Hikaru doesn't believe Levy can become a GM

Hikaru doesn't believe Levy can become a GM. Says it's like his own chance of becoming World Champion: possible but very unlikely

#levyrozman #gothamchess #gmhikaru #hikarunakamura #hikaru #chess

[khalidsaifullahfuad]

Even without being a GM his name is always mentioned along with Magnus and hikaru. And a huge number of people are interested in chess thanks to his contribution.

[AnkhArcRod]

His point about Danya actually makes sense. Danya is always looking to beat the strongest players. That is his nature. If Levy were to play game against a GM without knowing their rating, he would probably play much better. That psychological impact of playing against a GM seems to put him in worse position everytime. It is also worth pointing out that it was Hikaru who, at one point, had said that Levy could absolutely become a GM. But, his recent performances has made him change his mind.

[alexsmith]

He is saying " When Levy says he wants to be a GM, he isn't realistic." But what it sounds like he actually means is that Levy needs to change his mindset which is correct.

[vexnightmare]

Levy beat 3 GM-rated opponents in a tournament when he was still a 20 year old FM (He has a video on it, really good watch). And he himself even said that at the time he didn't respect his opponents' ratings in that way and played the way he wanted, which resulted in complicated games that turned out in his favour. Naka has a point. Levy's turning into the old, positional stereotype of player who's afraid to take chances, when he should be throwing shit into the ceiling fan like he was 5 years ago. It's his best chance to upset GMs

[StephenIC]

Everything he's saying is right, but it feels weird to talk about your friend like this on a live broadcast. "He's unlikely to ever fulfill his dreams" lol

[jaapvandevelden]

Perhaps this video will give Levy some extra motivation to hang in there and pursue his ambition. Only relatively very very few players have the talent to even think of pursuing this objective. I personally enjoy following him on his pursuit and wish him all the luck. From watching his matches against some GMs I can see Hikaru’s point; some more self-confidence and drive to win will go a long way.

[inafridge]

Levy has said similar things before. His advice about gaining rating was, "If you want to reach a goal, don't have respect for that goal."

[MrNikolidas]

What’s particularly frustrating about Levy’s play is that after each tournament game of his that he analyses, his mistakes are usually a direct result of second-guessing his instincts. Every time he says “I thought about playing this or this”, those moves turn out to be better according to the engine, either positionally or strategically, than the move he actually played. Levy knows this, yet he just can’t seem to shake his insecurities during the game itself.

[walkingphilosopher]

As a B rated player, of course I cannot comment on whether or not I believe Levy can become a GM. But IMs like Levy are those who are making chess more accessible to the masses. I would not be watching high level chess games if it was not for their explanations. They translate the game of the grandmasters into language I can understand.

[PhantomAarantula]

I'm just fascinated that he can maintain this train of thought while playing Chess with only 1 minute .

edit: I get it. Hikaru's a chess god. You don't have to keep dunking on me for thinking he's amazing. I'm appalled at how people feel the need to downplay my fascination with him just because he's amongst the best players in the world.

[cpulaski]

Levy can become a GM. just isn't realistic when he is running a YouTube channel doing content. To be a GM, your sole focus has to be on studying and playing chess. Levy has too many different things going on. Again, not saying it's not possible. I'm actually rooting for him to overcome the obstacles and do the impossible.

[emilwallin]

Hikaru's not insulting Levy in a way "youre too stupid to become GM" He's saying in the manner/style Levy's is playing combined with how much effort he puts into content, he wont become GM. If he would change these things Im sure Hikaru would make a new statement

[GamerLoff]

Something that was cut from his stream were that he also said that he believes Levy can become a GM but then he would have to stop YouTube and streaming and solely focus on chess.

[nathancarroll]

I think the bigger part of Levy's struggles are the mental aspect of pushing forward. He has picked up winning positions against a few GM's this year, but hasn't converted them because he second guesses himself or assumes the opponent didn't play an inaccurate move, when they actually did.

[zennok]

2.5 years later, Levy starting his gm grind again - I need to get out of my head and actually go for wins instead of second guessing myself out of winning positions and refusing to take risks

[Yash]

Funny how the same happens with Hikaru when he plays against Magnus. He is always on the defensive, getting a slightly worst position and trying to hold it.

[unacuentadeyoutube]

Had a friend some years ago that played incredibly well (in the tournaments we attended, he often ended first and I ended second just because I couldn't beat him).

But he had a slight problem: against strong players in, for example, the national championship, he would just try incredibly hard to get a draw. He got a draw in 8/9 games once.

However, he made a change during lockdown: he started going for the win every time. Last year he won the sub-16 national championship, and I'm sure this year he'll win the sub-18!

[stonksmonmr]

not the biggest hikaru fan, but his opinion on this topic in PARTICULAR certainly has more weight than the strange stuff i'm seeing in these comments here. He knows levi can become a gm, but not current levi with his current mindset. As someone who has played chess and other sports competitively myself, revamping your mentality and facing reality over and over in an attempt to break plateaus and overcome time creeping up on you is part of the job. Doubters will be part of it and a VERY important reality check as well. It's not all "face all and rise, prove them all wrong", its "I understand, this is how it is, now what can i do to change it?"

[Vloggen]

People saying that this didn't age well, but the reason Levy is doing good rn is bcs he actively worked on the critic given here

[grimeybeast]

There's someone else doesn't think Levy will be a GM. Levy.