Chapter 1: How did David Howell become a Grandmaster at such a young age?
I lost to a 12-year-old a few years ago. He's now one of the best players in the world, but yeah, he was a grandmaster already at 12. You were, what, 18 when you became one? 16. 16. So you knew at a very young age you wanted to become a grandmaster. Yeah, I just didn't have any other options. I figured I wasn't good at many other things. Really? Pretty special achievement.
And that's when kind of the pressure kicked in and the realization kicked in that this was actually something that I could pursue. I've been addicted to winning ever since that moment. And at eight, that was before all the AI and the solvers and everything. So you had to learn from the books, right? Yeah.
Chapter 2: What challenges did David face in his chess career?
Old school, like books. I think going to clubs and actually analyzing with the older players, the more experienced players taught me a lot.
Okay guys, David Howell, first grandmaster on the show, chess grandmaster, thanks for coming on man. It's a pleasure, nice to be here. There's not many of you guys, right?
There's a few, there's ever more and more, most of them are kids these days, but yeah, it's nice to be part of a pretty elite club. Yeah, they're getting younger and younger. They are, like I lost to a 12 year old a few years ago, and he's now one of the best players in the world, but yeah, he was a grandmaster already at 12, so... It's a crazy world.
You were, what, 18 when you became one?
16. 16. I mean, these days, that's considered old. But at the time, it was the youngest in the UK. And yeah, I don't know what I did with my childhood, to be fair.
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Chapter 3: How has chess evolved with the rise of AI and online platforms?
How many hours a day were you playing at? 16? I would play chess probably eight hours a day or at least study, think about chess, read books. Yeah, it was kind of my life. These days I'm a bit more chilled about it. I don't keep up to date with modern trends as much. But yeah, I think eight hours is the average for a top, top player.
So you knew at a very young age you wanted to become a grandmaster?
Yeah, I just didn't have any other options. I figured I wasn't good at too many other things.
Chapter 4: What impact does rapid chess have on the game?
Really? I had this dream of being like a soccer manager, football manager. But yeah, in the end, chess, it was my one true love. I've been playing since I was five, so I kind of fell into it and never left. Wow. Were you really good right at the start or did you get better over time?
Um, yeah, I mean, I never really, it never clocked with me that I was that good until, um, I mean, I was eight and then I beat a grandmaster for the first time and at eight, yeah. And it was, uh, I mean, I was on the front of the papers and I was like, mom, dad, what does this mean? Like, uh, why am I seeing my own face? And they're like, you know, it's a pretty special achievement. Wow.
And that's when kind of the pressure kicked in and the realization kicked in that this was actually something that I could pursue. I've been addicted to winning ever since that moment. And at eight, that was before all the AI and the solvers and everything. So you had to learn from the books, right? Yeah. Old school, like books.
I think going to clubs and actually analyzing with the older players, the more experienced players taught me a lot.
these days I have it as like a badge of honor I say to these kids you know you don't understand that deeply you're just memorizing what the computer says and I think to some extent that's true but it's no coincidence that the likes of Magnus Carlsen a top player in the world now he was kind of he's the same age as me and he had the old school way of learning but he complemented it with technology when it kicked in a bit later yeah and now age is a big factor in chess right
Yeah, I'm at that stage. I'm 34, and I kind of joke that I'm semi-retired because it's a bit like most sports these days. It's like life kicks in. There's so much distraction. It's hard to dedicate so much energy, brain power. When you're young, you have not that much going on, I'm going to say. So, yeah, the youngsters, they're coming up. The world champion, he's 19 years old these days. It's...
Yeah, we're all granddads. What age would you say was your peak?
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Chapter 5: How is cheating in chess being addressed in the digital age?
I think it probably would have matched my physical peak. So like maybe in the mid 20s, like I would play these like long tournaments, two weeks long, seven hours a day. And you need a lot of stamina. You need kind of that energy. And I think that also matched my peak rating, my peak ranking. So, yeah, around 24, 25. Think I understand chess better now, but I just can't I don't know.
I can't show it on the board anymore That must be frustrating. Yeah, the consistency isn't there like I'll play a great game and then throw it away in one move just because I'm older and I lose this concentration Wow, that must be frustrating because you know, you're better at Yeah, I tell myself that at least. It's like a coping mechanism.
But I think all the chess players, we think we still have it. We think we can do it. But the consistency, that's the first thing that disappears. Right. Also, the competition's gotten a lot better. That too. Yeah. It's like, I think it's the same in all sports or all games.
uh information's traveled so much quicker and everything's shared nowadays uh so yeah it's not just the fact that kind of the top guys are much stronger than they've ever been but it's also kind of um the tail as well like everyone yeah has access to information and everyone has lessons nowadays there's free YouTube videos you can learn a bunch so uh yeah definitely tougher would you would you consider chess mainstream at this point
Chapter 6: What is the significance of Magnus Carlsen in modern chess?
I'd like to say yes, but I don't think we're there yet. It's kind of been my dream. I realized in my late 20s I was never going to be world champion. And I think because chess players were very goal, we're kind of fixated on results. So my new goal was to make chess more mainstream, to make it more popular. There's a lot of people who are kind of like-minded now. I think we're trying our best.
There are Netflix documentaries coming. There's movies coming. Stuff is happening, but I'm just hoping it's not kind of a temporary thing. I'm hoping it's not just this random boom and things disappear. But mainstream, that's the goal long term. You have the BBC show, you're doing freestyle chess. There's a lot of events bringing all the normal people into chess, which is cool, right? Yeah.
Like, I mean, for me, it happened kind of accidentally. I was, well, during lockdown, during the pandemic, I was just sitting on my bum in England and not doing too much. Suddenly I got a call to go to Norway and kind of film this chess show in a TV studio. And in Norway, chess is massive. It's like one of the top sports.
And yeah, I think just the realization that we could take it to the masses, that people would approach me in the street. That never happened in England where I grew up. So yeah, suddenly it was like, okay, we're growing the game, we're bringing new audiences in, new eyeballs. And I think that was the one thing when I was growing up, I felt lacked. In the UK, it was like...
the recognition, the understanding that chess is actually a cool game, it's not just a hobby. And yeah, these days, that's what drives me, just to keep bringing the game, pumping it up and showing the world.
Yeah, it's cool to see where it's gone, because it's similar to gaming, where you used to get made fun of for being a gamer nerd. You did too? Yeah, I wasn't that good at it, but I saw people get bullied for being gaming nerds, and now it's like people do it for a living.
Yeah, exactly. And it's pretty decent living at the top levels. It's worth it. And I think it's more accepted these days, like chess, gaming. I'm going to the Esports World Cup soon. It's like chess is part of that. It's super cool. So yeah, I'm hoping the stigma, we're slowly shaking it off. Absolutely. Same with poker.
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Chapter 7: How does trash talking influence the chess community?
I know a lot of chess players play poker now too. A lot of similarities, right? Have you gotten into poker? I try not to gamble.
I've got such an addictive personality. It's like anything I do, I have to try my best. I have to keep going until I feel like I've achieved a good level. I lost a lot of money to some friends when I was playing poker as a teenager, and I've gone cold turkey ever since. How about yourself? Do you play? I don't, but I respect a lot of those guys because it's not easy.
Yeah, it's like dog eat dog. Because you could still play perfectly and lose money. Exactly. There's a luck factor. With chess, it's mostly skill, right?
99%. Yeah. I mean, your opponent might still play super well, but ultimately, if you play a perfect game, they play a perfect game. It's a draw. But poker, it's far from it. Exactly. You could lose to someone that's never played before. Yeah.
Trust me, I have. So right now, becoming a GM, would you say it's way harder than when you did it?
Yeah, it's a good question. Firstly, the competition is harder now. It's tougher now. You have so many more rivals. But back when I did it, it was harder to travel to tournaments. There were fewer tournaments, fewer opportunities. I'd like to think it was tougher back in the day, but maybe that's just because I did it and I want to... hype up my achievement more.
But yeah, they're more grandmasters than ever now. I think there's like 1,700 kind of in history. So it's all roughly that number. So it's still pretty exclusive, the club. And just the fact that 12-year-olds are doing it doesn't mean it's the norm. So yeah, it's still pretty tough these days.
And back then there was no online, right? So you had to play all in person.
Yeah, like online kind of kicked in when I was a teenager. And I mean, talking of addiction, like I was playing like 12 hours a day. I was like waiting for my parents to go to sleep and I'd be like playing under the covers. That's funny. I used to do that with Pokemon on the Game Boy and DS. Yeah. Yeah, I missed the, like, Pokemon. That was my first true love. Yeah, Fire Red was my first one.
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Chapter 8: What future trends can we expect in the world of chess?
That rascal. Man, there's probably a good chance he threw it out or something, honestly. Yeah, or he sold it and he's probably bought a house off it. I don't know. What do they wear now? It's in the hundreds of thousands. Holy crap. That's for the raw or for the graded? I'm not sure. Yeah, because it's probably PSA 10, but either way. Either way, yeah.
That's why I had to play chess for a living, to make up the money that I lost on the playground when I was a kid. Was the money good at first? Because I know later, like now it's really good, but... Yeah, I mean, when I was coming through the ranks, it was tough. Like, my family, they weren't so well off, and... My dad had to work extra shifts just to fund the travel for tournaments.
He was working 18-hour shifts as a doctor constantly. And the prize money wasn't great. I think it's a bit like some sports, like tennis, for example. If you're at the very top, it's very good. in the middle of the pack, it's still, you feel like you're in limbo. Like when I was, even as a grandmaster, even before I started commentating, like the pandemic hit, I was struggling to make a living.
Dang, as a grandmaster? As a grandmaster, yeah. I mean, most grandmasters, they make a living through teaching or some now do content creation because playing tournaments, like there's no guarantees.
you often have to win to just to pay rent like uh and it's a lot of pressure like i think mental health is a big thing in chess like there's been a lot of kind of elite players who've struggled because just that pressure day in day out of needing to win and pain when you lose and you're like wait i can't make ends meet i don't have another tournament for three months yeah it's it's it's been tough wow it's nice to see it's getting better yeah
Thanks for being so open about that. I had no idea. But that makes a lot of sense because if the money's not there and you're dedicating decades, eight hours a day, yeah, that could get stressful.
Yeah, I mean, I would regularly play tournaments and it's like national championships and it's kind of it'll be a 10 day tournament. first prize would be a couple of thousand dollars. That's it? Yeah, and you pay your own accommodation. So if you win, you might break even. You might make a bit of a profit. Yeah, because a hotel's like $200 a night. Exactly.
You're not even making money at that point, plus the travel. Exactly. So, yeah, maybe travel will come with slightly cheaper back in the day, but then it's still like you're fighting against your fellow professionals just to kind of... Stay afloat. So chess has really come a long way then. Yeah, it's nice to see. On the one hand, I'm a bit gutted. I'm like, oh, my peak.
It wasn't so great when I was that good. But it's nice to see the younger generation coming through now and the likes of Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, they're kind of leading the way, fighting for their fellow pros. And yeah, it's very decent these days, if you're at the top. But still, there is this kind of...
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