Youtuber "gm talks" has video discussing GothamChess GM project

GM Talks is a little-known Chess channel by a Danish GM called Sune Berg Hansen.

His latest video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fTF0-XOBMs and discusses Levy's prospects while looking at 5 games from GM norm tournaments, looking at:

• Openings
• Middlegames
• Endgames/Technique
• General Understanding
• Calculation

Considering the quality of the channel material, it is criminal that his typical video has under a 1000 hits.  (No affiliation, just a fan.)

That's how it is in this world, the shet gets all the views just like in biblical times and the ones that speak the truth or have useful things to say get crucified

Yeah.  Gm Talks has been posting for a year, and producing really interesting, in-depth work.  He has two series on Isolated Queens Pawn and Carlsbad structure positions which are gold.

Just this month, he has posted

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_l8JwP7KtE&t=2s on the steinitz restriction method
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFlnpy5GIJ0 on the positional weakness in d5 in the dragon. 

Neither has more than 400 views as I write (which is ridiculous).

I found his channel about 2 months ago by accident so maybe the algorithm is only just starting to kick in for his channel.

Thank you for the video and the channel. My opinion is that Levy seeks to become a GM on paper only, because he would have to completely devote his time to that goal, it is very difficult to become a GM if you have all these other obligations concerning creating YouTube content. Of course, I might be mistaken.

I hope you will not mind if I reciprocate. If you don't wish this on this topic, just say the word and I will delete my message.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFzVKZL5ZLmeW3YrGzj2stjl3wHrBzcmb

This is a playlist from GM Arturs Neiskans YouTube channel. I have no affiliation with the channel, but I feel that he deserves much more subscribers than he currently has (he has below 1 000 for now).


This playlist is great, probably aimed for intermediate and higher rated players (there might be some videos that are more beginner friendly, I will have to investigate ). All the lessons are long, and it is either a description on how he approaches certain positions, openings, or some thematic lesson on calculation, endgames etc. I watched a few, and some of the opening videos are probably a bit advanced for me, but I still find them instructive.

In any case, I feel it is worth a loo, and I hope his channel will grow.

The one thing that I like better from GM Talks's channel is that mostly, the videos are shorter - in the 15-30 min range rather than 2h+.

But the purpose of the thread was to surface un-appreciated chess youtubers, so thanks for do that.

(I'm wondering if a recurring thread might be useful - "recently release chess youtube videos with less than 10k views")

I get it, and shorter videos are more user friendly, in a sense that more people will have patience for them. But longer videos will give a more detailed picture. For instance I've watched GM Talks video on Moscow variation of the Sicilian through 3 games.

GM Neiskans has a more detailed video on that opening. Of course, stronger players will have to study games in the opening to get better at it, but there is something to be said about a pretty detailed presentation on a certain topic. I like those longer videos because I feel they are something like a free lesson from a GM. Though, as I've said, the videos I've seen so far are probably best suited for 1 800+ FIDE rated players, at least those regarding opening play. But anyway, I like seeing that educational content.


As for Levy, he was being somewhat positive on his chances, but he admitted that he has to work a lot on his calculation and maybe endgame technique as well. It is interesting because I think Levy said that he feels his openings are not good enough, and yet GM Sune Berg Hansen said that he thinks that Levy's opening play is pretty good actually, and one of his strong suits. So 2 conflicting opinions I guess.

It doesn't help Levy that he is selling opening courses, so he has a business obligation to be good at the opening phase.  

But Sune clearly thinks Levy has a middlegame/calculation problem.  

Well, Levy probably doesn't have enough time on his hands to get GM title anytime soon. He would probably have to leave his YouTube aside and work on his chess for at least 8 hours a day for a few years to have a realistic chance.

It doesn't necessarily mean he can't do it, it just means that his priorities are probably a bit different.

Anyway, we will see.

Levy can combine YouTube and training.

If I were him, I would create another channel called GothamChess Hardcore, and put the training stuff there.

I don't know whether 8 hours/day is needed. If that statement is correct, he probably won't make it.  But it seems like he has low-hanging fruit in calculation.

Unless someone is immensely talented, I think he would have to. Maybe even more than that. The thing is, in chess you gain rating through taking it from your opponents. So to be a GM, he has to beat a lot of those higher rated players in order to become one. 150+ rating is a lot on that level, and apart from that, he would have to accomplish 3 really great tournaments where his performance rating would be 2 600 or over to get those norms.

It is painfully difficult to do. I feel that he is doing 2-3 hours a day of training, maybe not even every day. That probably will not cut it, there are many up and coming players whose complete purpose at the moment is to get that GM title. They are certainly working 8 hours a day for that goal at least. So he would probably have to match that drive to have a chance.

But as I've said, I don't think he intends to do that kind of work as he simply has other things to do. It seems to me that his quest is just his wish to play some tournaments and to have some additional content for his YouTube channel. Of course if that proves to be enough for GM title, he would take it, but it is probably not enough.

To be a GM, you only need to beat the IMs and draw with the GMs.  In one of his recent tournaments, the gm norm was 6.5 and he scored 3.5 losing 3 rating points.

vs IMs: +2 -2 =2

vs GMs -2 =1

He hits the GM norm in that tournament with +3 =3 v IMs and =3 vs GMs.

> I feel that he is doing 2-3 hours a day of training, maybe not even every day.

He has said in a video in November that he has a routine doing 2 hours of study per day and very little calculation training.  The first thing to change is to increase the amount of calculation training (probably to half that time to start).  It's not hard: if what you are doing is not work, do something else: change routine, change program contents, change coach.  For example, has he spoken to Kislik?  

OTOH, from a clickbait perspective, taking 3 years to get the norms with a bunch of cliff-hangers makes sense also.  But he has a history of having his rating stall for long periods, and of quitting.  So Occam's Razor says he is making bad decisions about his training program and is likely to quit on the GM quest.

bro u cant say much its not like ur even 2000 cause u dont even know the double bushops mate

Levy's quest to become a GM reminds me of another YouTuber who is a very fit but retired olympic runner. In his prime he reached the olympic final and run a very fast 800m time (probably still top 40 of all time as of 2022), and a few years ago after his retirement he started a quest to run a sub 11 100m. 11 sec is nothing compared to the pro level, so most of his fans (200K+ subs) at the time thought he would definitely achieve it. However, the body type needed to run a fast 100m is much different from the required to run a fast 800, so those that are experienced realized it would be a near-impossible task. Long story short he got to around 11.3-4 but quit before he got anywhere close to sub 11. However, it was still a win for him because it generated a lot of views and got a lot of new fans for his channel.

I believe the case for GothamChess is very similar. He is a very strong player but his skillset is definitely more of being engaging and instructive at the same time and being an influencer, compared to the raw skills and talent needed for GM. In his prime he beat a few GMs in a single tournament so he has the talent, but that was over over 5 years ago and his rating has dropped by quite some even compared to his rating at the time (2400). Like many has said, the hardest for him is most likely not the norms, but the skills and consistency to achieve a 2500+ rating. Before that is done, trying to beat 3 GM is one tournament is exponentially harder. Of course, with dedication at this age it isn't totally out of the question, but trying to maintain his current lifestyle while training for GM, might just be too far-fetched to be true. I still wish the best luck to his goals, and that he isn't bringing up the topic just for content but is rather serious about it. His following and influence probably has him set for life, so he can probably dedicate 8+ hours a day to studying without too much problem, and he has already made a decent amount of progress to reaching GM as opposed to untitled player on chess.com trying to reach GM.