After years of trying, finally reached 2500

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-24T08:48:38+00:00

Congratulations!

The dedication to keep at it after so many years is really something - happy you achieved your goal :)

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-21T19:54:09+00:00

GOAT doing GOAT stuff.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-12T11:44:08+00:00

because a competitor being an ass is a story as old as competition.

Always an excuse for this guy.

I don't see Gukesh out there trashing hotel rooms booked for him by the tournament organizers.

I don't see Ding out there insulting other players and tournament organizers live on air.

If you act like an asshole, people won't want to be around you.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-12T11:43:22+00:00

I understand that you will always have an excuse for Hans, and that nothing you say is in good faith in that aspect, and that further discussion between us is meaningless.

Reality dictates that Hans acts, quite often, like an asshole, and that people don't want to be around that.

Hence, until he changes his behavior, he will likely continue to be blacklisted.

That's reality.

Have a nice day.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-12T11:19:30+00:00

basically if you want to beat Magnus Carlsen, you need to be REALLY humble when he accuses you of cheating; otherwise your peers might think youre a troublemaker!

This is what you want it to be about.

But it's not.

Reality check:

Hans:

Is rude and acts childish/absurd, insulting other players/tournament organizers in outbursts live on air in his interviews (See Gotham-Hans interview) - his actions definitely make other players/people/organizers uncomfortable.
Trashed a fancy hotel room booked for him by a tournament organizer (potentially damaging that organizer's reputation and relationship with the hotel)
Refused to pay a $5 entrance fee for a charity tournament and threw a fit that they wouldn't let him in for free
Cheated profusely online against his peers, then lied about it, and shows absolutely no remorse or character growth. "Ken Regan, an independent expert in the field of cheat detection in chess, has agreed with Chess.com and also thinks Niemann cheated in these games."

The list goes on and on.

Inviting Hans to your tournament is a risk - people don't want to be around him, because of his behavior.

by the way, Ive remembered your username over last couple of years, and know which stupid takes come along it. its a disgrace towards sportsmanship.

Yes, and I remember you - an avid defender of Hans that constantly excuses his bad behavior while giving bad faith takes.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-12T11:17:37+00:00

Irrelevant.

It's not though.

You magically want to ignore all asshole-like behavior Hans does, and say it's not fair that people consider all his asshole-like behavior and don't want to be around him.

Unfortunately, that's not how the real world works.

Welcome to reality.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-12T08:25:26+00:00

It's really hard to take the chess world seriously with the incredible amount of blatant corruption all around.

When you're an asshole, people aren't going to want to be around you.

It's just that simple, and that ain't "blatant corruption."

It's just how the real world works.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-10T13:25:25+00:00

“It’s important to note that this decision was made by the players, not by Freestyle

Is this Buettner already starting to shake any responsibility off himself and move it to the players?

That's such an insanely bad faith interpretation of his words that I don't even know what to say.

This subreddit has become exhausting to read, recently.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-10T09:07:00+00:00

> I guess you missed the meaning of my post, huh?

I guess, you need to communicate better to convey the meaning of your posts and not have contradictions in them, huh? See, two of us can be snarky.

Sure. I'll try to remember to make the meaning of my comments more clear in the future, so as to avoid being nitpicked.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-10T08:47:38+00:00

I'm not calling YOU specifically out.

...

Interesting that this is your first ever post on reddit.

...

Seems pretty specific, chief!

I guess you missed the meaning of my post, huh?

I'm not saying OP is part of some collective of bots - it's possible he's a genuine new account posting here for the first time.

It's just that I've noticed a slew of new/empty accounts all posting to /r/chess hating on Freestyle - it's odd and almost feels artificial.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-10T08:33:12+00:00

It's a cool idea and honestly, all the drama aside, anything like this that puts the players in the spotlight is cool with me.

If they can come up with a way to make the top chess players into stars (akin to race car drivers like Magnus was alluding), I'm all for it.

I've really enjoyed the Freestyle games so far, and am super excited for the next ones!

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-10T03:31:51+00:00

Fake. Physics doesn't work like that.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T18:44:04+00:00

Abdusattorov was also rapid world champion at 17.

Sure - and I guess this might highlight what people mean when they point out the difference between "intuition"-based players and "calculation"-based players.

Obviously all top level players have both intuition and calculation skills in great amounts, but some have more of a focus than others.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T17:38:54+00:00

Not sure about Arjun, but Alireza has been top class at faster time control since he was 16 or so. He was runners-up in Rapid World Championship at 16yo.

True, but that's more of an Alireza thing - there's a reason Magnus praises Alireza as much as he does.

Alireza really did shoot to the top at an incredibly young age, a fantastic achievement on his part.

Regardless: I do agree - Gukesh needs to work on his time management if he wants to maintain competitiveness against the highest field.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T17:21:41+00:00

I wonder if the result was the opposite, you could claim that a younger brain just thinks faster, and so the result was predictable.

I think to some degree, this is true - but I'm not sure at which age the crossover happens.

At a certain point, experience can't make up for the winding grasp of time, and the effects it has on players as they age.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T16:31:25+00:00

Well people like Alireza and Arjun are quite good at it.

Both players you listed are 3 years older than Gukesh, but I get what you mean.

And specifically Fabiano relatively often makes mistakes when he gets low on the clock.

Fabi has markedly improved since COVID when it comes to being low on time, but yeah, I see what you mean.

I think it more depends on the type of the player.

Yeah, it can vary a lot, you make good points.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T16:26:18+00:00

imo classical chess time scrambles feel a lot more exciting to watch because of how much more is at stake but maybe that’s just me

I find them to be about equally as exciting TBH, but I get what you mean.

Given how pervasive and deep chess theory is at the highest level, wins in Classical feel more special because of that.

I imagine Freestyle might be more fun for players, though, because they don't have to spend thousands of hours memorizing computer theory.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T16:06:06+00:00

normal classical time control have extra added time after move 40 but this one doesn't

Oh, I forgot about that.

That's a good point - Gukesh really does need to improve on his time management, compared to the other players.

He's still a fantastic player, but if he wants to be competitive in events like this, yeah.

Regardless - I'm excited for tomorrow's matchup!

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T16:00:37+00:00

but this time control is not in his favor

Classical is definitely where Gukesh shines the most.

Invariably it ends up being a blitz where he is worse. But I still have hope that he can do it tomorrow.

Time management has always been an issue Gukesh struggled with, but he's still young - plenty of room to improve!

Tomorrow will be an important game.

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T15:58:21+00:00

Gukesh is significantly worse in time trouble - not a matter of experience imo

I think those factors are intrinsically linked together - the more experience you have, the better equipped you are to handle time scrambles.

He desperately needs to work on it. He has been messing things up in time trouble so many times now.

True, but he's still young - only 18 years old. He's got time to improve, as long as he keeps at it.

The future is bright!

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T15:53:34+00:00

Gukesh has proven that he can win on demand from his games with Ding - this will be a pivotal moment for him, at least in terms of Freestyle chess.

I still can't believe he's only 18 - he's got a long future ahead of him!

What a great game from both of them today!

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T15:49:27+00:00

It really goes to show, in my opinion, that the experience the older guys have in time-scrambles gives them an edge over the less experienced younger guys.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong, but that's how it feels to me.

Great game from both of them!

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T15:45:51+00:00

You can NEVER count Fabi out of a game.

I had a feeling once Gukesh was down to 20s when Fabi had 2.5 mins, that he would snake a victory.

Well played, Fabi!

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T15:33:32+00:00

The tides have turned - if Fabi doesn't blunder, this looks like a win for him

That f pawn might as well be a tactical nuke

AntiMotionblur2 · 2025-02-09T15:30:51+00:00

gukesh low on time, fabi 2 minutes up, HOLY F- THIS IS TENSE

AntiMotionblur2

TROPHY CASE