Josh👀

If Kasparov went on a Mickey Mouse tour to become "active," he'd be ranked No. 2 in the world and could've qualified for the Candidates.

@grok @George34276133 @Osint613 Answer the question.

@George34276133 @Osint613 Ask Grok is currently available to Premium and Premium+ subscribers only. Subscribe to unlock this feature: x.com/i/premium_sign…

A French naval officer exposed the location of aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle by posting a workout on Strava. The run revealed the carrier’s exact position in the Mediterranean near Cyprus, creating a major security risk. - Le Monde.

@Syonnain @anishgiri It's kind of sad how pathetic and jealous these players are. But chat, if I didn't stream, I could be a loser like MVL too.

@JoshNoLook @anishgiri Time for Hikaru to call MVL jealous of his money and fame.

Maaaxiiime has gone crazy chat. He has just gone completely insane. He is insane chat. Completely insane. 🤣

@TarjeiJS Funny how it wasn't the "chess journalists" who broke the story, but a sports reporter at The Guardian. Typical.

WOW, this is BIG breaking news, Erling Braut Haaland invests in chess: “I’m investing in Norway Chess because I believe the new Total Chess World Championship Tour can turn chess into an even bigger sport for spectators around the world," theguardian.com/sport/2026/mar…

Rich coming from the guy who qualified through a Mickey Mouse tour...

@ShailendraJawa1 Well, yes. He's clearly protecting his No. 2 ranking. But that wouldn't explain Freestyle, would it? I don't think he cares about that rating. So it seems more about protecting rating to preserve market value than simple insecurity. At least if Buettner is telling the truth.

@JoshNoLook I have already said this.. Hikaru is so vulnerable about his top spot that never plays top tournaments.

Jan Henric Buettner says Hikaru Nakamura didn't play in the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship 2026 because he "didn't want his market value to decrease." I thought Nakamura said it was to prepare for the Candidates.

I guess it comes down to credibility. I know nothing about Buettner, so I'll go with him. I'd trust some unknown entity over Nakamura. What Buettner says would also explain a lot: no US Champs for Nakamura since Fabi took over, and the whole Mickey Mouse tour. Either way, it was worth posting. You can't post one side and ignore the response.

@JoshNoLook who do you believe

Hikaru Nakamura is calling Jan Henric Buettner a liar. He claims Jan Henric is "just making up stuff" and maybe even that he "lives rent-free in his head."

@AlexanderFerdko @HansMokeNiemann Yeah, it sucks.

@JoshNoLook @HansMokeNiemann Shocking for the busiest airport in the country.

JetBlue has won the prize for worst American airline along with JFK for worst American airport!

@JoshNoLook Oh there is also this other quote from Hikaru on the topic: "and to show how desperate [Buettner] was, he tried to lean on Danny Rensch... he tried to use Danny's personal friendship with me to get Danny to convince me to play in the event after that." 😂

@EndgameaiChess Can't get better advice than Nepo's on how to prepare for and approach the Candidates.

GM Andrey Esipenko shared his thoughts ahead of the 2026 Candidates Tournament, highlighting both his mindset and his view of the competition. Esipenko revealed that Ian Nepomniachtchi gave him a key piece of advice: not to overthink the event as the biggest tournament of his career. He agreed with this approach, saying he aims to focus on making quality moves and using his preparation, rather than getting caught up in pressure. Whether he can fully stay relaxed, he says, will only be clear after the tournament. When discussing his head-to-head record, Esipenko noted that he is in the plus only against Fabiano Caruana. Against Hikaru Nakamura and Anish Giri he has a negative score, although he jokingly downplayed his losses to Nakamura, saying those games were long ago and “shouldn’t count.” Against the rest of the field, he considers his record roughly equal. He also stressed the importance of a strong start, noting that the first rounds could be decisive. Esipenko is set to begin the tournament with Black against Javokhir Sindarov, followed by a game with White against Nakamura in round two. As for the overall lineup, Esipenko described the field as very balanced. Even Matthias Blübaum, who might seem like an outsider on paper, should not be underestimated. According to him, any player could “explode” in this event, and there is no clear gap in strength between participants.

What a disgusting milestone. Why do players dope ? Why would anyone cover it up ? Here’s your answer 👇

Ian posted on his Telegramm channel Maybe at least some financial compensation for Caruana, Matlakov and Niemann from @chesscom to compensate their financial damages due to this failure? Oh,forgot, its chesscom... Nothing to expect x.com/VBkramnik/stat…

About time all EWC qualifying paths are played on Lichess. It should have been that way from the start, since it's a non-profit with no financial stake in particular players. Also, it's very strange how some players never seem to have these issues in TT. That suggests proctor is either off for them or running a different version.

The chesscom thing disconnected me and gave me a 0 point bye in round 8 of their event where only 2 places qualify and everyone is within half a point of each other :) my internet didn't drop out, I was active in the play zone and as soon as the break timer ended it auto forfeits me. Pretty sure I'm not the only one affected by this bug too. It doesn't even give a time penalty, just instantly forfeits you.

@chess24com Uh oh, there goes 25% of his market value.

Awonder Liang beats Hikaru Nakaura 3-1 in the rapid section of their Candidates training match! chess.com/events/2026-na…

@ChessWarri42621 @BurtReddington @biophilo @durarbayli There's a real argument that women-only events may do female players a disservice. By separating them from the strongest competition, they may actually reduce the chance of reaching their full potential.

@JoshNoLook @BurtReddington @biophilo @durarbayli And Judit got paid like a 2700. Why? BECAUSE SHE WAS A 2700. Women will be paid like 2700s when they BECOME 2700s, just like Judit did.

This has nothing to do with my rating or my earnings. That's a lazy assumption. I, and most people in the chess world, would like to see more women join the chess community. It is still predominantly male-dominated. FIDE has been working to improve the situation. Some may argue about how effective their efforts are, but that's a different story. Organizers contribute by offering prizes for women's categories in open events and having women-only section events. There are other organizations actively working to support women in chess as well. And most men in the chess community are welcoming and supportive of women players. I believe any attempt to portray the chess community as systemically sexist is not right, and it doesn't help us. If someone who doesn't know our world sees posts like that, what would they think? Would a woman or the parent of a girl want to be part of the chess world after seeing similar types of posts? As Jules claimed she did not have the intention of portraying it as such, however, it came as such; that’s why I made the post. I'm not claiming bad incidents don't happen to women in chess. They do. But it is not systemic, and the community usually responds with condemnation. Negative experiences for women because of men happen in the chess world too, but that's a human problem, not a chess problem.

@ChessWarri42621 @BurtReddington @biophilo @durarbayli It's pretty telling that Judit Polgar, the women's GOAT, avoided women-only events and never even entered the Women's World Championship.

@BurtReddington @biophilo @durarbayli @JoshNoLook