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How is this news? Magnus Carlsen is good at chess. Bill Gates is bad at chess. How does this story add value to anyone's life? What was learned here? (sincerely

How is this news? Magnus Carlsen is good at chess. Bill Gates is bad at chess. How does this story add value to anyone's life? What was learned here? (sincerely curious)

prawks 13y ago
Fun. If people are more interested in either Bill Gates or Magnus Carlsen, then here's a starting point. Many people likely don't know who Magnus is, now they do. Bill Gates' involvement makes it more likely that people would have watched the video. Also, fun.
- tedsanders 13y ago
  Hmm, I used to play lots of chess and still follow the chess world, so this wasn't interesting or educational to me. But if people who aren't familiar with chess or Magnus Carlsen still found it fun or interesting, then that's good enough for me. :) Thanks for your sincere reply to my sincere question.
mikehearn 13y ago
Most of the time when people achieve world-class ability in something, they end up exclusively competing against others that have a similar talent level. It's worthwhile (and fun) to be occasionally reminded just how much of a talent gap there is between them and the average person.
- tedsanders 13y ago
  I see. I guess what's obvious to me - that a grandmaster can crush a chump in 30 seconds - is not obvious to all. I'm glad that so many people find it interesting.
  - mikehearn 13y ago
    I think that's true, particularly if you are well-versed in chess. The outcome that Carlsen would win is obvious to everyone, but the details – the actual minutia of the game – are not. For example (and I'm not a chess player), if you told me that Carlsen and Gates played and asked me to guess how many moves it would take for Carlsen to win, I would've put it in the 15-20 range. Nine was a genuine surprise. Even more enlightening, though obvious in retrospect, was how quickly and seemingly without thought Carlsen was able to play each move, almost as if he knew what move Gates would make before he made it. It makes perfect sense, but it was fascinating to watch and it made me appreciate how much of a second-nature chess truly is to Carlsen.

How is this news? Magnus Carlsen is good at chess. Bill Gates is bad at chess. How does this story add value to anyone's life? What was learned here? (sincerely curious)

prawks 13y ago

Fun. If people are more interested in either Bill Gates or Magnus Carlsen, then here's a starting point. Many people likely don't know who Magnus is, now they do. Bill Gates' involvement makes it more likely that people would have watched the video. Also, fun.

tedsanders 13y ago
Hmm, I used to play lots of chess and still follow the chess world, so this wasn't interesting or educational to me. But if people who aren't familiar with chess or Magnus Carlsen still found it fun or interesting, then that's good enough for me. :) Thanks for your sincere reply to my sincere question.

mikehearn 13y ago

Most of the time when people achieve world-class ability in something, they end up exclusively competing against others that have a similar talent level. It's worthwhile (and fun) to be occasionally reminded just how much of a talent gap there is between them and the average person.

tedsanders 13y ago
I see. I guess what's obvious to me - that a grandmaster can crush a chump in 30 seconds - is not obvious to all. I'm glad that so many people find it interesting.
- mikehearn 13y ago
  I think that's true, particularly if you are well-versed in chess. The outcome that Carlsen would win is obvious to everyone, but the details – the actual minutia of the game – are not. For example (and I'm not a chess player), if you told me that Carlsen and Gates played and asked me to guess how many moves it would take for Carlsen to win, I would've put it in the 15-20 range. Nine was a genuine surprise. Even more enlightening, though obvious in retrospect, was how quickly and seemingly without thought Carlsen was able to play each move, almost as if he knew what move Gates would make before he made it. It makes perfect sense, but it was fascinating to watch and it made me appreciate how much of a second-nature chess truly is to Carlsen.