RZA and Lex Fridman play chess

Bringing the queen out.

Oh, that's my girl. This girl is crazy.

Oh, no, don't do that. Don't bring stuff out.

Yeah, let me get some other people in the party.

I'm going to, like, sacrifice pieces to make you. Make you think you. You're doing good.

Ponder me. Right? But since you're going to do that, and I figured you was going to do that, I'm going to. I'm going to let you. I'm going to let you do what you want to do so I can do what I want to do.

Thank you. This is good. A few months back, I did a podcast with rza and we played an impromptu game of chess afterwards. I wasn't sure if anyone wants to see that, but a few folks asked me about it, so here it is. Let me know if you want to see me play chess. Have fun, and of course, talk a bit of trash with folks in the future. I should also say that when I was a kid, I deliberately decided to not play chess because given my generally mathematical mind and interests, I would be pulled all in. Moderation would be impossible. I'm the same with fresh oatmeal raisin cookies. I don't know how to eat just one. Instead, I chose to avoid the game playing. Maybe on a rare occasion of a few years at a party, probably drunk, and have lots of fun blundering all over the place and talking trash. I do think chess is a beautiful game and I do want to celebrate it. And perhaps my low level of play and my approach of fun is a good way to do so. Because if you're a beginner, we're in this together, my friend. Chess is not just about opening lines, positions, tactics. It's also about two humans using their mind to solve weird little puzzles while chatting it up and having fun. In this life, dear friends, you have two approaches to choose for each activity. Have fun trying to be good or have fun being bad. For me, I try to do a bit of both. For chess, I choose the latter. So let me know if you want to see more videos of me playing chess. Now I give you RZA playing chess with rza.

I'll do the same thing, see what you think about that.

All right. Yeah, we're replaying the match.

Ah.

It was already a great match.

Yeah, it was. Getting this.

I don't know about this. Yeah. What's the strongest part of your game? The opening. The middle, I think.

I don't know because I've been weak lately. But I think that if you give me the Time.

No, we can't take the time. This is going to be fast. And I told you I'm terrible.

I said if you give me the. No, but if I get the time to practice things. I get pretty good at chess if you give me the time. But it ain't just time. It's your own fatigue, your own feeling. You could be angry, impatient.

Let me just ruin it for you.

Hyper.

I was gonna take pieces. Very aggressive play here. What are we even doing? Not just attacking. What's the worst that can happen?

I go on and not be shy. That's a big.

Losing to Riz is not the worst thing in this world. I'm telling you. I'm just gonna go on a rampage, just taking pieces.

Wow.

This is a horrible position for you. For me?

Why did you do that then? You just wanted to fuck with me?

Because I want to move fast. I'll fuck with you for sure.

Let me try this one. This one.

Bring the queen out.

That's my girl. Oh, this girl's crazy.

That's a real queen's gambit.

There's a couple of counters. Here's one counter that may distort the energy between us.

Yeah, this could be a big problem. So I would need to. There's no options, right?

Yeah. You gotta make a move.

I'll stay off the white.

And then for me. Okay, I see what you're doing there. I have to hit you here for protection.

Bring this guy out.

That's good. I actually didn't want you to bring that guy out.

You know, I got a separate. I didn't like the thing he had going on here. That's not gonna end well for me.

Yeah, I didn't like that guy either. I didn't like him coming outside at all. I just felt like he should have. I was hoping he didn't come outside, you know, but he's outside now, so. Now that he's outside when I told him not to come outside, mind you, I gotta now think about my own problems.

The queen, the rooker dancing in the middle. Nothing. Yeah, I think I'm in way more danger. I'm not sure, though.

Yes, it's pretty peculiar here.

Gotta keep him distracted.

Let me take one more punch at you. You can't not do. You gotta make sure you do it in time. Yeah, that's the really, the big trick.

Timing is everything.

Yeah. So in that case, since timing is everything, let me kind of get some time away from this.

What do you think about pawns? Oh, no, don't do that. Don't bring stuff out.

Yeah, let me get some other people in the party.

Because, you know, I'm going to make it. I'm going to make it fun. I'm going to, like, sacrifice pieces to make you make you think you're doing good.

Ponder me. Right. Well, since you're gonna do that and I figured you was gonna do that, I'm gonna. I'm gonna let you. I'm gonna let you do what you want to do so I could do what I wanted.

Thank you. This is good. He's not taking the, quote, bait. That's not an actual bait.

Okay, so let's get this guy out of here. Yeah, let's get him out of here.

See, this is not good. I gotta threaten you somehow. I gotta make you nervous. Here we go.

Oh, that's your kung fu technique to make me nervous? I don't know if I'm getting nervous from that one.

Watch your king. That's all I gotta say.

I know. I see as you trying to punch me in my face and shit.

Yeah. We don't play around. You can have the pawns.

I can have the pawn?

No, you can have the pawns. I'm just gonna knock you out.

Oh, it's going to knock me out. You guys hear this guy?

Trash. While we're still even. I think I'm down upon a couple pawns.

But you know what? It's actually. Yeah. Pawns don't mean. You're right. The pawns is not the way for this game to go the way I want it to go. So that's a fact.

You have, like, so many options. It's overwhelming.

Actually, I'm glad you see it that way. Cause I'm feeling the same. But you know I still gotta be careful, right? So since I still gotta be careful.

This is some grandmaster level.

This is jets right here. All right, so since you trying to shoot off my pinky toe, I just.

Feel like you can attack so much here and I got nothing. I got no pawns to protect me. I got. And these kings just sitting there.

Yeah, but you got a couple of tricks up your sleeve, though. Let me just continue my party my way. That's the most important thing you gotta do sometime. You gotta continue your party your way.

Keep bringing pieces out. You know what? I'm just gonna keep.

That was nice. Everybody who saw that would say the same thing. You know what they would say?

What's that?

That was nice. Yeah, that move was nice. Yo, you seen that? Yeah, I'm like, yeah, I saw it. I said I gotta take him. You know that. There's no. I have no choice in the matter.

A grandmaster would just forfeit here. But I'm not. I'm not that. I'm not that. I like that because I'm a higher level.

I like. Well, I like the. I like the pitch of that. Yeah, he's like a grandmaster would just forfeit here.

No, I'm just. I'm gonna have to give you the bishop of the night.

Well, don't do what you're going to do, but don't forget we talked about Fisher and Spassky, and I started the game in the famous Fisher opening. That, you know, it was good at one time.

Yeah.

And it's like. It's. I'm trying to bring it back.

The opening or what?

Yeah, I'm trying to. Like. I really am a fan of Bobby Fischer. I know they say he went crazy and all the stuff like that, but like I said, his. His analogy that chess is a draw is something profound in that. And I'm just like. I'm gonna try to represent Bobby Fischer a little bit.

You're the Bobby Fischer in this. All right.

See that. Now, would everybody agree?

Yeah.

That. That was beautiful.

I think you got a problem with too many choices.

That's.

I'm trying to paralyze you with too many good choices until you make a.

Mistake, which is good. I mean, that's the meaning.

You should be scared because you don't want to make a mistake on camera. That'll be embarrassing. Because you. Because you're winning, you're dominating. Yeah. And then you can.

But he makes a mistake on camera. What would the world think of that? What would they tell him back home?

I'd be nervous if I were you. That's all I'm saying.

Yeah, I'm getting a little bit nervous, but not totally. And you know why I'm not totally nervous?

Oh. Oh. Why is that?

Oh, you want to know?

I. I guess I'm just gonna have to wait and find out.

Okay. So in that case, since this is one of those matches.

We're a friendly match.

Yeah, a friendly match.

I. I was gonna go for either that or war, but since. Since I'm losing, let's just go for a friendly match.

Yeah. Well, since this is a friendly match, let's do it. Let's give you something to eat, and I'll get something to eat. You eat? I eat.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna do that. I think I. I think I'm gonna let that be the way we Eat you. Are you cool with that?

Yeah. You give me a rook or what?

Yeah, why not?

Okay.

Okay. You're gonna give me just this.

This is great. He's a generous man.

Does okay you something to eat? You gave me something to eat. I'm gonna give you something to eat.

All right.

Okay. That was good. I hope it tastes good.

Yeah, it did. I feel good.

I'm winning, buddy.

I'm winning.

I hope everybody liked it. Hope the rest of the. Hope the rest of the audience is feeling it, like everybody. This guy got me a chance to.

Eat on the official chess point system. I'm up by pawn.

Yeah. All right. One move.

I was up.

Well, I'm gonna get back out of your way because I didn't like. I actually didn't like the vibe of that. So I have to get. I can protect my other rook because if I would have gave him two rooks. If I would have gave him two.

Rooks, you're not that generous. I appreciate that.

Yeah. The people would have been talking about me for years to come. Yeah, man. Hello. Look at it. This guy is getting nervous.

He's like, what you doing?

You got it?

Yeah, yeah.

No.

100%.

So let me count my money. You count your money?

Yeah, my money.

Oh, you got more money than me.

I gotta. I gotta make you feel nervous about something.

Whoa, that was a bad move right there, brother. The. That one there. What do you want to do with that? You want to zoom in on that?

That's a blunder. What's it. What's like when it's a really bad blunder? It's like super blunder or something like that.

Yeah. Well, it makes this move bad, right? It's a couple of things about it.

Well, you. You really don't want to bring the. The king out like that, right?

Yeah. Even if you would have left him back there, it would have been a better exchange for you because I gave you this rook, but you took the wrong rook. Yeah, you should have took this rook, right?

Yeah.

But you took that rook, which I was cool with. I was hoping you take that rook. Even if you took this rook, I was cool because I would have got the horse, and then I would have still been up two points. Yeah, but you took this rook, which.

Was detrimental because I'm going to lose it anyway. I'm going to lose the knight, and then. Yeah, so you're saying I should have taken this. That was the mistake.

That would have been a better shot for you taking that rook, because now this rook just does something Very simple. Just goes here. Even if it was there though, I would have lost the rook.

Yeah.

Which I thought I was going to lose.

You would have traded it.

Yeah.

This is.

This is worse for you.

It's not checkmate, is it?

No, but it's check. But it's a tough looking check. But you got to now jet up out of there. And you only could jet so many places.

Maybe I undo the mistake because I can't jet forward.

Well, you can't jet forward no matter where you go. But anyway, I'm not here to tell you.

Yeah, I have to undo the mistake.

But the point of this rook check was a discovery of which was set up since the beginning. Yeah. This discovery has been here for almost four or five moves.

Yeah.

And so I like. You know they say white guys love black women.

Now I know. Now I know what that means. Thank you. Yeah.

That's a tough looking check.

Yeah. I can trick you into a draw somehow. All right.

I think that way. Let's bend away.

Yeah.

You got all the right philosophies. You know what I mean?

It's not the skills.

The application takes time to apply. Everything we learn, just take the time. That's definitely the right philosophy. Everything you've been saying for this conversation has been the right philosophy. Just the time to apply it has been the ducking. You.

Yeah.

So I'll just keep this there and then, you know, you could take this as far as you want to take.

It, but I. I think in the interest of time. We're running out of time. You have to go, man. Thank you, man.

That was beautiful.