He’s not really underrated in the chess community. He’s very well respected by many, including top masters like Yasser Sairawan. Also, he has coached many a young star. However, in the online community, you could say he’s underrated.
As a chess player? He's rated about right. As a youtuber? He's one of the legit OG chess personalities and he doesn't even have 100k? He should be well over that by now.
@@descendency He's rated properly now... but normally his rating is several hundred points lower than his actual ability because he loves to play joke moves.
GM potential is often a matter of innate capacity rather than efficacy at a given moment in time. Ben’s stream/channel becoming more popular has allowed him to allot more time to the game and study of same; the rest is history
@@BeguillingMirage no one, and I mean no one, has ever improved their chess as a result of devoting more time to streaming and less time to actual, serious chess. GMs don't improve because of time spent on twitch and TH-cam. I hope you can realize this with about four seconds of reflection.
@@kubikub1 I understand what you are saying but unfortunately I don't think its true. The level of difference between people like Magnus, Nepo and the other top GMs vs someone who is a streamer is immense. You can't get to that level without devoting to chess full time. I think what you are saying applies to someone who is not playing professionally, had a day job but replaced it with chess streaming....tbh I don't know how much is made by streaming to know if this happens or not.
@@Jonny48568 cus he's young, and ben has been playing chess longer than levy has been alive. Doesn't mean levy is bad, just that ben is morphing into an old wise man character :P
If the man can play O-O-O# I dont care about his rating. He cared and he did it and made it look easy. But frankly, not easy. What was it, like 400 rating hike in a month? Insane...
At 05:05 that headscratch is the world sign for 'Man you made a bad move and I will punish you so hard!' GM Ben Finegold(showing the proper respect ;) I am watching you for a very long time and all I can say is you are a fine gentleman! Keep up the good work! Go Ben, but stay here!
Some extra flavor that makes this so much better: In the first match Levy opened with the London- I imagine Ben has defended against that for decades, and I was expecting a more creative opening. Levy commented early on that he was already thinking about the comments on TH-cam. He must have realized that Ben had plenty of prep and afterwards, counter-play. The endgame was brutal; Ben had much more time and Levy offered a draw, which Ben quickly refused. If I remember correctly Ben had the winning position and was correct in refusing the offer. Then when Ben gets the white pieces he goes for the three pawns. I think its a variation as well, normally f4 is played sometime... anyways I don't think Levy had much prep for this. It's interesting that Levy attempted some system-style play that longtime GM's seem to loathe, and lost doing so. Afterwards Ben very modestly showed him why he's the GM with creative play and tactics. For the record, Levy did talk some trash about Ben's fans afterwards when he learned Ben planned to raid him- you can't see for yourself (Levy locks his twitch vods for subs only) but it was somewhat disrespectful. He did seem to acknowledge that Ben was a strong player and that he got nervous playing GM's, but the salt was palatable in the moment. I think Levy could have played better chess and also given better commentary, and I hope he woke up humbled.
Thank you for the summary. Went back and watched Bens to see the 1st game. 1st match looks like a trompowsky, not a london. and the draw offer was at a time when it was a even position, but Ben had a near 30 sec time advantage so it was kinda pointless, this is 3min chess after all. Ben was up a rook at the end tho, it was either a time forced pre move error or a botched stalemate attempt.
I love Gotham Chess so just watched his video of this and then coming to see your side of things was really cool. Will check out more of your videos now:) Good luck
Congratulations!!! 🎊🎈🍾 I have to give GothamChess ALOT of credit on taking that rematch and potentially being the actual one to get Ben to 2800. I don’t think I would have done it if It were him LOL. So shout out to GothamChess for being a great sport and providing us with the opportunity of great content!!! May both of them prosper in their future chess and life endeavors 👍🙌
Go Ben!!!! I have to admit I was starting to think that you might not get there. Shame on me. At least at first I thought it was entirely probable, except for one thing. I couldn't help myself. Love you Ben Go Ben!!!
GGs Ben!
congrats to the most important loss of your career
GG Levi
like your content levy.
We need a recap on this game
Recap!!
Ben has proven yet again that he’s the best player in his chair. Go Ben!-but stay there.
overused joke, please stop.
@@turtle_fps you are overused
Always repeat!
Ben is one of the chess players in history!
@@turtle_fps ratio
1. you beat 2800
2. you beat levy
3. we get to see karen just out of the shower
all in one video. unbelievable
And after all of that he still could have played knife f5. What a guy.
@@zBrain0 he didn't want to humiliate levy, that't why he refrained from it.
You forgot about the kiss.
Unbelievable
And the key move was C5- explosive
Chad Ben Finegold beats virgin GothamChess
I hope Ben gets to the world championship match, and as the final move plays f6 checkmate.
He would never play f6. Even if that would make him world champion. Ben is a man of principles
@@tinchele1 idk man, he flip flops between "never play f6" and "always play f6" quite often
…and says “rawwwr”
I have heard Carlsen likely won't defend his title unless his challenger is Ben.
@@Bulettenmann yeah right, but if the challenger is Ben, then doesn't matter if Carlsen plays or not, because Ben would destroy him.
This reminds me of the famous game gotcha vs bitch
Ben beating the end boss Gotham to make 2800 was almost too perfect.
What a win. I like that Gotham had 2 queens on the board when you checkmated him.
Ben is such an underrated player. His ability to calculate is astounding.
He’s not really underrated in the chess community. He’s very well respected by many, including top masters like Yasser Sairawan. Also, he has coached many a young star. However, in the online community, you could say he’s underrated.
He is literally 2800. "Underrated".
As a chess player? He's rated about right. As a youtuber? He's one of the legit OG chess personalities and he doesn't even have 100k? He should be well over that by now.
The truth hurts etc etc but mostly etc
@@descendency He's rated properly now... but normally his rating is several hundred points lower than his actual ability because he loves to play joke moves.
You beat Gotham chess in the final game of your road to 2800 series and you didn’t use that as a clickbait title?????????????? confusing the audience
I always love how patient Ben attacks
now i know why gm players have the right to maintain GM title lifelong !
GM potential is often a matter of innate capacity rather than efficacy at a given moment in time.
Ben’s stream/channel becoming more popular has allowed him to allot more time to the game and study of same; the rest is history
@@BeguillingMirage no one, and I mean no one, has ever improved their chess as a result of devoting more time to streaming and less time to actual, serious chess. GMs don't improve because of time spent on twitch and TH-cam. I hope you can realize this with about four seconds of reflection.
@@jedinxf7 That's simply not true. I'm sure many chess content creator do some research for the videos they do, which contributes to becoming better.
@@kubikub1 I understand what you are saying but unfortunately I don't think its true. The level of difference between people like Magnus, Nepo and the other top GMs vs someone who is a streamer is immense. You can't get to that level without devoting to chess full time. I think what you are saying applies to someone who is not playing professionally, had a day job but replaced it with chess streaming....tbh I don't know how much is made by streaming to know if this happens or not.
@@BeguillingMirage
You use an uncommon form of writing
Why is that?
We need a sync vid of this pair o games
First time Ben's ever been silent playing
He was also almost completely silent in that one game where he got 9 queens.
That’s when u know shit just got hard.
ben may be old and slow, but levy is young and foolish
Damn this comment go hardd feel free to screenshot
Truth hurts
Why is he considered foolish?
@@Jonny48568 is a joke ben says
@@Jonny48568 cus he's young, and ben has been playing chess longer than levy has been alive.
Doesn't mean levy is bad, just that ben is morphing into an old wise man character :P
I support Karen’s desire to see you beat Gotham above all else.
EVERYBODY GET IN HERE
Did you guys cry I did. What a beautiful ending
Go Ben! But stay there
CONGRATULATIONS BEN! YOU SAVED US!!
I love Ben and I love Levy, and I love most of all they should be faux arch-enemies. Both are extremely entertaining personalities.
Levy is not on GM level yet, as he overthinks his rationale many times. But I’m not a gm, what do I know?
Good job getting to 2800 and good job playing against Levy.
It was really smart to play Levy for your match to hit 2800.
Amazing content!!
Ben should’ve actually just keep farming levy for rating.
@@blindwhy the new meta
The famous game Ben vs some guy. And now I see, the real 2800 was the truth we hurt along the way.
I love the memes on this channel so much
This actually made me lol
If the man can play O-O-O# I dont care about his rating. He cared and he did it and made it look easy. But frankly, not easy. What was it, like 400 rating hike in a month? Insane...
That was such a beautiful checkmate though and to ignore the promotion so freaking classy
Goddam what a final game, congrats Ben!!
Ben in his prime was great. Watched his best games and the calculations were amazing.
At 05:05 that headscratch is the world sign for 'Man you made a bad move and I will punish you so hard!'
GM Ben Finegold(showing the proper respect ;) I am watching you for a very long time and all I can say is you are a fine gentleman! Keep up the good work! Go Ben, but stay here!
"That move was so bad, I can now beat you with only one hand"
Finally, youtube was almost retired
Congrats Ben, got to 2800 much faster than I thought you would. And beating Gothamchess to do it is the cherry on top 🍒
levys from the 1 o'clock class
Damn, the truth hurts!
Some extra flavor that makes this so much better: In the first match Levy opened with the London- I imagine Ben has defended against that for decades, and I was expecting a more creative opening. Levy commented early on that he was already thinking about the comments on TH-cam. He must have realized that Ben had plenty of prep and afterwards, counter-play. The endgame was brutal; Ben had much more time and Levy offered a draw, which Ben quickly refused. If I remember correctly Ben had the winning position and was correct in refusing the offer.
Then when Ben gets the white pieces he goes for the three pawns. I think its a variation as well, normally f4 is played sometime... anyways I don't think Levy had much prep for this. It's interesting that Levy attempted some system-style play that longtime GM's seem to loathe, and lost doing so. Afterwards Ben very modestly showed him why he's the GM with creative play and tactics.
For the record, Levy did talk some trash about Ben's fans afterwards when he learned Ben planned to raid him- you can't see for yourself (Levy locks his twitch vods for subs only) but it was somewhat disrespectful. He did seem to acknowledge that Ben was a strong player and that he got nervous playing GM's, but the salt was palatable in the moment. I think Levy could have played better chess and also given better commentary, and I hope he woke up humbled.
Thank you for the summary. Went back and watched Bens to see the 1st game. 1st match looks like a trompowsky, not a london. and the draw offer was at a time when it was a even position, but Ben had a near 30 sec time advantage so it was kinda pointless, this is 3min chess after all. Ben was up a rook at the end tho, it was either a time forced pre move error or a botched stalemate attempt.
@@DrCrazyPhenom Thanks Crazy- perhaps I commented too fast in my excitement for the game. Appreciate the clarifications
Can't wait to see the side-by-side on this one!
Nobody likes Gotham Chess
@@DeeDeeJohn17 Thats why he has the biggest chess yt in terms of following? ......
Anyway, Agad is better than all, including Mr. Finegold.
The man, The Myth, The Legend
Love you BIG BEN
There are sonic booms, there are atomic bombs which are extremely loud... And there is Ben calling Karen from the shower
Ive been watching this journey and to beat Levy to get to 2800, couldn't have written it, too perfect
He was so concentrated, I've never seen him this focused
I love Gotham Chess so just watched his video of this and then coming to see your side of things was really cool. Will check out more of your videos now:) Good luck
0:46 reminds me of when Randy from South Park yells out "Sharon! Hey Sharon!"
Congratulations!!! 🎊🎈🍾 I have to give GothamChess ALOT of credit on taking that rematch and potentially being the actual one to get Ben to 2800. I don’t think I would have done it if It were him LOL. So shout out to GothamChess for being a great sport and providing us with the opportunity of great content!!! May both of them prosper in their future chess and life endeavors 👍🙌
bens face after the mate to his wife is like "you liked that huh"
2900? Also congrats this was an amazing series, and what a way to end it against levy of all people.
Oh man, how happy I am right now, GOO BEN!!
What a wonderful win! Congratulations Ben, you are our favourite GM! What a way to start a day! Levy made Ben's day!
Those final 4 moves were beautiful
oh man this game was freaking awesome too, even if it hadn't been for 2800 or beating Gotham. what an ending!
All the other stuff aside that was also a really cool game .
Nice work
GO BEN
Congratz Ben, happy for you !
"It's not good, but it's knife f5"
Has anyone ever seen this opening they went with? Ben just handled it so casually
omg Ben Finegold beating Gotham two times in a row, what a chad....
Hurray for Ben! RARRRR!!!! Also, etcetera!
On a serious, that was awesome!
Great job Ben!
Been watching your videos since the lecturing in St. Louis. As a Dane Im still waiting patiently for a Bent Larsen lecture though... ;)
What an honor Levy has been given, Ben refusing to play Knife F5 speaks volumes.
Well done Ben! You really showed people your chess acumen, etc.
Mostly etc.
God, that was a brutal, vicious beating. Goes to show why they're rated the same but one has the GM title and one has the IM title.
Beating Levy is the best part, for shure
End was too clean!
Ben should go and win OTB tournament to become WC for over 50s! Lets support that project!
Go Ben ! And stay 2800
Man, I love you both. You're telling me there's a multiverse? 😆😆
Thats it baby! Entering 2800 like a *BAWS*
Congratulations Ben!
CONGRATULATIONS :) Yeah I was one of the doubters. Very impressive run!!!
Man. I thought the road to 2800 was all hype. Actually made it.
Go Ben!!!! I have to admit I was starting to think that you might not get there. Shame on me. At least at first I thought it was entirely probable, except for one thing. I couldn't help myself. Love you Ben Go Ben!!!
Almost 100k. Congrats Ben
What, no "gotcha bitch!" ?!?
This was a cool moment. Thanks for sharing.
Now he knows what it’s like when God has a gun
Congratulations GM Finegold
I need 31 to be a futurama thumbnail with 31st century
There ain't gonna be a 31
The higher you climb, the harder you fall. The lesson is... never climb!
Was it about this game or another Ben said, "the problem with gambit is I'd your opponent knows the line you're just down material"
d1=Q
'Sweet, two Queens! Easy win...'
Narrator : "It was not an easy win."
You can finally start the 2900 series now
W00t GO BEN!!!
Yey! Congrats, Ben!
2800! they grow up so fast :)
30 days old and he’s already at 2800!
Congrats Ben!
That was agreat checkmate . Could you please make a vid on your calculation process?
7:20 Uhm doesnt qd4 work for black?
GO BEN!!!
Congratulations on 2800!
Karen is wholesome af. A true queen.
Wow that mate was beautiful
Go Ben!
MONUMENTAL
congratulations!
Congrats, Ben! What a final!
Good lord, I never noticed before but Karen has some straight up canon's!
Chess enthusiast down the street at Georgia State University, great stuff!
7:05 He is joking, right? if black plays Rd5, if white takes the queen with Rxd1 it hangs back rank mate.
I was watching this live on my phone at work when it happened xD
GOO BEENNN!!
Congratulations 🎉
Levy is blood in the water, free rating.
Congrats. Well earned, sir.
Go Ben! 🙂
Excellent game
Road to 2900? I've been enjoying these.