On September 6, almost two years to the day after their fateful game at the Sinquefield Cup, Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann will meet at Chess.com’s Speed Chess Championship. They will play in front of an audience in Paris, France.  Joining me to discuss the history of this feud, and the details of this match is popular commentator, YouTuber and Twitch streamer GM Ben Finegold. Does Hans have a chance given his impressive play lately? Since Magnus has been refusing to play Niemann, is there a chance that Magnus won’t show up to the match? What openings might we expect?  We dive into these questions and many more in our conversation. 

All the information you need about the match is here:

https://www.chess.com/events/info/2024-speed-chess-championship

Thanks to our sponsors Chessable.com! Check out my new course here, Identifying Critical Moments in Chess, here:

https://www.chessable.com/identifying-critical-moments-in-chess/course/248353/

1:30- Hans has been on a massive heater and has cracked the top 20 in Classical for the first time.  Can he actually win? 

5:00- Does Ben agree with Hikaru that Magnus has a particular edge in bullet?

Mentioned: Hikaru on Hans-Magnus in Paris

https://youtube.com/shorts/y3MkTIlEILY?si=oLR4rc7a3EZrqrku

7:30- Should we expect Hans’ ascent to continue?

11:00- Ben’s thoughts on Hans’ recent interview with GM Daniel Naroditsky

https://youtu.be/ZFBAuihQYgw?si=QGCenzk5sKeZlEGv

25:00- Where is the prize money for Hans’ tour coming from? 

Mentioned: Hans tweet

https://x.com/HansMokeNiemann/status/1827750674873958819

26:00- We discuss IM Daniel Rensch’s response to Hans’ recent interview

https://x.com/DanielRensch/status/1821536477924438528

32:00- Predictions

Thanks as always to GM Ben Finegold for joining. You know where to find him!

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https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess

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