November 30, 2021
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Redemption Stories

Listen to the new episode of The Agency Podcast right here or find it at all the good podcast places.

This week:
Nepo vs Carlsen and the trouble with chess
Selling Sunset and other reality tv
The Shawshank Redemption
Succession (Greg for CEO)
Bad tv we love
….and lots more

Email us anytime. We love to hear from our listeners.

November 27, 2021
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Are you watching the world championship chess match?

Ian Nepomniachtchi is challenging the champion Magnus Carlsen in a 14 game match. I’m watching a live stream with commentators Judit Polgar and Anish Giri. I didn’t pay much attention to chess for a really long time but I recently enjoyed following the US Championships won by Wesley So. This morning I noticed the second game was being streamed and I had some time so I tuned in.

The first game in this match was a draw. Too many draws is a big problem for chess as far as I’m concerned. It’s a big flaw in the tournament system and a big flaw in chess, compared to Go, for instance, in which a draw situation is extremely rare (it can happen with a triple ko). As I type this Carlsen and Nepo have agreed to another draw.

I’ll try to tune in to some of the other games in the match if I can. The challenge is that watching one of these games is a big time commitment. Still, watching players at this high level is fascinating.