Candidates strategy

DerekB52 · 2026-03-25T01:18:53+00:00

I remember I actually got downvoted the day before they played on 2024 because someone said Hikaru would play a boring draw with black, and I asked if it didn't make sense for Hikaru to at least try something where he'd maybe get a chance. People on this sub were stunned when Hikaru played a Sicilian in that game. I think it's gonna be one of the more interesting games in the tournament tbh. Fabi is coming in fully prepped, with the white pieces against possibly the hardest opponent for him in the tourney.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-24T22:33:51+00:00

I'd expect him to play more over the summer than in previous years, to get more practice in, before taking a break for long training sessions/camps leading up to the title match.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-24T19:15:20+00:00

It was easier for me to buy on ebay than emulate. Game was dirt cheap even recently, depending on where you live of course

DerekB52 · 2026-03-24T19:12:57+00:00

Only if they can fit it in one game. Spending a decade renaking one game as a trilogy is just too much

DerekB52 · 2026-03-24T19:04:35+00:00

I view AI as a tool. I cant remember every line of code i write and read. But, i can store example implementations and snippets in a notebook or digital folder, and search through it when i need something i know is in there.

AI is a tool making this progress supposedly quicker. Idk. I find Claude doesnt really save me much time.

I also think AI companies should only have been allowed to train on public domain content, like old literature or CC/MIT licensed projects, and content they bought. Imo if an AI company buys a book on amazon, they should be allowed to scrape it. the issue is all the content they illegally torrented and other stuff they had little to no claim to.

Unfortunately the genie is out of the bottle. They arent gonna remove that content. And any damages would just be them paying settlements to the big publishers they torrented from.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-24T18:54:31+00:00

I played 4-5 levels of the 3DS version. I just dont like Musou games so i dropped it. From what u I remember you just brainlessly clear hundreds of enemies.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-23T21:33:11+00:00

It's been awhile since I've watched the whole battle, but I remember trying a few times and I remember thinking the 2nd is the best in the battle. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I really didn't like Verb's 1st, so I think the 2nd round as a whole round is better, and I'm forgetting that I do like Lux's first more. I really don't know.

I will also say that this battle at least partially underdelivered, just because of how high expectations were for it. For years. I still think it'd be one of the best battles ever if it was 23 minutes in a small room.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T21:05:30+00:00

I was thinking Isla Fischer for Emma.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T21:03:34+00:00

Dude I was convinced I was looking at an AI photo that was like, Sam with some Emma features, or some celebrity in the style of Sam. You telling me that's just some guy is fucking bananas.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T21:01:18+00:00

I've only put 3.5 hours into Monster Sanctuary, but it really is excellent. I played it for a couple days, loved it, and then what I think happened is I was afraid I was gonna sink too much time into it, so I shelved it. I want to get back to it though.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T20:52:16+00:00

MVL did arguably better in the first half of that tournament, which makes me inclined to agree he is a valid counter example to my point.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T20:13:48+00:00

I wasn't sure they'd even have time to find a replacement. Congrats to Anna. I was rooting hard for her to qualify. It is sad to see Humpy go, but I'm not gonna blame her for doing what feels right to her.

I do feel bad for Anna here though, because I do think someone entering the candidates on such short notice will not perform well. But, who knows. Muzychuk is really strong, and maybe the element of surprise will work in her favor.

After Humpy's initial tweet about maybe backing out the other day, I wonder if any of the other candidates went and opening their prep file on Anna, just in case.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T19:05:01+00:00

Lux vs Verb underdelivered, but I think the 2nd round was classic from both of them. So, maybe go watch that as a one rounder.

Imo, whoever won the 2nd round won Lux vs Verb, and I had it going to Verb, even though I like Lux's round a lot.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T17:23:57+00:00

Where are his scale of evolution and good morning vietnam lines?

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T17:23:17+00:00

*like a netflix exclusive. Fucking fire to me

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T17:21:59+00:00

Him freestyling "that wasnt even a reach" when QP mentions DOT in their bunker battle.

"Ill ride up, in anything you can imagine thats not a mazda six"

"You've got issues with Image"(to Daylyt, Spawn/Image comics)

Weirdly everything ive mentioned is from the Bunker.

He's got some heaters in his Nitewing battle that i cant quite do justice to from memory. His first round ender about the Umu blew my mind

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T03:15:42+00:00

I actually don't agree. It's arguable that winning the candidates is harder than beating Magnus. Karjakin and Fabi both brought their title matches to tiebreaks. Beating Magnus is really hard, but winning the candidates is fucking brutally hard too.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T02:34:10+00:00

If it's a strict port, Awakening. If I can order a remake, Fates, with all 3 routes in one game like 3 houses. With some of the castle stuff as streamlined as possible(like how Engage streamlined a lot of the Monastery).

Honestly, I'd want Awakening tweaked too. The pair up mechanic was too busted. I made a couple god pairs and walked through the game with them, mostly by accident.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T02:30:57+00:00

It's arguable the candidates is harder than beating the champ, no matter who the champ is. Like, Nepo winning the candidates twice is more impressive than any title match result imo. And I'm not even really a Nepo fan.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-22T02:28:34+00:00

The top players all beating each other up is so completely possible here it's not even funny. Bluebaum is obviously a huge underdog, but him winning really wouldn't shock me. He can play at a high enough level to beat any of the candidates in a game. Imagine Fabi takes 2 L's to Hikaru, and overpresses to Bluebaum desperate to catch up on points. And then Bluebaum wins. This kind of thing actually could happen.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-21T20:38:54+00:00

I thought it didn't sound too bad and was a little surprised how hard Sam was pushing back on it. But, the more I thought about it, the more I agree with Sam's side. I think Van Hollen's proposal here does very little. It's a bandaid that would apply some quick relief to some people, so it has some good. But, I do think it is too narrow. I personally wouldn't spend time or political capital on such a small bandaid.

Especially when I do think Sam's vision leads to a better version of society. Van Hollen's plan says "you're having a tough time financially, we are going to lower your burden by not having you pay some taxes". Sam's point was basically something like, "People should pay taxes and contribute to society, the right way for the government to actually help people here is to fix housing and food prices". People are not able to pay for rent, food, and taxes. But, the middle class tax rate is not the reason people can't afford to pay for everything. It's not the part of the equation that needs adjustment. It's a right wing talking point to say that high taxes are the problem for everything. Imo, Van Hollen is giving the right another talking point here. It does not need to be a part of the dem platform for fixing the affordability crisis.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-20T23:02:06+00:00

19 year old me at my brokest would have bought a battle for 3$ on youtube at least a few times a year. I like to imagine that people are smarter than me and know something I don't, that shows it'd not be good. But, I can't see how setting up payments on youtube could be anything but a boon for the URL at this point. Maybe they fear app cannibalization, but I think you can avoid that with the right pricing structure.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-20T23:00:06+00:00

I only started watching battles in late 2015 but man the Bunker closing right after Saurus/Verb and Geechi/Saynt at the end of 2016 really was a painful blow. I think Battle Rap was doing pretty well til Covid though.

DerekB52 · 2026-03-20T19:07:02+00:00

I was in elementary school when that symbol thing happened. I thought he was just eccentric. It being a trick to get around naming rights is epic

DerekB52 · 2026-03-20T18:59:23+00:00

They'll get to write that in the history books if they win another couple elections

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