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What this article misses is Nepo is famous in the chess community for caving into pressure after losing once. A lot of people have said that Nepo was immensely

What this article misses is Nepo is famous in the chess community for caving into pressure after losing once. A lot of people have said that Nepo was immensely lucky with the Candidates Tournament (the tournament that allowed him to play for the World Championship) since that tournament was split into two parts due to COVID. The break happened precisely after Nepo lost a crucial game and allowed him some time to regain his composure. I doubt Nepo would have won the Candidates if he had to play immediately after his loss. On the other hand, Carlsen is well-known for his mental fortitude. It’s something that Vishy Anand, the previous champion, has talked about extensively. Carlsen’s style is often called “squeezing blood from a stone” because he will play equal-looking endgames and mentally exhaust his opponent into making a tiny mistake that he will convert into an advantage. It was indeed a tough match-up for Nepo, and most knew it would end tragically for Nepo. Despite being an excellent player, he’s not on the same level as Carlsen.

CalChris 5y ago
The detail of game 6 was just that, a detail. Most people thought Nepo would cave after a loss and that's what he did. Magnus proved with Karjack that he doesn't cave. I thought Caruana was a much better match up, and he held serve in the classical format. But Carlsen is strong in all three, hell, in all four formats. I think Firouzja has the potential to be a great match up. But it's just really hard to beat Magnus. He has Fischer's will to win with even more accuracy.
- SoylentOrange 5y ago
  After his most recent title defense, Carlsen has been quite vocal that he is only interested in defending his title against the “new generation” of chess players like Duda and Alireza: https://www.chess.com/news/view/magnus-carlsen-defend-world-chess-title-alireza-firouzja https://www.chess.com/news/view/magnus-carlsen-defend-world-...
ycombinete 5y ago
> he will play equal-looking endgames and mentally exhaust his opponent into making a tiny mistake that he will convert into an advantage I watched Carlsen do this live last night. In his first game of the Rapid and Blitz World Championship[0]. Relentless pressure. Constantly demanding accuracy from his opponent until they blundered into a tactic. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dhCTxwHGUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dhCTxwHGUg
nnoitra 5y ago
- khazhoux 5y ago
  > The talk of psychology is redundant. Never heard of the phrase "squeezing blood from stone" because well there is no blood in stones. The phrase is "squeezing water from stone" and has been used tons of times in the past to describe other chess players as well. "You can't squeeze blood from stone" is a common and very old phrase. Dates from 1788 according to https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/you-cant-get-blood-out-of-a-stone.html https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/you-cant-get-blood-out-o... > a game that is simply put not as interesting anymore. Chess is actually experiencing a revival, despite the ascendancy of chess engines. Chess channels on YouTube are quite active, and of course the Netflix show gave the game a good bump in popularity.
- jstx1 5y ago
  > Carlsen is known for his ability to beat his opponents at chess. Has nothing to do with mental fortitude. You're choosing to ignore the entire argument instead of addressing it. When you say "ability to beat his opponent at chess" that includes the mental fortitude (also emotional stability, ability to perform consistently over long matches etc) The point is that after game 6 Ian's performance was far below his actual chess ability. So we look to psychology to explain that difference. Saying stuff like "he performed at that level so that's his ability" doesn't get anyone anywhere.
- spdionis 5y ago
  At the highest competitive level the psychology of the player takes a major role in his performance.
- zigman1 5y ago
  > Carlsen is known for his ability to beat his opponents at chess. Has nothing to do with mental fortitude. You can be the most mentally tough person on earth and it won't enable you to see tactics better. What are you talking about man? Mental preparation if one of the key ingredients when preparing for chess tournaments. In recent interview Topalov said about Carlsen [0], that "after the seventh hour his brain works at almost the same level as in the second hour. Very many people are capable of playing decently for three, four or five hours, but in the 6th-7th hour almost everyone crashes. He, however, plays very evenly. That’s his main advantage over the rest" [0] https://chess24.com/en/read/news/topalov-carlsen-should-give-his-brain-to-science https://chess24.com/en/read/news/topalov-carlsen-should-give...

CalChris 5y ago

The detail of game 6 was just that, a detail. Most people thought Nepo would cave after a loss and that's what he did. Magnus proved with Karjack that he doesn't cave. I thought Caruana was a much better match up, and he held serve in the classical format. But Carlsen is strong in all three, hell, in all four formats. I think Firouzja has the potential to be a great match up. But it's just really hard to beat Magnus. He has Fischer's will to win with even more accuracy.

SoylentOrange 5y ago
After his most recent title defense, Carlsen has been quite vocal that he is only interested in defending his title against the “new generation” of chess players like Duda and Alireza: https://www.chess.com/news/view/magnus-carlsen-defend-world-chess-title-alireza-firouzja https://www.chess.com/news/view/magnus-carlsen-defend-world-...

ycombinete 5y ago

> he will play equal-looking endgames and mentally exhaust his opponent into making a tiny mistake that he will convert into an advantage I watched Carlsen do this live last night. In his first game of the Rapid and Blitz World Championship[0]. Relentless pressure. Constantly demanding accuracy from his opponent until they blundered into a tactic. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dhCTxwHGUg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dhCTxwHGUg

nnoitra 5y ago

khazhoux 5y ago
> The talk of psychology is redundant. Never heard of the phrase "squeezing blood from stone" because well there is no blood in stones. The phrase is "squeezing water from stone" and has been used tons of times in the past to describe other chess players as well. "You can't squeeze blood from stone" is a common and very old phrase. Dates from 1788 according to https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/you-cant-get-blood-out-of-a-stone.html https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/you-cant-get-blood-out-o... > a game that is simply put not as interesting anymore. Chess is actually experiencing a revival, despite the ascendancy of chess engines. Chess channels on YouTube are quite active, and of course the Netflix show gave the game a good bump in popularity.
jstx1 5y ago
> Carlsen is known for his ability to beat his opponents at chess. Has nothing to do with mental fortitude. You're choosing to ignore the entire argument instead of addressing it. When you say "ability to beat his opponent at chess" that includes the mental fortitude (also emotional stability, ability to perform consistently over long matches etc) The point is that after game 6 Ian's performance was far below his actual chess ability. So we look to psychology to explain that difference. Saying stuff like "he performed at that level so that's his ability" doesn't get anyone anywhere.
spdionis 5y ago
At the highest competitive level the psychology of the player takes a major role in his performance.
zigman1 5y ago
> Carlsen is known for his ability to beat his opponents at chess. Has nothing to do with mental fortitude. You can be the most mentally tough person on earth and it won't enable you to see tactics better. What are you talking about man? Mental preparation if one of the key ingredients when preparing for chess tournaments. In recent interview Topalov said about Carlsen [0], that "after the seventh hour his brain works at almost the same level as in the second hour. Very many people are capable of playing decently for three, four or five hours, but in the 6th-7th hour almost everyone crashes. He, however, plays very evenly. That’s his main advantage over the rest" [0] https://chess24.com/en/read/news/topalov-carlsen-should-give-his-brain-to-science https://chess24.com/en/read/news/topalov-carlsen-should-give...