This is a clip from a conversation with Garry Kasparov from Oct 2019. New full episodes once or twice a week and 1-2 new clips or a new non-podcast video on all other days. You can watch the full conversation here:
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Note: I select clips with insights from these much longer conversation with the hope of helping make these ideas more accessible and discoverable. Ultimately, this podcast is a small side hobby for me with the goal of sharing and discussing ideas. For now, I post a few clips every Tue & Fri. I did a poll and 92% of people either liked or loved the posting of daily clips, 2% were indifferent, and 6% hated it, some suggesting that I post them on a separate YouTube channel. I hear the 6% and partially agree, so am torn about the whole thing. I tried creating a separate clips channel but the YouTube algorithm makes it very difficult for that channel to grow unless the main channel is already very popular. So for a little while, I’ll keep posting clips on the main channel. I ask for your patience and to see these clips as supporting the dissemination of knowledge contained in nuanced discussion. If you enjoy it, consider subscribing, sharing, and commenting.
Garry Kasparov is considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time. From 1986 until his retirement in 2005, he dominated the chess world, ranking world number 1 for most of those 19 years. While he has many historic matches against human chess players, in the long arc of history he may be remembered for his match again a machine, IBM’s Deep Blue. His initial victories and eventual loss to Deep Blue captivated the imagination of the world of what role Artificial Intelligence systems may play in our civilization’s future. That excitement inspired an entire generation of AI researchers, including myself, to get into the field. Garry is also a pro-democracy political thinker and leader, a fearless human-rights activist, and author of several books including How Life Imitates Chess which is a book on strategy and decision-making, Winter Is Coming which is a book articulating his opposition to the Putin regime, and Deep Thinking which is a book the role of both artificial intelligence and human intelligence in defining our future.
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I think Bobby was the best ever. Was happy to hear Gary hold him in high esteem as a chess player as well. Gary has real class.
Kasparov's argument makes complete sense. Kasparov now with the chess knowledge of 30 years after he retired would no longer be Kasparov. The guy is really REALLy smart.
1:50 gary sounds exactly like a robot
Where did he read that chess players burn thousands of calories ? I am a programmer, I sometimes work 12-14 hours a day, and I'm fat as hell. If you work using brain maybe you are able to burn more 300kcal a day but no 3k.
Carlsen, as great as he is, wouldn't be able to touch Kasparov if Kasparov had been able to have access to chess engines like Stockfish for most of his career.
If you could go forwards in time 20-30 years and take the world champion from that time back to today, and let him play carlsen. I would bet all my money the carlsen being beat. So yes Carlsen is the best of all time, but the next one will be better.
Response is unlike that of the GOAT in most sports. Athletes are more humble. Self promotion is usually not necessary. On the other hand it is OK to make people reflect to defend your greatness.
Every single GOAT debate needs to reference this video.
Lethal combination of Fischer and Karpov , the guy is The GOAT , if you consider Fischer as the best , well according to Kasparov , Fischer is part of the formula used to formulate Magnus
When you ask who is the goat to the humble goat himself?
Kasparov was a beast at chess, he completely dominated the game.
Wow that level of respect right there from a Chess World Legend Garry Kasparov to this generation’s chess legend Magnus Carlsen.
I love listening to Kasparov talk chess. What a genius!
he would rather bit his bollock off than reckognite Carlsen as number1 ffs …..
KASPAROV DEFEATS MAGNUS
Garry Kasparov Vs Magnus Carlsen (1-0)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Nc3 e6 6. Bxc6 bxc6 7. e5 Ne7 8. Ne4 Qc7 9.Nd6+ Kf8 10. d4 cxd4 11. Qxd4 Nf5 12. Nxf5 gxf5 13. Qh4 h6 14. Be3 Ke8 15. Bc5 Qd8 16. Qa4 Bf8 17. Bxf8 Rxf8 18. Rfd1 Qb6 19. Qh4 Qxb2 20. Qxh6 Rb8 21. Rac1 Rg8 22. Qh7 Kf8 23. h4 Rb7 24. Ng5 Rxg5 25. hxg5 Qxe5 26. Qh4 d5 27. g6 Ke8 28. c4 Bd7 29. Rb1 Rb6 30. c5 Rb2 31. Re1 Qc3 32. gxf7+ Kxf7 33. Qd8 Be8 34. Qc7+ Kf8 35. Qd6+ Kg7 36. Rxb2 Qxb2
37. Re3 f4 38. Qe7+ Bf7 39. Qg5+ Kf8 40. Qxf4 Qb1+ 41. Kh2 Qf5 42. Qb8+ Kg7 43. Rf3 Qe4 44. Qg3+ Bg6 45. Qg5 Qxf3 46. gxf3 d4 47. Qe5+
This is a match between Chess Dojo App and Play Magnus App. In Chess Dojo, there are several personalities, but Garry Kasparov was chosen. In Play Magnus, Magnus at age 29 was chosen. It is interesting to note that Chess Dojo can compete against Play Magnus.
Computer era changed everything about the game… can't compare players from diff era. Simlarly in sports with better equipment and training technique, knowledge. I'm glad he introduced the importance of physical fitness for mind games, it does help a lot with endurance and focus
There's an easy way to say it. Magnus at his peak is the best player of all time. Kasparov is not far behind. Magnus has a huge advantage with the computers, true. He also has a far tougher field look at Fabi, Nepo, Wesley, Ding, Levon, the list goes on and on. Kasparov's field was much easier. BUT, Kasparov did something no other chess player ever did at the time. Its a tough question on who is the GOAT. I lean towards Magnus though…
Dude you must must must interview magnus carlsen, if you can get him you are the man!
magnus is so humble than him
He’s absolutely right. He’s one of the pioneers and steered many to knowing the extent of chess because of moves he’s made in the past that’s either been perfected, analyzed, or still used til this day. So comparing different generations to determine who’s the best ever chess player is inaccurate.
One of the Best Chess player, the fight between him and Karpov was very close and hard fought match. Others like Bobby and Anand are legends too. Diamonds in Chess but as we go on there is more database and software available we may see new rating going much higher.
Standing on the shoulders of giants. This is the nature of human intelligence. We build on what we know. Comparing generations may seem unfair but the way we learn as a group suggests that every intellectual endeavor will march ahead while containing every single step forward ever taken. So, Magnus is likely best and that's a good thing. Soon there will likely be another. then another. and another..
Kasparov is such an arrogant person. You can tell it burns him to hear people think Magnus is the better than him. Get over it! Every generation's best will be better than the previous especially in something like chess. Today there is more resources to learn the game and chess engines are a huge help. Magnus Carlsen is the best chess player of all time.
Very good answers by Gary and I absolutely agreed with his analysis, even though I am a bit disappointed that he didnt mention great players with divine chess ideas like Tal and Spassky
he couldnt hide his arrogance even if his life dependet on it
Kasparov says, “You know” stranger than any human I’ve ever met 😆
I burn like 35 calories playing chess but don't worry the cannabis and beer as well as free pretzels/carbs at the bar slow my metabolism down so I always stay above a caloric deficiency … lol 🤣
Garry vs Magnus at their peaks would be epic. The amount of absolute chess brainpower generated, could have been measured in the surrounding air.
Rightly said Kasparov. You can't compare older generation with new one. If we would compare Newton to a modern phycisict, the later would know physics better but Newton eas way ahead of his time.
fascinating. I love it when Kasparov doesn't feel attacked and lets his natural intelligence flow in a pleasing manner. Very nice.
This is only an uneducated opinion. With due respect to modern day engines, thousands of books, a ton of chess tournaments, and of course posts such as this, does not all this beg a question? Is there something different about the minds of a champion that separates them from mere chess mortals? Toss everything else out the window and all else considered even, what is the difference between a 2800 brain and say, a 1500 brain? And how would a 2800 brain do in other activities such as science or medicine? Is there a key to unlocking the secrets of a champion’s memory?Consider that we all have physical reflexes, but you don’t necessarily think them into use, they just happen instinctively, like a great boxer’s hand speed maybe? What do you think? Does a champion’s brain instinctively work to recognize and analyze in a similar way? As Spock would say, fascinating!
It's funny when Kasparov suddenly says "You know" and suddenly sounds either British or Australian instead of Russian.
yew know
I'd think he's right. The 'Greatest player of all time' cannot be so easily delineated; and the style of players is an important factor, as well as generational bias . There's probably a kid out there right now who will eventually surpass Magnus, and has all the knowledge of chess at their fingertips, and so already has greater advantages than many of the grandmasters of the past.
Chess is solo sport, and more equivalent comparison with it is lawn Tennis.
The unique scoring system of Lawn Tennis removes the "chance" aspect from the game, and that's how a single player with lot of talent/hard work can stay on top for a long-long time.
Another aspect that tennis and chess are similar is that good players help improve the game by making it difficult for others to compete so other also works harder (the way Nadal, and Rafa, made Djakovic, try harder to defeat them). Same way, every candidate tournament make Magnus, better when these 10s of 2750+ player plays and he learn from all of them.
Chess is still different from lawn tennis and any other sport in the aspect that newer player has the opportunity to learn from the past player as well as recent advancement in technologies.
Magnus is a most dynamic player and unique talent with the nerve of steel, and patience, and gifted with a fantastic brain. (all top 100 GMs have a gifted brain, the way they remember moves/games, is not possible for the rest of the humans). It is unlikely that all these attributes (patience, nerve, dedication, motivation, fantastic brain) come in a new human being while Magnus is still active.
If I have seen further than other men, it is only from standing on the shoulders of Giants!
I remember back in 2007 I stopped playing Quake III / Quake Live because I just felt I'd spent enough time with the game. If any videogame is like Chess, it's Quake III OSP. The luck factor is removed to the highest degree possible, and the playing field is the most even, with the skillcap unmatched. It attracted the best FPS players in the world for a reason. When I stopped playing, my ranking was something like 23rd best 1v1 player in the UK, according to the websites ranking system. What made Quake unique was that, I could "possibly" beat the number 15 or 16 player one out of 10 matches, and the top 33 or 34 player could beat me one out of 10. But there was ZERO chance, of me beating anyone in the top 5-10 ranked UK players, and the top 5 would 30-0 me 100% of the time. As I would 30-0 anyone ranked 50th or lower. And the top 5 players in the UK, would be beaten 30-0 by the top elites of the world, the freakish "another level" gods like Toxic, Cooller, Cypher, Rapha, Unkind, Clawz, etc.
When I decided to install and play the game again, perhaps Christmas 2017, almost all the great players of my day had retired (a few still played though) and I found myself being schooled by pretty much everyone I met in the servers, at least for the first few months. I was incredibly rusty for a while, but the muscle memory comes back and the imagination is faded but still there. But I realized there was a gap that could not be bridged, and I played against some of the olders players who i remembered, who I used to handily beat 20-0 and were not even in my league, and losing matches to them more than I won. One of them told me – it's not that they were "better" than before – but that the game "had simply gotten easier".
Mr. Kasparov. No matter what you say. You are the greatest. Period.
1:59 comment on Fischer/Karpov combination
Gary should enter politics – he can say two opposite things at the same time! "I'm extremely cautious about making judgements involving time gaps and It's irrelevant to compare players at their respective peaks, partly due to the cumulative knowledge passed down from one generation to the next." BUT BUT BUT "If you take into account the absolute ratings gap between the champion and the rest of the field, the longevity of that ratings gap, the ability to successfully compete against subsequent generations, the age and continued dominance at retirement, and the fact that due to ratings inflation, the highest ratings were relatively more valuable in the past than in the present, then I AM NUMBER ONE!
Pele
Magnus does not appeal to me, personality-wise. Kasparov is such a great ambassador for chess.
Magnus comes across aloof and boring. A lot of it is probably my age-51. I've become more intolerant of young people. I prefer people with humble beginnings
Fischer, Karpov and Magnus .. moves I never understand.. 😔
This guy seems smart. He should try chess.
"new generation of athletes will always be better than previous generation.. because they have modern technology, new and improved knowledge, newer techniques, better knowledge of nutrition, better scientific methods of training"- george saint pierre (MMA legend of UFC)
i might be paraphrasing a bit, but holds true for any sport or game…
Who would have thought about inflation in chess rating!!
Magnus played him to a draw when he was 12. The look on his face looking the board over was awesome. Awesome dude and loved his games. Brilliant attacker
This man's humility and modesty in light of his amazing achievements makes him that much greater a person.
The best loves the best…Kasparov to Maradona ❤
Ronaldo?
upvote if you like the way he says "you know"