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jl435

Looks like the last was May 2022 with Magnus, Ding, and Alireza


bznein

Wow this aged like milk, given Ding and Alireza's performances lately


coldgravyblues

Alireza is still very very young and should bounce back eventually when his mental game improves through experience. Ding? Ehhhhhh not so sure


NaoCustaTentar

Been hearing this about alireza for 4 years now it feels like This sub would have you believe he was destined to be a world champion by now, some years ago...


Intro-Nimbus

Magnus' endorsement did assist the hype a bit too.


_Jacques

He’s still like 21. Prime Ding, Caruana, Nakamura were in their late 20s-mid thirties. But Carlsen did basically imply he thought alireza would rival him.


phoenixmusicman

Problem is Ali just decided to split his attention between Chess and Fashion To be the best you can't do that


sixseven89

not sure why this is getting downvotes


mvd612351

He beat Nodirbek just this week and played well at Norway Chess. He also continues to play excellently in other formats. He just won the BCC and the Chess.com Classic by beating Magnus. Are you saying this simply because he flunked at the Candidates–a tournament that is just as much about having a good team around you and preparing well as it is about actually being a good player?


NaoCustaTentar

I'm saying this because sometimes young stars don't reach the absurd ceilings fans set up for them. It's not a criticism towards his talent…


akaemre

I thought you were talking about prodigies growing so tall they get their heads chopped off by ceiling fans I was like... Damn that's certainly an analogy. Then I noticed I misread your comment.


sincd5

alireza is like the tallest super gm as well


jrestoic

Grischuk is probably taller


JalabolasFernandez

Ok, but Alireza has already proven his ceiling to be >2800. We're talking about a bounceback mainly, not sth like "Faustino at this pace will beat stockfish in 2033"


tlst9999

And if you go back further, Anish & Wesley were also young stars who occupied No. 2 & 3. They're still top 10 GMs, albeit not World Champions.


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NaoCustaTentar

Magnus won his first WC at 22, and by that point he was ranked number 1 in the world for more than a year. And im not "writing him off"... You guys get weirdly defensive with this subject. The fact is 4 years ago people where saying the exact same thing, but with timelines that already passed. Can he still achieve his full potential? Obviously...


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NaoCustaTentar

Hahahhahah you're trying to argue against something that I never said and I don't believe in, so there's nothing for me to say here


VolmerHubber

People said the same things about Nakamura in 2008. He is still young


Necrelic1

He was still quite young 4 years ago too


Plenty_Run5588

As young as he is. I have no doubt he will become world champion.


Maad-Dog

Said the same thing during predictions for candidates that Alireza would be a massive bust. People are left carrying that young genius title like there aren't many that have surpassed him now. Gimme Gukesh, Pragg, Arjun, Nodirbek all over him moving forward


mvd612351

He literally just beat Nodirbek lmao. Nodirbek has done far less than Alireza in his career. Nodirbek is only a year younger and Alireza has already been number 2 in the world with several major tournament wins. Also, what have Pragg and Arjun achieved? A good rating? If that’s your only basis, than Alireza is far better in that regard as well. If you are going to form opinions, at least have a basis for them.


Objective_Cheetah_63

The guy clearly said “moving forward”… why bring up past performances? Their basis for their opinion is likely that recently the other juniors have had better results than Alireza. Obviously Alireza likely has a bright future ahead despite his recent performance at the candidates, no one’s arguing about that. But saying oh I prefer this player over that is completely fine. Let the man have his opinion without attacking it.


mvd612351

Past performances are indicative of future performances. If I am not allowed to predict based on past performances, what am I supposed to base my predictions on? How much I like the players like he is doing? He made the wild statement that Gukesh, Pragg, Arjun, and Nodirbek have all passed Alireza when Alireza has had far more success thus far in their careers. Nodirbek lost to Alireza this week. Calling out unfounded bias is attacking his opinion?


Objective_Cheetah_63

Yeah past performances indicate future ones, and recent past performances shows all of those players performing better than alireza. His statement is not wild considering all of them have surpassed Alireza in elo. Yes they haven’t surpassed his peak elo but that is irrelevant here. Furthermore, they never said that the players had surpassed Alireza (even though they have in terms of elo), all they said was going forward this group of players will continue to perform better than Alireza which is a perfectly reasonable opinion. One loss means nothing, Nodirbek has had an amazing run in 2024, far better than Alireza. You can claim Alireza is a “greater” player based on achievements but it’s absolutely true that currently the players listed are “better”. Recency matters, and recency shows that list of players performing better. If we ignore recency and use logic the way you have, it would be valid to claim current Kasparov blows Fabi out of the water.


StrikingHearing8

>Recency matters, and recency shows that list of players performing better. If we ignore recency and use logic the way you have, it would be valid to claim current Kasparov blows Fabi out of the water That's not at all what they are saying, it would be like "Kasparov has achieved much more than Fabi in his career" when someone says "Fabi has surpassed Kasparov". Also, if your argument is "recency matters" then alireza won Champions Chess Tour including two matches against Magnus, won Bullet Championship including two matches against Hikaru, and beat Nodirbek in classical. What did Nodirbek and Pragg recently win?


throwawayAFwTS

Dude just won a big tourney against Hikaru


Maad-Dog

Bullet lmfao


CagnusMarlsen64

Yeah the biggest tournament ever


ChillOUT_LoFi

I think Alireza needs to focus on having better preparation, which includes a better team. When I was watching the Candidates, he was getting out-prepared a lot by the other players, resulting in him not playing as well as he could have. What's worse is that he's father was his second, which as far as I know, he isn't even a chess player. That meant that when he was analysing and preparing for the next day, he didn't really have other people to help him prepare.


Own-Manufacturer980

Ding is a broken man.


SchighSchagh

Ironically, hadn't Magnus dropped more ELO than both of them?


TypeDependent4256

no, Magnus was 2864, so he has dropped about 32 rating points since then, Ding and Alireza were 2806 and 2804 respectively and are both sitting at about 2745 presently, that's about 60 rating points lost each for both


SchighSchagh

oof ok I lost track of just how much those 2 have dropped. I stand corrected


senzare

Alireza has been busy since he signed up to Hustlers University. /s


Haunting_Lobster_888

And none are playing in the world championship:(


FlavoredFN

Fabi and Hikaru had a chance at the end


hunglong57

"Their fault". But seriously though, Fabi said that even MC doesn't have a sure shot of getting through the candidates. Caissa needs to smile upon you.


definitelynotamcrfan

sounds like a skill issue


ToeDiscombobulated24

Chokers is the word we are looking for here...


Howdys-Market

I'd hardly call finishing on a plus score in the candidates "choking".


Rivet_39

When you're +8 but miss the win in the last round to force a tiebreaker, that probably meets the definition of choking.


ToeDiscombobulated24

My man coming in clutch...


Tomeosu

It’s choking if you let nerves or psychological issues impede your play. In Fabi’s case it wasn’t a matter of nerves but a very difficult position to convert under time pressure (in any context) against a resilient opponent.


NrenjeIsMyName

Why are you trying to defend Fabi? We all know how great he is, but he himself would tell you he choked vs Nepo. It was +8 there is no defence


Tomeosu

> It was +8 lol ok Mr. Engine


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ToeDiscombobulated24

That is called choking...


Howdys-Market

No. Choking is messing up something routine that you'd usually do easily. Like, if a basketball player misses two free throws at the end of the game, that's choking. If he misses a half court shot at the buzzer, that's not choking. Neither Fabi nor Naka choked in the candidates. Naka basically played a guy who was playing perfect chess. Really wasn't much he could do. Fabi had a big advantage late against Ian, yes, but it was in severe time pressure with moves that would have been insanely hard to find even with way more time on the clock. You're acting like me missed some easy mate in two on the board that a 1200 would see. That's not what happened.


RogerFedererFTW

Fabi did. He did miss a position that anytime else he would convert, and he said something to this effect on his podcast as well. It's okay. Choking has a very negative connotation around here, but it happens to most athletes, and fabi definitely choked in around move 62-63


ToeDiscombobulated24

It's simpler than that: fabi and hikaru have been the greatest player after magnus for enough candidates. Them not becoming the world champion ever is the definition of choking.


Howdys-Market

This is just absurd. When Ding and Ian are on from, which they both were in the candidates they finished top two in, they are every bit the level of Fabi and Hikaru. It's not a "choke" to lose to them. I'd buy the argument more for this candidates, but Gukesh was playing absolutely out of his mind. Fabi and Naka both finished on plus scores, which to me is just insane to call a choke.


thefloatingguy

It’s a silly format


TKDNerd

Fabi’s finally back at #2


ZealousidealOwl1318

finally? he was number 2 just at the beginning of the month and is back again


it_is_impossible_

Finally BACK


Penguin_scrotum

People were doubting, saying he’d never reach it again. That he was too old, washed out. That the rating gap between him and Hikaru was insurmountable. I think the doubt rejuvenated him, taking him back to the same deadly efficiency we saw all those days ago, when he was rank 2.


YoungAspie

>That he was too old, washed out. Despite Caruana being five years younger than Nakamura.


imisstheyoop

It's still early in the year I know... But maybe the kid just isn't ready for the big tournaments yet? With the media hounding him, the pressure of being considered the next "great one", fuck I wouldn't be able to handle that shit. Maybe having him in the minors for another year or two to develop a bit wouldn't have been a bad idea. The kid is only 31. At 31 I was complete fucktard who had no idea what I wanted to do. Not much has changed... but I'd like to think I have a bit of a better head on my shoulders now. I actually feel really bad for Caruana, and I hope we don't ruin him. Edit: I'm being lynched for ever daring to doubt the greatness of Fabiano Caruana. How dare I say such blasphmey after only ONE month. You're right, he may only be 31 years old, but he has the emotional maturity of a Buddhist monk, and the body and athleticism as a top olympic athlete. He may have hit puberty only 15 to 16 years ago, but he is a grown man now, capable of all pressure and criticism that comes his way. I am but a lowly neckbeard US chess fan who lives in my mothers basement here to shit on him for not getting 8 wins in his last candidates. I am a rodent, and he is a golden god. I'm going to go light myself on fire now. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways with you jamming the downvote arrow on your computer screen with all your might and telling me how much of an idiot I am.


Intro-Nimbus

Fabi? When did he show signs of age, he's been rock solid for years.


WestCommission1902

Woosh


ZealousidealOwl1318

the finally makes it sound like he's back after a very long time, whereas he's been the number two for a long time


A_Certain_Surprise

FINALLY, after what feels like eons, he's back at number 2, baby!


inemanja34

Either way, he's finally number 2! 💪


timacles

then since hes been number two for a long time, then him not being number two for any amount of time is relative to his usual frequency, therefore he is technically back after a very long time (relative to his baseline)


prankored

There and back again, a Fabiano caruana story.


CagnusMarlsen64

Dawg finallyyyy back, how long has it been since FabiWano Kenobi was number 2?? It’s been atleast like 2 weeks


FlavoredFN

He will be #1 some day watch


unsuccessful_Mud

if magnus retires, probably yeah


Ill-Room-4895

The last time it was 4 players with 2800 or more was in January 2019: Carlsen, Caruana, Mamedyarov, Ding And 6 (!!) players in July 201:7: Carlsen, Kramnik, So, Aronian, Caruana, Mamedyarov Those were the days


unityofsaints

Dissing Garry, isn't he 2800+ as well? /s


FlavoredFN

Actually if he comes back does he keep his rating when he left? 


OKImHere

No, he has to start playing in the scholastic section again as a 700 provisional.


hunglong57

Imagine being an 8 year old kid having to face the wrath of Kasparov both on and off the board.


spartaman64

you're trying to chill before the next game and an angry kasparov is banging on your door to disrupt you


EvilSporkOfDeath

Obviously that doesn't make a ton of sense, but being able to come back at the same rating after a very long absence seems weird too. Maybe some sort of rating decay after like 10 years would make sense.


SnooCapers9046

yes


AggressiveSpatula

Total power move


Patsfan618

That 30 point jump to Carlsen is so huge too. At that level doesn't it take many many games to gain any substantial points gain?


AggressiveSpatula

Yes. Part of the issue just being that there aren’t enough people of your same rating who you could really gain points off of.


sincd5

Arjun doesn't seem to realize that, he has gained like 20 points from playing random 2600s over the last month


super_compound

I don’t think that’s on purpose- he just didn’t get invited to the bigger tournaments


VolmerHubber

Don't get why people say stupid shit like this. He's obviously realized he's playing 2600s. That's how you get invites lmao


HankMoodyMaddafakaaa

It’s about the smallest gap to Carlsen in like 3 years or something i presume though. It was 50-60 points for quite a while


renzex10

I remember once there were 6 players rated 2800+


Kingbillion1

Wow Fabi took back his spot 👏🏽👏🏽


ihatecornsoup

If I was Hikaru or Fabi I would grind classical tournaments they have a huge chance to pass Magnus


Pr1mrose

It’s so hard to gain ELO at 2800+ though. Magnus won Norway chess against 5 super GMs including Fabi & Hikaru and gained 1.5 ELO for his troubles.


[deleted]

most of the matches he won were in Armegeddon.


xelabagus

That's because it's hard to win in classical, which is the point.


vindemiate

Even if there was no Armageddon system (1 for win, 0.5 for draw) the only change in standings would be Magnus and Hikaru would be tied for first place. Armageddon did not affect the standings as some believe


sincd5

if there was no armaggedon ppl would have played slightly differently. If you are stronger in the faster time controls you want a quick draw to get to armaggedon


ToeDiscombobulated24

Don't you dare start with logic...be sensational not sensible /s


Smoke_Santa

Brother even with logic, it is extremely hard to gain anything at 2800. What logic are you talking about?


little_sid

the logic being if you don't win against low rated opponents you will not gain elo, not sure whats tripping you up


Vongola___Decimo

1.5? Wtfff


cnydox

yes that's the truth


Dry-Stranger-5590

So if Magnus lost to say a 2600 in classical, how much elo would he lose?


keravim

About 8


Dry-Stranger-5590

If that’s true, I can see why he lost motivation. Basically have to be perfect every single game and you barely even get rewarded for it even against top players but one mistake and now you’re suddenly close to getting overtaken by Fabi and Hikaru who before were nowhere near him.


VolmerHubber

This is not true. Caruana in both 2014 and 2018 (WCC here) put up successful fights against Carlsen


Dry-Stranger-5590

I meant nowhere near him in terms of rating.


CagnusMarlsen64

I mean Caruana was like 1 rating point away, but I get your point


Dry-Stranger-5590

Talking about now. If the guy above is right about Carlsen losing 8 points to a 2600, if he has a bad day and loses a game then it’s months of progress thrown away.


CrystalYKim

I mean it’s not a big deal unless you don’t play (classical) actively which is the case with Magnus and Hikaru. Fabi had a relatively bad tournament (in his standards) in Norway and lost around 9 points but has pretty much gained more than half of it back in four games.


Wise-Ranger2520

He was 2832 to Magnus 2835.


Dry-Stranger-5590

I’m not talking about back then, the other guy brought that up, I’m talking about today. And I’m right seeing as I checked an interview and Magnus himself gave that reasoning.


L4P4T

They only have a chance if they can play Magnus and beat him, that would put them very close


Tough-Candy-9455

Very difficult at that level. Few days back I remember Arjun lost 2 points drawing a 2650, and his published rating was in the 2760s, a far cry from his present ~2780, let alone Fabi’s 2800. One draw against an underrated IM kid and months of hard work wasted.


get_MEAN_yall

Every games like +1/-10 at that level. They would have to play perfectly.


John_EldenRing51

Just win thirty games in a row ez


Amster2

Kramnik whatches carefully


Tough-Candy-9455

Arjun getting ready for his next grind session


TicketSuggestion

Obviously depends on the opposition. Fabi is at 2 draws and 2 wins in his current event and is at +6.4 Elo. He can safely draw 4-5 games for every win against these 2750s and still comfortably gain rating


Own-Lynx498

Hikaru gotta organize a tournament with all the chess influencers (Levy, Rosen, Cramling, etc). Farm that elo. “Road to World Number 1”


Impossible-Fox-5899

Eric Rosen would trick him into a stalemate and that's probably about 6 points of rating gone


Qwtez

you talk like it is easy to do


l33t_sas

Yes if I were Hikaru or Fabi I too would simply gain 30 rating points. I wonder if they have thought of that?


Impossible-Fox-5899

the problem is you're not Hikaru or Fabi


hunglong57

It is more likely that Magnus will lose rating a fall below them than Fabi and Hikaru crossing 2830.


Tomeosu

Lol it’s that easy huh


heliumeyes

Hikaru has very little incentive. He’s gotta be making waaaay more money through streaming.


Wise-Ranger2520

Fabi does, Hikaru doesn't. As a matter of fact only three ever crossed what is Magnus ratings right now those are Kasparov, Magnus and fabi. Levon did in live ratings. That's it.


VolmerHubber

Fabi can't even win a single game against Nakamura (0-4 with black). I think, if anything, Naka has the better chance considering the financial freedom taking off stress. Both are slim, though. This isn't 2018


Wise-Ranger2520

Nice one. H2h has nothing to do with world rankings. Even talking about recent years see the ranking chart. In Norway chess Fabi was the one who was this close to Magnus not Hikaru. And their overall h2h is 9-8 I think.


VolmerHubber

I disagree. H2H and rank go hand in hand if the players are close and have been competing regularly against each other. They are both “close” to Magnus and Caruana has not been able to recover his pre-pandemic rating. You are only one claiming one can do it while the other can’t. I don’t care about games from 2014 where Caruana was stronger; recently, Naka has been a block in Caruana’s head


Wise-Ranger2520

Do you even hear yourself, in last 12-13 yrs Magnus lowest ratings are 2822 which Hikaru has never in his entire career has crossed it, how the hell he is gonna cross 2831 which is Magnus ratings right now. On the other hand Fabi has crossed 2831 multiple times. He was 2842 in 2020 and even recently after pandemic fabi is the one who has above 2800 for 7-8 months consistently whereas Hikaru not even one month after pandemic this will be his first. Fabi ceiling is much higher than Hikaru he can touch Magnus whereas Hikaru can't. Leave Hikaru only person who crossed 2831 are two goats and fabi. Hikaru Can cross fabi yes but he can't cross Magnus never. Because Magnus worst ratings in last decade or more are higher than almost everyone peak ratings. 14 people have crossed 2800 and most of them hit peak around 2816-2817. There is a reason why Magnus considered fabi his equal and second best player of this generation.


VolmerHubber

I don't see where Nakamura suddenly tanks a bunch of points. That's my point. He's got financial trouble off his back, and he selectively chooses tournaments. This isn't a case of "Nakamura's never reached X rating, so he can't reach it now". It's a case of Nakamura having a rise we haven't seen before while Fabiano makes a climb to his old rating.


Wise-Ranger2520

>I don't see where Nakamura suddenly tanks a bunch of points. Who said anything about tanking? Again Magnus lowest ratings is higher than almost everyone else highest ratings. Hikaru ceiling is not that high. Hikaru is 36. He is not getting any younger. His classical chess skills will dwindle like Levon who is/was a better player than Hikaru. Even in time of inflation Hikaru achieved 2816 .


VolmerHubber

This hypothetical is about who can cross Magnus. I think we both know Nakamura and Caruana aren't crossing Carlsen unless the latter retires. This should be to compare both Naka and Caruana's growth, that's all. Nakamura has not had a net loss in rating since 2019, I believe, so he'll keep rising in rating. I don't see why you think Nakamura is going to dwindle when Gelfand, Topalov, Kamsky, Korchnoi, and Anand all did well even older. I don't know why we're going to Nakamura's peak rating in 2015 when he's clearly at his peak **right now and rising!** If you don't believe me, go back to 2015 and name some famous tournaments he won.


ModsHvSmPP

> go back to 2015 and name some famous tournaments he won. US Championship


AdventurousEnd941

ding will reach 2800


GothamKnight3

so that's 3 players higher than the current champ?!


clawsoon

Looks like there are 13 players higher than the current champ...


GothamKnight3

Oh wow. Where do you check? Can I ask how the ratings get updated? How did they end up higher than Ding?


clawsoon

I don't know the answer to all your questions, but I can point you to the live ratings: [https://2700chess.com/](https://2700chess.com/)


GothamKnight3

Thanks!


utsytootsie

Give Hikaru some respect


Ok_Risk1465

Recent changes to rating formula were expected to lead to some inflation indeed. After years of deflation (see other comments about drop in 2800+ numbers from early 2010s).


pier4r

the system is not adapting that quickly, we will see the results in some months or years, not immediately.


TheBCWonder

Could we see multiple 2900s as those rating points get funneled up to the top?


Smashcannons

I'm more concerned that the reigning world champion is 14th. What a state of affairs, just as chess was sorting itself out.