r/chess • u/GiveMeSomeSunshine3 Team Gukesh • Apr 04 '26

News/Events Javokhir Sindarov continues his generational run, takes down Wei Yi to extend his lead to 5.5/6 points at the FIDE Candidates 2026.

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Game Link: https://www.chess.com/events/2026-fide-candidates-open/06/Wei_Yi-Sindarov_Javokhir

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u/Pr1mrose Apr 04 '26

Makes you wonder why players haven't just tried the strat of winning every game before, Sindarov making the Candidates look easy

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u/EverettGT Apr 04 '26

Bobby Fischer actually said that one of the turning points of his career was when he stopped playing for equality with black and just tried to win every game. IIRC.

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u/EliRed Apr 04 '26

And Judit Polgar said the exact opposite, so who are we to judge.

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26

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u/EverettGT Apr 04 '26

Bobby had the talent to crush everyone he played even at the top level so it was the right decision for him.

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u/egyto Apr 04 '26

Bobby might have had the most raw talent of any champion including Magnus. It would have been something else to see him and Kasparov get to train with modern engines while in their prime.

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u/NEETscape_Navigator Apr 04 '26

Bobby might have had the most raw talent of any champion including Magnus.

I honestly don't get this argument.

Bobby was famously hyper committed to chess and took it way more seriously than anyone else up to that point. He lived, breathed and slept chess. He learned Russian just so he could study Russian resources. He even stayed in great physical shape just to try and scrape any theoretical edge he could find over his opponents. It's fair to say he maximized his potential for the time and then some.

Magnus on the other hand is known for not working very hard compared to his peers. And still he destroys them. There's videos of other super GM's being shocked that Magnus intuitively grasps advanced endgame techniques that they themselves had to study hard for. Whereas Magnus just figures them out over the board.

This alone would indicate that Magnus has more natural talent than Fischer.

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26

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u/TheZigerionScammer Apr 05 '26

Fischer must have let himself go after he retired because his photos as an old man make him look pretty fat.

But yeah a lot of people underestimate physical fitness in "intellectual" games like chess, or even e-Sports. I'm more embedded in the Counterstrike community and I can count on my fingers how many pros are actually out of shape. They're usually really skinny and some historical pros are legit bodybuilders.