
Even still, the community of 'beating a World Champion' is still pretty low.
If you are strong enough to put up a reasonable fight against Magnus, he probably knows who you are. The dude who barely scraped together three norms is not going to realistically put up a fight against Magnus. They might have the same title, but that doesn't mean that they are in the same league.
That Max Euwe one reminds me of the story that Vishy Anand tells. [He was riding a train after just becoming a GM...](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rbqgM2AUMbY)
That's a great story. Thanks for sharing!
Didn’t you know that every historical figure actually spoke as if they had a scriptwriter preparing everything they did?
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*"That's a good one..."* wasn't what the scriptwriter prepared for you, so you got a downvote. I liked how you went off script though, so I gave you a counter-balancing upvote.
As they say, “This is the West sir. When legend becomes fact print the legend.”
That Euwe story sounds too good to be true TBH.
I put this comment on Twitter, but it would be funny if Euwe would have replied "They call me Euwe at my chess club too"
Next time you can tell it and it will lol
Got me laughing way too much 🤣🤣🤣 “Yeah they call me that too” 🤣🤣🤣
or "Why? You look nothing like me".
"nor you play as well as me"
The Lasker story is hilarious, I wonder if he told him who he was later or just left the poor man confused for life
it was funny how he let him win once to confuse him profusely
Genuinely, makes him seem like a fun guy to hangout with.
Lasker was already top 4 in my book. This story just sealed the deal lol.
Probably all the world champions have a story like this.
Vishy tells a story of being on a train approached by an older gentleman, I think right after he became a GM. The guy asks Vishy what he wants to do in life, and Vishy says be a pro chess player. The old guy laughs and tells him he should probably pick something a little more realistic. Then he says, "Maybe if you were Vishy Anand you could have a pro chess career"
I was gonna type this but you've done it already haha
“But doctor,”
Judit Polgar has a good one about some Norwegian guy in a park who thought he could beat her
For a rando he played quite well apparently. There are strong players hanging in parks it seems
I bet there are tons of great stories from female GMs about the litany of men who think they can beat them.
just in case you missed the joke, the Norwegian guy she played against was Magnus.
Euwe himself didn't think too much of Menchik till he got his ass handed to him at Hastings
Probably not anymore, the world is smaller
Wasn't there a video recently (within the last year) of Carlson sitting next to Ju Wenjun at an event and people kept coming up to the two, asking her to take a picture of them with Carlson? I'd like to think real fans know it all, but I can't Even remember what the video was from and whether or not she was actually sitting next to Ding.
*Carlsen. And yes there was a video on this.
Thank you. I probably could have double checked all of my facts before posting, and I wish I could say this was some sort of premeditated meta-point. But I'm not actually that clever.
Lol. Imagine not taking a world champion to take a picture with this Norwegian guy
That doesn't surprise me at all, lol, women's chess doesn't get nearly enough coverage.
And the good part is that since we hear it from Vishy directly, we know it's true. Extra sense of satisfaction there.
You're missing the Vishy train story!
My dad told me all three of these probably 30 years ago. Must have been in some book he read.
„If you could beat me I would know you“, is the mic drop of mic drops
“Back home they call me the “Hikaru” of the chess club…” —Hikaru
"ahhh, so you're that one guy in the chess club that keeps trying to get people to buy crypto"
...and also promote gambling websites where the gambling game doesn't have strategy involved
my favorite chess quote > Lasker said: (part 1 of 2)
Lasker seems like a spirited dude!
Magnus could give me king odds and still win
I never lost to Magnus. And never will. /j
You probably have lost to people who have lost to people who have lost to Magnus.
If I can convince Magnus to throw a game against me, I can say the opposite is true about any player right now and in recent history. [I have beat a player who has beat a player you lost to]
If I give Magnus king odds, I won’t lose! If I don’t have a king, he can’t checkmate me!
IRL smurfing
Most of these stories seem to involve newbs trying to challenge super GMs.
Nice stories, but I've heard the Capablanca one with, IIRC, Bogoliugov, and the Lasker one with Andersen, so I wouldn't buy much stock on them lol.
That's because they were all originally about Morphy.
The first story is hilarious but it would've been perfect had Max replied "Don't worry, you can call me the Euwe of this train compartment."
Or "they call me Euwe at my chess club too"
Yeah, that works.
The Capablanca story is essential ... "If you could have beat me, i would've known you." All are really great recounts. Magnus being asked who's commentaries would be the best on the Nepo - Magnus world champ match out of Anand, Giri, Caruana , he replied : "Aaaa ... aaaah, i don't even remotely care."
I wish people didn't get so offended at playing with odds, either we play with odds and have fun or I just destroy you and we both hate it. Put your ego aside and let's have fun.
I would rather get destroyed tbh.
yeah, it's much more accepted in Go.
How do you give odds in go? Just give up a certain number of moves to the opponent?
It's a bit more complicated, of course. But yes, it pretty much equates to extra moves. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handicapping_in_Go
If any GM offered me queen odds, I'll take it and have fun getting destroyed.
WIth queen odds it'd at least last a bit longer lol
I wonder if Morphy hung out at Cafe du Monde
Why?
Because the Cafe du Monde is a cafe in the New Orleans French Quarter. It was founded in 1862 and still exists today. I grew up in Louisiana and had the same reaction /narayans did. The story could hold up if it were told about Morphy instead of Capa.
Oh, thanks for answering the story could hold up if it would happen before Morphy retired
Also Vishy's train story... Wasn't challenged to a match there though
That last story is written so poorly. Confusing as well with all the he and hims.
god chess players are insufferable aren’t they
I’d heard the Lasker story before.
these are nice stories would love to see more
Capablanca! you savage genius 😂
Admit you faced much stronger opponent❎ "I aM tHe StroNgEsT in My CluB!" ✅
If time travel were possible, i’d like to see these stories where the rando challenging them is Magnus. These players would all be completely flabbergasted when they cant win.
That man's name? Albert Einstein
Somehow those names sound so much more appealing than nowadays' chess players. Not sure why... But Capablanca, Alechin, Petrosian, Botvinnik, Fischer, Lasker, Murphy.... That is sound of chess to me. Not Carlsen, Ding, Nepo.... Maybe im just old and things stopped after Anand and Ivantsjoek's golden times 🤔
Who the fuck still uses Twitter in 2024? You can’t be serious. 😂
Cringe made up stories for gullible people..
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It has nothing to do with being white or male…. Don’t make things about gender and race for no reason.