1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,880 Speaker 1: This is really going to be fun. For the first time, 2 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: North America is hosting the prestigious fee Day World Rapid 3 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: and Blitz Championships Chess Championships taking place in the heart 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,640 Speaker 1: of New York City's historic Wall Street district, including a 5 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:16,079 Speaker 1: special Wall Street gambit uniting the worlds of chess and finance. 6 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: Joining us now to discuss is fee Day Deputy President 7 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 1: vc onand he is a five time World chess champion. Wow. 8 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: VH Welcome, thanks for joining us here. Talk to us 9 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: about why you're in New York. Talk to us about 10 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,560 Speaker 1: this tournament. How important is it and how important is 11 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:34,239 Speaker 1: it in have it in America? 12 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 2: Okay, So, historically the classical World Chess Championship, that is 13 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,160 Speaker 2: the long time six seven hour format is the most 14 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 2: important andreminso, but over the last few years we've started 15 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 2: to work on the Rapid and Blitz format. So the 16 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 2: rapid is fifteen minutes plus ten seconds per game foot player, 17 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 2: so already much faster. And then you have the Blitz 18 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 2: which is three minutes into seconds per play up again, 19 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 2: so highly sped up. This, as you can imagine, produces 20 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 2: a lot of excitement. It's very fast paced, pulsating you 21 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 2: can actually sit there and go oh, and you know 22 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:16,840 Speaker 2: it's that saturve event and it's important for us. The 23 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:21,399 Speaker 2: second thing is we had the candidates tournament for the 24 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 2: Classical World Championship in Toronto in April this year, and 25 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 2: we're so we're very, very excited that we have a 26 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:33,119 Speaker 2: second important event in the Americas within one year. And 27 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:35,320 Speaker 2: you know, it's part of something we're trying to do 28 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 2: and so and you know, there's been a lot of excitement, 29 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 2: a lot of growth in the US in chess. Famously, 30 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 2: I think Queens Gamberto was the thing which kind of 31 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 2: triggered it. 32 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,639 Speaker 1: Yeah, now I gotta ask you, I said, chess person, 33 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: did you think that was a good representation of the 34 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: sport and some of the people in the in the 35 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: in the game? 36 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 2: I mean, yes, I have only one or two quibbles 37 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 2: the rest, but the rest is very authentic and it 38 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 2: felt very natural. I mean you could easily see yourself 39 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 2: in that person's shoes. I think it was very accurately done. 40 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:12,920 Speaker 3: Let's talk though, about a women versus a man, and 41 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:15,240 Speaker 3: that's not what's actually occurring. There's a women's chess spotlight 42 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 3: as well, I understand. So how are we seeing demographics 43 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 3: play out in the world of chess right now? 44 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 2: It's becoming a global sport. One of the things that's 45 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:29,679 Speaker 2: happened is that technology has managed to make it a 46 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 2: truly global sport. Earlier, if you lived in a country, 47 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 2: whether or not a lot of chess players, chances are 48 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 2: you wouldn't know how to get into the game. Now 49 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 2: that problem has been solved. You can watch a game 50 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 2: no matter where you are. There are live streams, they're broadcasts, 51 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 2: you can follow the game in multiple platforms, and so 52 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 2: it has become an ever more global game, and that 53 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 2: is reflected here. I don't remember the exact number, but 54 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 2: it is a very large number of nationalities and more 55 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,959 Speaker 2: than five hundred participants in the men and women's sections together, 56 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 2: and I should say it's the open section and the 57 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 2: women's section in a sense, the women can play in 58 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 2: the open section, but not the other way around. The 59 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 2: thing is there is still a gap, but more and 60 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 2: more women are starting to beat male grandmasters. The gap 61 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 2: is narrowing. There's always been a kind of gap, but 62 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 2: it's narrowing, and so we hope this will trigger more 63 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 2: and more women coming to participate in the game as well, 64 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 2: because it's quite easy to. 65 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,079 Speaker 1: Do, right and this event in New York City, you've 66 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: got some serious players here. Tell us about who's going 67 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: to be playing. 68 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 2: Yes, So in addition to yourself, I'm not actually participating, 69 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 2: I can in my capacity is definitely for official duties. 70 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 2: But we have almost everyone in the top twenty or 71 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 2: top thirty, bar two or three. It's the strongest ever edition. 72 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 2: So in all the edition's history, this is the one 73 00:03:55,440 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 2: which has the highest average rating, highest average, you know, 74 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 2: historical record, all that a performance record, I should say. 75 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 2: And you know, it's fantastic that we were able to 76 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 2: host it in Wall Street, you know, a very good location, 77 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 2: and that also kind of gives into our team. We're 78 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 2: having this conference the Wall Street Gamut. Talking about chess 79 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 2: and finance. Again, there's a lot of similarities between the 80 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 2: two and there's been a lot of crossovers. A lot 81 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 2: of former chess players migrated finance and went on to 82 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,839 Speaker 2: be very very successful. At one point there were companies 83 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 2: like Bankers Trust Noel, which we're hiring chess players exactly 84 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 2: for that reason. But the other thing is I would 85 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,799 Speaker 2: say that with all the technological development with AI and everything, 86 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 2: the relevance. One of the biggest connections I see is 87 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 2: that chess has kind of been ahead of the curve 88 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 2: we from the finance perspective, I would say chess is 89 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 2: like to the future of where finance will encounter air, 90 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 2: which is what happens when AI becomes very, very good 91 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 2: at what you do. And because chess is again with 92 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 2: you know, it's finite sixty four squares, it's finite. So 93 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 2: the computers were able to solve it, not solve it, 94 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:25,039 Speaker 2: but get better at humans much faster, and as a result, 95 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 2: learning how to interpret that information has become a key 96 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,840 Speaker 2: skill for us. Now. Finance, of course much much more 97 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 2: complex and may not be reduced like this, but again, 98 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 2: as computers get better and better at different areas, you 99 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 2: know our experience might be relevant there. 100 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,159 Speaker 3: I'm interested victually as many would say, and that we've 101 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 3: had on the program before. Paul and I talking to 102 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 3: Jenny just about how you educate people around poker playing 103 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 3: and women in particular, and understanding risk and probability and 104 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 3: ultimately reading people with poker. A professional poker comes money, 105 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 3: and interestingly, with Wall Street comes money. What are the 106 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 3: sort of prizes you're having to offer within the world 107 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 3: of chess to bring about more and more people who 108 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 3: are at this intersection of Wall Street and chess and 109 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 3: wanting to be able to sort of tempt those that 110 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 3: might be a little bit more financially motivated. 111 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 2: Yes, price funds and chess have been growing clearly as 112 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,160 Speaker 2: the popularity of the sport grows and our broadcast audience 113 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 2: audiences are larger than ever before, So the money is increasing. 114 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 2: There's a record price fund for these World WLD Championships, 115 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 2: more than million dollars. But you know, we have to 116 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,479 Speaker 2: keep expanding and getting more, that's clear. So this is 117 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 2: part of our is a very important event for us 118 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 2: because we get an incredible number of spectators. It's our 119 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 2: second most watched event after the World Championships, and that's 120 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 2: why it's so important as we connect with more and 121 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 2: more people and hopefully attract more sponsors to the game. 122 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: And the worst gambit that has some Wall Street players 123 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: going to be playing in this, right, Like who's playing 124 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: that's right? 125 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 2: Well, that are famous people in the world of finance, 126 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 2: Einstein and who are all former chess players and quite 127 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 2: serious chess players. And so we're trying to play in 128 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 2: that connection, all right, How do people watch this? 129 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: How do they? Is there a stream somewhere or. 130 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 2: There will be a stream, But you can also attend 131 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 2: the conference, okay. 132 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: And that's being held were downtown. 133 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 2: Yes, in uh. I don't have the I'll get a thing, 134 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 2: but it's basically at. 135 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: All right, and you can check out the stream as well. 136 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: All right, excellent, really interesting stuff on an adjoint says 137 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:49,559 Speaker 1: he's a five time world champion and fee D deputy president, 138 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 1: joining us here in studio. They've got their chess event 139 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: going to be down here in Lower Manhattan over the 140 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 1: next several days, so that's a good thing.