My Chess Grandmaster - Sam Shankland | Tosh Show

Quick Overview

Chess Grandmaster Sam Shankland detailed his career progression, emphasizing that while the current best player, Magnus Carlsen, is demonstrably superior to past champions due to presentism in sports, Garry Kasparov remains his choice for the greatest chess player of all time.

Key Points: Shankland considers Magnus Carlsen the current best player, but believes Garry Kasparov is the greatest chess player of all time, noting Kasparov played competitively against him at age 58. The threshold for becoming a Grandmaster (GM) requires achieving a 2500 FIDE rating and securing three norms, which involve performances of 2600 or higher against specific international criteria. Shankland stated that he calculates best on a 3D board, second best blindfolded, and third best on a 2D board, explaining why he appeared distracted during online tournaments. He revealed that the most money he earned from a single book surpassed the combined winnings from the US Championship, two Olympic golds, two World Cup quarterfinals, the Prague Masters, and the Beal Masters. Shankland confirmed that drug testing exists in chess, noting that testing positive for steroids would lead to disqualification, even though steroids should not impact chess ability. He believes that while anyone can learn chess skill to reach the top 1%, becoming a Grandmaster is unattainable for most people. Shankland recounted that a fast ball to the face while playing baseball when he was 12 or 11 years old may have diverted him from baseball to chess, preventing him from splitting his time between the two sports.

Context: The episode features host Daniel Tosh interviewing Sam Shankland, an American Grandmaster chess player, on the Tosh Show. The conversation covers Shankland's background, including his early athletic interests in baseball, his path to becoming a professional chess player, his views on the differences between the 'best' and 'greatest' players, the structure of chess mastery, and the realities of professional chess travel and earnings.