Danya Chessbae/Hikaru Response 04/11/21

Note from Danya: To be clear: this is a compilation of my Discord messages over the course of a conversation in my Discord last night, assembled and unmodified other than spacing/typos etc, compiled by some of my Discord mods with my participation. I fully authorized its distribution, provided that it was done in good faith and in an earnest effort to reach a resolution. I'd ask that people read the whole document, if possible, rather than jump to conclusions on the basis of the first few sentences or the description.

I'll try to offer up specifics here without disclosing any personal communication or anything I might remotely view as personal information for the parties involved.

I'll divide it into 1. Chessbae and 2. Hikaru

This is risky because it might again lead to people acting emotionally - but let's not do that and take what happened earlier as a lesson. Please hear me out until the end, and even if you feel very strongly about reacting emotionally, remember what our end goal is here.

Chapter 1 - Chessbae

Let me begin by saying that my personal dealings with Chessbae have been, on balance, amicable enough. To be clear, she supported my stream quite a lot in the first few months, helped streamline me to partner and helped with logistical aspects of the stream, as well as providing advice when I was a complete novice to everything. Let's cordon that off - everything else I share is separate from that and doesn't cancel it out.

Once Chessbae got more actively involved in Hikaru's channel (I'd say about 1.5 years ago), she became less involved as a mod in my channel, and our direct communications got relatively infrequent (although she was obviously still a significant presence). It was around that time that I (along, I think, with many others), started to realize the dark side of things.

The first thing to understand is Chessbae's history with the Chessbrahs. I don't know the full details of it, and you can do your own research: what I do know is that she suddenly started donating huge amounts of money (to my knowledge, out of the blue) - this continued for several months, around 2017 I want to say. As I see it, the Brahs are a good case study for understanding the mechanism of her action. In return for her support she obviously became a mod/VIP/whatever, initially with a lot of influence and support from the community. But she quickly started overstepping the bounds of this influence: trying to dictate what could and couldn't be discussed in the chat, playing favorites between Eric and Aman, opining in very extreme terms about whatever topic was being currently discussed in the chat. She became an outsized presence around whom the whole stream had to revolve.

One could discuss whether the Chessbrahs should do more to curb toxicity/etc but that's beside the point here. They made a choice from the start about the way in which they run the chat, and my understanding is that Chessbae was fundamentally unsatisfied with that, and used her status to do everything in her power to completely alter the spirit of their channel. This obviously led to a conflict and falling-out (public knowledge).

Fast-forward to when she started becoming Hikaru’s main mod / de-facto manager:

Along the way, there are stories of smaller streamers whose careers were derailed due almost exclusively to her vengeance. I have sworn not to tell names, but one chess streamer, a friend of mine whom I trust, told me a very chilling story in which a relatively arbitrary action was misinterpreted by Bae as being directed against her (totally unfounded), and her response to that was a persistent attempt to turn this individual's audience/supporters against them through a variety of manipulative techniques; I trust this person 100% and have independent evidence of this. (Please do NOT press me on identity; let's respect privacy first and foremost.)

There is a well-publicized account of an interaction she had with a female streamer in which she used unacceptable and highly derogatory language. This has been shared in our discord. I have to stress that I don't like bringing to the table these kinds of interactions - everybody has had interactions they regret, but taken together with all of the other incidents, it becomes more evidence of a pattern.

Ok, back to Chessbae as Hikaru's main mod. This is where the initial patterns solidify and become more egregious. A lot of streamers: Alexandra [Botez], Tori [GoldDustTori], yes, Levy [GothamChess], have come out publicly, on-stream, with accounts of highly disturbing interactions with Chessbae that all went in the same general way:

An opportunity would be promised to them (whether commentary, multiple raids, etc. - doesn't matter), agreements would be drawn up, and then Bae would renege at the very last second, oftentimes spinning it back on them. The biggest problem is that when the streamer would come out publicly - and, think for a second how far Alexandra has to be driven to the end of her rope to come out on stream with the things she said.

She's one of the sweetest, most understanding people I know. And the way in which she was consistently manipulated, misled, lied to, and then gaslighted in regards to high-stakes things like commentary opportunities and a related event is shocking.

And apart from that, creating the illusion that by coming out with this, Alexandra/Tori/whoever was the one responsible for creating drama when Hikaru/Bae "were reasonable and ready to talk it out behind the scenes." This might be the single most dangerous pattern: it created the illusion that Bae was always reasonable and magnanimous, whereas these streamers were petty and negative and just wanted to give Hikaru negative publicity. This could not be further from the truth.

I've had long phone convos with a lot of streamers involved, and again, I cannot reveal any personal information: but trust me, this isn't a question of gathering evidence. Bae was at fault every single time, in the most egregious ways possible. This has continued through countless episodes with countless streamers, and if they confronted Bae directly, she would launch personal attacks and the like.

Now, the final element: Bae was responsible for maintaining and enforcing an atmosphere in Hikaru's stream (and Discord, though I wasn't a part of it) which encouraged this totally untethered view of reality. Every one of these incidents was consistently spun to fans without knowledge of the truth as the entire chess world trying to bring Hikaru down through petty conflicts and drama. Legitimate, measured criticism or attempt to tease out the truth were mercilessly put down with bans or gaslighting. Every time HIkaru and I had a slight falling out on stream (more about this in Chapter 2), Bae would be in my stream essentially putting me in a position where she said Hikaru was quashing the conflict and I was the one propagating it by talking about it (again, more to this later).

I've also previously talked about Pogchamps, the fact that Charlie was not invited to PogChamps 2 and very pointed communication upon Charlie's win over xQc. I will NOT implicate Bae in this as I have insufficient evidence, but given all I know, I cannot help but be a bit suspicious that she was none too thrilled at how things turned out. She has also insulted Charlie to my face on my stream (at first I didn't see it, but upon looking at her comment I was shocked):

Chessbae would directly pressure streamers to bend the knee to Hikaru in so many different ways. This included conversations with me, in which Hikaru acted beyond unreasonably and then Chessbae on his behalf demanded an apology from me (which I provided, of course) - this is only the tip of the iceberg. Streamers with less of a fanbase would be terrified into submission, praising Hikaru every which way, never pointing out naked problems in his behavior (again, more in Chapter 2).

Her wrath is feared universally, and what makes this so unacceptable is a situation in which a GM or high-profile chess player - let me be very nakedly honest here -

is terrified of the wrath of an anonymous, self-appointed Mussolini of Twitch if they do not suppress totally natural criticisms or abide by some unspoken rules. This is what has led people to the end of their rope, because it is an extremely fucked up thing to be happening in the chess world, where the players are the ones who should command the most respect and this is multiplied hundredfold by the constant image that she is assisting Hikaru in doing the most, more than anybody else, to grow the game and creative a positive atmosphere. She is also very vocal in her political beliefs - and let me say that I do not think it is possible to act with greater hypocrisy.

Sadly, this is but the tip of the iceberg. Countless streamers have countless stories. There are more incidents than one could assemble into a book. And I'm sure none of this is surprising. But I hope it gives people a better sense. and AGAIN - this is NOT to justify any personal hate toward her, period. Nor is any attempt to expose her acceptable. She WILL receive threats from vile individuals. It is crucial CRUCIAL that we conduct this discussion without resorting to personal attacks or hate, period.

Regarding Hikaru's opponents resigning mid-game, etc: Yes, Hikaru has direct access and can request cheating checks on-demand, etc. I don't really have a problem with this tbh, but obviously there have been questionable incidents where he's suspected/accused players without sufficient evidence. More on this later, and tbh a lot of GMs (myself included) have this issue to some degree.

"Why is Chessbae still a mod on your channel?" - Again, let me explain here. I will unmod Chessbae if she doesn't come out with the statement described above. I want to give her some incentive and a sign that we're not all out to get her and can act charitably. Obviously, I don't want to keep her as a mod, but I also think that a statement from her would go a lot further toward resolving the wounds than a token act from me. Obviously, I am pessimistic about such a statement appearing.

A moderator is a totally voluntary position, in principle - the relationship between streamer and mod can be varied. They can be friends (e.g. I'm close friends with Aquila), or the relationship can be a fully business-oriented one. The streamer generally should be able to communicate their intentions, guidelines to mods, but mods definitely have a say and obviously they have a lot of leeway when it comes to making decisions such as time-outs and bans. But of course, it's a constant communication, back-and-forth, and both should be able to speak freely. But at the end of the day the moderator must respect the desires of the streamer, and if they don't agree with it fundamentally can obviously leave.

Thoughts on Danny Rensch’s statement: It's a good start, but obviously the real work has to be done by Chessbae and Hikaru themselves. No other way forward. They need to walk the walk on making sure that if Chessbae steps back from Hikaru's channel, no one continues to operate in the same capacity but with a different screen name. Chess.com has to walk the walk by standing up for the reputation and rights of particularly smaller streamers. Chapter 2 will give you guys context on why that is a sticky situation given some of Hikaru's antics.

"You are being very open with this. Do you expect blowback?" Maybe to a degree, but I think I've refrained from sharing any personal information. Most of this is essentially in the public eye. But one can only suppress the naked truth for so long. And I'm advocating nothing but forgiveness and resolution, provided that these basic steps are taken.

Ok so - again, let me be very careful in how I phrase this, I don't have hard evidence. But yes, I wish that I had more chances to commentate on the pogchamps tourneys. But I also understand that Levy, Hikaru, Anna, etc. are much bigger channels and I'm ok with it. I can only hope that [Bae] didn't have influence in making decisions of who commentates, but that it came from Chess.com.

Let me be unequivocal: that Chess.com gave her the power and hold that she did, allowing her to arbitrarily make company decisions and move their pieces, is as dysfunctional and unacceptable of a business practice as it gets. Danny's letter was good, but it hurts me that they allowed this to get so far. I like Danny, he's got his heart in the right place. So does Chess.com. I'm forgiving, but they've got to be more transparent in their decision-making from here on out, by a lot.

In terms of her actual contributions, etc: the amount of her contributions (to my knowledge) has been very minimal to streamers for the past 1.5 years or so.

In 2017-18, she donated probably tens of thousands to Chessbrah and thousands to a lot of streamers...I'm not too keen on identifying exact numbers. The point is, her initial behavior gave her a certain authority in the eyes of chess streamers. Then, her association with Hikaru, her role as his de facto manager, gave her the real brunt of her power. Streamers fear the loss of financial support a LOT less than they do the destruction of their reputation or denial of opportunities for growth.

Chapter 2 - Hikaru

I’ll preface this by saying that I want to maintain a good working relationship with Hikaru, and always have. This is nonnegotiable for me, so it is important that what I say is not in any way taken as a sign that I don't respect his fundamental qualities. I 150% want him to keep streaming, growing, and I fucking LOVE playing him. It makes my day. There's no one like him. And that's exactly why what I outline below needs to be resolved, because it's a huge distraction.

It's in Hikaru's best interest to have people look past all the bullshit so they can appreciate his unique virtues and the joy he brings into a lot of people's lives through his chess, which is not imaginary.

With that said, to the substance - I've known Hikaru since around 2013. We played blitz on ICC (Internet Chess Club). He's been a blitz legend since the early 2000s, highest rated player on ICC forever, thousands of people would watch his crazy hours-long sessions. I would follow him every single time he came online.

Back in the early 2010s, people didn't play as much online, and the general blitz level was a lot worse. He was as fast then as he is now, and you literally watched with your fucking mouth open. So, when I came onto Chess.com in 2015/16, we started playing there, and, unfortunately, that's when some weird shit started to happen. Hikaru's over-the-board antics from his younger years, stories of his behavior, that's a separate topic, and I'm more than willing to leave it out and give him 100% benefit of the doubt when he says that it shouldn't be held against him.

Hikaru has a reputation of holding a double standard during matches (no shit). But it's not just a passing saltiness or anger when someone flags him. It's a completely unreasonable situation where anything other than him adopting you and gaining 50 points (and then leaving - god forbid you say anything if he leaves a match whenever he wants to - which, again, I'm FINE with) - results in a barrage of insults and personal attacks, which, yes, he's also done on stream, but mainly in private correspondence. Very sadly, this is an experience shared by most top GMs who play him regularly on stream.

Yes, sometimes he just gets salty and people make way, way too much a big a deal. People need to understand that being this good leads to extreme competitiveness, and yes, some people are extremely unreasonable expecting him to just be chill and accept everything. We're all on board with that! But the personal attacks are really nasty, and in my case, he's done them several times on stream.

A few instances: statements like "he plays stupid garbage that only works in blitz, let's beat this idiot," bad-faith and nasty accusations of me playing for a draw to gain rating (you guys know I hate draws more than the devil :), and then of course, outbursts over crazy shit.

A few months ago, we were playing a bullet match, he was streaming and I wasn't.

I was home in SF, and remodelers were working downstairs and had to unplug the router for 3 minutes. I warned him 10 minutes before, then 5 minutes before, and came back precisely 3 minutes later, yet he went off for the entirety of the time, saying nasty and clearly untrue shit.

Things like propagating the rumor I broke my hand, laughing mirthfully at me raging (which is OK, but in reasonable quantities - not every time I do it). And I'm sure you guys have seen a lot of this; it's not just with me. This often results in him blocking me/other GMs - both in correspondence and on chess.com, usually temporarily.

This pattern of deeply hurtful personal behavior, bad-faith outbursts on stream, etc that turn some of his fans against his opponents, for no good reason, and of course double standard with respect to flagging, etc. - which you guys all know. It is by now so nakedly obvious, and so unreasonable, that we'll all, all GMs, have thrown up their hands.

I wish he knew how hard I've tried to control his reactions. I've gone so far as to play him from my phone while driving (lmao), warn him assiduously when I might need to pee (because yes, he gets pissed at that too, no pun intended), and I've apologized again and again, both for things I agree were out of line and also for things that either Chessbae demanded I apologize for, or I knew there would be no playing him if I did.

Meanwhile, as you guys point out - not one apology, not one admission of wrongdoing, not a single message along the lines of "hey Daniel, I'm sorry I said this shit to you. I was out of line." That's all I would have asked and I would have forgiven every outburst

and trust me folks, I will never reveal personal correspondence with anyone - but some of the shit he says, I really hate saying this, but I would not have accepted such language from any other person in the entire world. But he's Hikaru Nakamura, I don't believe he's a bad person, and everyone wants to and is honored to play chess with him.

So that's what Eric [Hansen] has an issue with. Eric has his own stories, etc. Everyone has their stories, interactions, etc. And they're all similar. Let me now discuss the macro-side, in terms of his influence and the impact it has on career, etc.

Two final thoughts on personal interactions before we consider the career side:

1. I've done my best to act with understanding throughout all this. I've spoken to him and continue to speak to him with courtesy. When possible, I've offered help (such as picking him up from the airport - declined due to a perceived dirty move), and I have and continue to offer my emotional sympathy with respect to stuff in his family life that Hikaru has been public about.

2. He has not had any easy go of it the last 1.5 years. I feel very deeply for the fact that he is close to a relative who is not doing well. That is not easy. It is not easy to live in the public eye and have to deal with that. Sadly, I've had firsthand experience with that, which I've used to try to offer my emotional support for him when possible (and for Chessbae).

Hikaru is the biggest figure in online chess by a country mile. He has a lot of leverage and influence over how things on Chess.com are run, etc. - I don't begrudge him that and think it's natural, but the fear I have is that since he is the face of online chess (and chess.com), Chess.com must essentially accede to his every request, feed his every whimsy and smooth over his every outburst. And all of this against the constant peddling of #growthegame and the hunt for imaginary elitists.

The xQc and Ben [Finegold] stuff - and, not to bring back Chapter 1, but, as I've said time and time again, Ben suffered enough for what he said. Whatever you may think of him - you can think he's the biggest asshole ever (he isn't, but that's beside the point): he suffered enough. So did Eric. And I feel strongly that Bae and Hikaru did not stick up to their professed principles, rather fueling the flames and the misperceptions that kept particularly Ben down for a very long time.

Chapter 3 - Pogchamps

To my knowledge, Hikaru reacted well to xQc's loss - it is unfair, I think, to claim that he exploded or anything. I don't think he did - I think in that case, Chessbae was more worked up. But I noticed that after the loss, Hikaru started talking, time and time again, about how coaches should not teach cheesy lines and how coaches should not try to take up the spotlight, this wasn't about winning the tournament but promoting chess, etc. The same repackaged stuff. And all of this as he started conducting 3-hour long sessions with Charlie's opponents before every one of his games.

Nothing terrible, but again, it's the double standard, the feeling that no matter what I do, I'm going to end up being the villain somehow. This has metastasized into an atmosphere where I - and perhaps other streamers, but I can only speak about myself - have a crippling worry of not just pissing him off, but doing so in a way that will turn his fans and the community at large against me. The simple act of playing him a match involves such a complex calculus of actions and prophylaxis and chess moves that must be made away from the board on the offhand opportunity that if you do all those things he won't explode at you - that's a microcosm of how deeply this runs.

Finally, my in-person interactions with Hikaru are positive, as were my actual phone calls. He's behaved very courteously to me at tournaments, and he's spoken very highly of me at various points. This is what I need to emphasize - I KNOW Hikaru respects me deeply, and I KNOW that he praised me and spoke highly about me at many points (Danya style, etc.) I have expressed my appreciation for that, as you guys know, on countless occasions.

So, there's this notion that because he occasionally speaks highly of me, shows respect, that somehow this cancels out all of the shit I just described - which is ludicrous. Forget that we are chess players - we are people. The DEFAULT should be to treat other streamers (and, really, everyone), with fundamental courtesy and respect. He is not some deity whose praise justifies all other behaviors. That is such a crazy idea, and I think it's been propagated to no end.

I will also say this, very important: I don't think Hikaru is a malicious individual. I really don't. I think he has a good heart (don't roll your eyes, keep reading). His outbursts, his behavior, his antics - they have been unacceptable. They need to end. With that said, I think that deep down, his intentions are in the right place - and at all times, I try to remind myself that it IS still a blessing that he has chosen, of all things, to share his incredible, unique talents with the world. Yes, he gets compensated very, very well. Yes - let's just say it - I don't think his primary intention is to grow the game. But that doesn't matter. We want Hikaru to stream and play for many more years. I want to play matches with him, and I would be 100% open to doing collabs with him.

I think we have to be unequivocal in identifying people who just want to hate and join the pitchfork mob, but we also can't turn a blind eye, constantly and without fail. Accountability has become the only option - I just don't want to operate with this background fear, and I truly think that forgiveness will prevail, and Hikaru HIMSELF will perhaps be relieved if people are no longer out of touch with the reality.

Holding up the constant lies, the cover-ups - it has to be exhausting. In all of this, I haven't mentioned Chessbae much. Frankly, I am not too interested in assigning percentage-based blame. It doesn't really fucking matter. But I refuse to view them as one unit. They're both adults, Hikaru included. We all want to love him, but it's like he's put me into a position where I can win a queen and expects me to blunder one instead.

Please, if you post any of this stuff elsewhere (which is fine with me), do so in good faith, don't paste shit out of my context (if I find that you did, I'll rectify the record and kick you out of your Discord). I ask that we act in a spirit of forgiveness, being firm in demanding accountability but also calling out people who are just hateful for no reason.

Question and Answer

Q: Danya, you obviously chose to share all of this with us for a reason. Do you have some sort of call to action or were you just sharing the information?

A: Well of course the Chessbrah thing played a role. But also some personal stuff...conversations with family I had on my visit home to California. I realized that chess IS my identity, and that the ultimate act of hypocrisy would be to not use my role to do what I know is right. If I suffer consequences for it, so be it. At least I'll be in peace.

Q: Do you think Hikaru can change?

A: I really do. And I say this because of our personal convos, etc. He has acted courteously, I think he's an analytical person at heart, he's literally a chess player haha, "logical logical." I think it's a matter of making him see that taking the plunge is a lot better than the alternative.

Q: When you say his antics from younger years are a separate topic, yet his behaviour in so far as raging, insulting, engaging in bad faith berating of people who look up to and idolise him are in line with his youthful "antics" is it then fair to expect people to forgo or overlook that behaviour when there has been no indication of any remorse or apology regarding that behaviour?

A: I think his youthful behavior is irrelevant given the preponderance of evidence from the time he began streaming. So I just think there's little utility in dwelling on it and it might give more fodder for unproductive, emotional responses.

Q: If he acts like he's the center of the universe and people treat him as such how can he ever think he's not? Even now to some degree don't you think bringing up the fact that he has a rough go of things over the last couple of years is in a way perpetuating this idea that everything revolves around him - everyone has a shitty point in life; some people even have shitty lives period, but we still hold people accountable for their actions, no?

A: I mean there's a fine line - I get what you're saying. Yes, he has been brought up to think he's the center of the universe. No other way around it. That is obviously what he thinks. Selfishly, I just hope he reads this interaction - I think if he's confronted in this very direct way, perhaps he can ultimately see the light. It might not happen all at once. What needs to be made clear is, asshole Hikaru is OK, salty Hikaru is ok, flagging Hikaru is ok, as long as - and Eric said its best - he doesn't hide it, he's just out with it and attempts to curb the toxic part of it.

Q: Is this a sentiment shared by multiple streamers and you are acting as a voice for multiple or is this an individual opinion?

A: I hate speaking on behalf of others who could add their takes, but in this particular case - the answer is yes, unfortunately.

Q: What do you think of their statements so far? It seems to me like they really didn't address any of the concerns and is more of an attempt to return to the status quo.

A: I'm giving some leeway here. I do not want to be held up as some sort of leader of a revolt where people spam him with "accountability or we cancel you," etc. I'm going to take a backseat and watch it unfold. It might be a slower process. But, as we can all see, if this continues, there will be another incident - not a strike, something else, and in the end, Hikaru himself will be so much worse off because the ultimate lie is impossible to uphold forever. So we don't need to manufacture a consequence artificially, I think he will suffer the ultimate one if he doesn't commit to making changes.

Q: I can't imagine how stressful it was to play Hikaru AND worry about making the wrong move and offending him simultaneously. Hats off to Danya.

A: Thanks. Again, not to portray myself as some sort of martyr - he's wicked fun to play. But yeah, it's really shitty. I really wish he could stand in my shoes when I play a match with him. Partially that's why I'm SO on edge. I'm terrified of wanting to go pee lmfao, or if I have only 30 min, winning a few games and then not being able to continue.

I also want to add, that it's not like my own livelihood or sanity has been jeopardized by any of this. I'm not accusing him of actively trying to harm my career, etc. But the impact is a more insidious one, particularly the more time I spend in the streaming world. The fact that this minefield exists is crazy, and we all want to see it blown up.

To that end, I’m going to say something which I hope is not taken out of context or misconstrued - please try to be charitable. Regarding r/chess behavior toward Hikaru and Chessbrah community behavior toward Hikaru: as charitable and generous as I try to be, as steadfast in shooting down hate and pointing out the good Hkaru does and has done, I don't see any other way to slice it other than to say that the ball lies squarely in Hikaru's court, that it is literally impossible to argue for a change in attitude given the preponderance, the naked absurdities staring all of us in the face.

The r/chess subreddit is composed of people, and so is the Chessbrah community. Most people who greatly dislike him now will probably not end up loving him - and, breaking news, I probably will never be besties with Hikaru, but there is still a great deal of room for improvement. And as I said at the start: I want our working relationship to strengthen, and I would consider it a great honor to collabs. But, again, all contingent on major changes coming unequivocally from him.

Q: Is there a way for you and the other relevant chess streamers to have a private group discussion with Hikaru? He mentioned on stream that he didn't have any way to directly communicate with the chessbrahs. Having this discussion privately (either individually or collectively) seems like a more effective way to make progress personally.

A: Amazing you say this, I had an idea which may seem crazy: but right to your point, a convo with Hikaru and all other streamers who want to jump on - but just him, no Chessbae, no bullshit. And there has to be a mediator. But I think we’re not there yet.

Q: I know you said he may have leverage because you saw him as the great "Hikaru Nakamura" and you've always admired him. Does everyone really feel the same? I feel like that celeb (prob not right word) status must fade fast the moment they have a bad experience with him, no?

A: Every titled player knows that his talent is unparalleled, his skill and speed has never been matched in blitz in human history. Comparisons between him and Carlsen are kind of beside the point - Carlsen does not have the kind of longevity and decades-long online career that Hikaru has in blitz in bullet.

Q: What sorts of external signs of progress should we, the audience, expect to see over the next weeks/months? Should we practice vigilance, or settle in for the long haul?

A: I feel a bit uncomfortable telling people what to do, and I think I've been clear about what I really would hate to see. I think, as an aside, we also need to focus more on the incredible blessings that we have as chess fans, in terms of all the stimulation and cool shit we have at our fingertips. That obviously doesn't dilute the urgency of this. I think we should definitely sit back for a week-2 weeks and watch for reactions.

Q: You alluded to Levy and Anna being bigger channels, so you expect them to be favoured for commentary opportunities, but do you think you being featured on Hikaru's channel and provided with the same chances (your content being pushed heavy) - wouldn't you have grown to the same extent as well? It feels like a reinforcing cycle.

A: I kind of want to leave them out of it. In principle, I definitely don't have a problem with someone growing faster, etc because they associate or do collabs. That's a legitimate partnership. People might view the rhetoric and relationship in the way they want to, but it's fair game imho. Now, I draw the line at favoritism in the sense where someone's association shouldn't make them a favorite in terms of objective consideration of roles, opportunities, by a third party - that would be corruption. Have I been suspicious of that? Yes. But I don't think it's fair to Levy or Anna to involve them in this, and I'm on very good terms with both.

Q: I do wonder, isn't there still a chance that things could continue to stay just as they are? Hikaru can simply avoid the issue, and how much can backlash really do given the fact that he's amassed a much larger following that will blindly trust him? We've seen multiple cases where public faces can get away with all kinds of things because of how large their following is. What kind of consequences would he really face is my question?

A: This is important. I don't really think as many people blindly trust as we thought, as we've alluded, people are starting to see what's going on. There will always be people beyond the reach of reason, and I also realize this is very painful for true fans. I think there is a potential for loyalty and fan-ship to become more wholesome and genuine if he manages to own up to this fully. But yes, a very hard issue is that some people try to frame all of this in the sense of spreading toxicity in order to bring him down, and resentment builds so quickly when fans suspect jealousy or worse.

I just hope Hikaru fans who end up reading this - I don't expect them to like me, and even if they want to call bullshit on my claim that I want to see Hikaru emerge stronger from this (which is not bullshit, I do...but beside the point) - I hope that at some point we can put ourselves in each other's shoes.

I'll take this opportunity to shoutout people in those categories: e.g. DoctorLono - he's a longtime mod and friend of the community, and a mod of Hikaru. I recognize the very tough spot this puts a lot of people, him included. He's handled it better than I ever would have been able to fare, promoting all the right qualities, forgiveness, but also, I think, understanding that at some point, you have to accept reality in certain regards.

I'm definitely worried that the lines we've drawn in the sand here will be blurred, and that, for instance, r/chess will just turn into a hate and shout-fest...I suppose what happens happens, definitely apprehensive but also optimistic.

Q: Sorry for calling you a fence rider.

A: No worries. I definitely can stumble on my words on stream. And I regret some of the ways I've framed shit. It’s probably unrealistic, but I wonder if a call between Eric, Hikaru, other streamers as I mentioned, maybe Hess as moderator and someone as like a proverbial security guard to keep the peace - maybe even two or more big-time fans? That might be an interesting avenue.

I think we underestimate that people being misinformed is a huge driver of their behavior. I don't think as many people act in contrariness with the truth when they know the facts as we think. Some do, but if the facts were laid bare and discussed, I think we'd see a huge shift in the quality and productiveness of the discourse.

Most people, fans - you guys can tell me this better than I can. I think the facts are still not clear. People can't agree on the basics, and a lot of Hikaru fans still think other fan bases are acting purely in bad faith (i.e. Chessbrah, perhaps mine, etc).