Shadowing Practice: EXCLUSIVE Magnus Carlsen Interview ft. GothamChess - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Ladies and gentlemen, in this video, I interviewed Magnus Carlsen, the number one rated chess player in the world for more than a decade,
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the multiple -time classical, rapid, and blitz world champion, and a player considered by many as the greatest of all time.
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We were in Toronto for the Champions Chess Tour finale, which, surprise, surprise, Magnus also happened to win.
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And I know Magnus has been interviewed hundreds of times over the course of his career, so this was a special moment for me,
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not just because I actually met him for the first time,
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but because I wanted to provide an interview for him and ultimately for you the viewer, that would be an interesting listen,
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an interesting watch, and I believe that I have accomplished
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that goal with a mix of short and fun questions for him to answer, but also some longer and thought -provoking ones as well.
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Also at the end, we played a segment that actually my wife
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Lucy thought of, which is titled chess player or Ikea furniture.
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With that said, here's the interview.
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Hi, I'm Gotham Chess and I'm here with...
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Um, uh, sorry.
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Can we start again?
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Hi, I'm Gotham Chess, and I'm here with...
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Magnus, who is famous from Levi's YouTube videos.
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How many beers would it take for you to drink for me to beat you in a classical chess game?
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That's a very difficult question, because I'd probably sober up during the game, so I'd probably have to keep drinking.
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Probably start with 20 and take it from there.
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20, okay.
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What's the size of the cup?
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Um, pints.
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Wow, okay.
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Do you have a dream sponsor?
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My Puma deal is expiring, so I'm open for new ones in that sector.
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But I was recently at the Jordan Golf Club, so if Jordan want to come and sponsor me, I'd consider it.
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Every other chess player has said any sponsor because we don't get sponsorships.
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I'm sorry for my...
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You destroyed two decades of chess players, Vegas.
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Yeah, sorry about that.
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If you could be number one in the world, or if you could be number...
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Basically if you could be the greatest of all time at anything else, what would it be?
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Soccer for sure.
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Soccer?
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Yeah, that's an easy one.
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Name your price if you have to chess box.
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Ten million dollars.
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Okay.
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What's your drink of choice?
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Water.
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Past 10 p .m also water?
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Yeah, I might go for Diet Coke with ice and lemon.
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I like that as well.
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Do you prefer to play chess on Computer over the board or on your phone?
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I rarely play on my phone.
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I would say I prefer to play on the computer
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In your entire career, have you ever had a day where you went, I think this guy might be as good as me?
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No. Well, I mean, not, you know, since not the last 10 years, for sure.
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Has it ever been, this guy might be kind of close to me if I have a bad day?
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Yeah, I would say Fabian at his best was very close in classical, for sure.
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My other question was going to be, who do you think is the second best chess player in the world?
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Yeah, I think Fabiano Corano is the second best player.
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Do you remember the day you realized, oh, s*, I might be the best chess player on the planet?
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That's a very good question.
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I remember the first time that I was ranked number one in the world, unofficially.
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That was in Bilbao in 2008, late 2008.
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I didn't particularly think that I was the best player then.
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I would say probably fall 2012 I was absolutely certain
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that I was the best player but I did think back in 2010
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that I would have beaten either player Topalov
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or Anand in a world championship match in retrospect I'm not
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so sure 2010 would probably be the time that I I thought yeah I'm the best player, but I wasn't sure until 2012.
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Hey, it's me again.
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I know interrupting an interview is slightly unconventional, but I wanted to explain Magnus' answer in greater detail so you understand all the context.
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Well, the first thing Magnus says is 2008 in Bilbao.
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That is a chess tournament that he played in Spain in September of 2008.
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And in that tournament, Magnus actually unofficially became the number one ranked player in the world for a couple of days.
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That's because in 2008, the official rating lists were published every three months.
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Look, July and then October.
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So you could play chess for three months and the official rankings would never come out,
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but the players would shuffle all up and down against each other.
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And he said that when he played that tournament in Bilbao against some of those best players in the world, like Aronian, Rajabov, Anand, Ivanchuk,
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just to name a few, he didn't quite yet feel like he was number one in the world, but he broke through for a second.
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In fact, in a New York Times article that was published the day before that tournament started,
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Magnus literally said that he thinks Anand is a much better player than him.
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I found that fascinating.
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Now, fast forward to 2010.
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Magnus said that he thought he could have beaten either player in a world championship match, Topalov or Anand.
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Yes, he said in retrospect, he's not so sure, but Magnus actually turned down the candidates tournament in 2010 and 2011.
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Which is maybe not something that we all know.
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He declined to participate in the candidate cycle for the world championship actually multiple times in his career.
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Until 2012, because the very next year Magnus played in the candidates, ultimately won it, and then went on to defeat Vichy Anand in 2013.
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So it's interesting that by 2012 Magnus was certain that he was the best player in the world.
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In 2010 he figured he could probably beat either player playing for the throne.
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But in 2008 was technically when he first broke through and he was only 17 years old.
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Anyway, let's get back to the interview.
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I remember where I was the day that you played the final round in The Candidates.
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I don't remember much from 10 years ago.
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Okay, 2012, right?
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2013 was The Candidates.
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I don't remember much from 10 years ago.
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I remember I traveled
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that day on the New York City subway to meet my friend to go to the park and play handball.
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And we were watching your game.
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How stressful was that day?
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I would say I was almost too exhausted to be stressed.
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The day after my game with Rajaba was the first day in several days that I actually slept fine.
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But I just woke up and had no nervous or any kind of energy.
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So in retrospect, I probably should have forced a draw in that game
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but I also almost didn't have time to be stressed about the outcome or anything because,
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you know, I thought after I lost, I thought it was over.
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And then I briefly checked the position from Ivanczuk Kramnik and Ivanczuk was winning,
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so it only lasted like a minute or so that I was down about the results.
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So, no, complete exhaustion, yes.
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Stressed, not necessarily.
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At those high stakes events like
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World Championship or that candidates, how many hours on average do you get to sleep a night?
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Normally I sleep well.
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Especially if things are going well, of course, but normally I do sleep quite well.
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In the World Championship I'll get solid seven, eight hours every night.
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No melatonin, no chamomile, just hit the...
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Yeah.
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I don't know.
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That seems pretty impressive.
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I mean, we hear LeBron James spends millions a year on his body.
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Do you feel like you need to do the same in chess, diet, chef?
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There's some rumors, or I don't know if you confirmed it in some interviews, like you bring a nutritionist or chef with you.
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You have like home -cooked meals at tournaments.
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I have brought a chef to a few world championships and a few other tournaments,
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specifically in places where we didn't think
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that the local food would be necessarily at the standard I'd like
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but yeah normally I try
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and eat relatively healthy not too much not too much sugar apart from
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that I was probably fitter before now I don't take care as much
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which I kind of should now because I'm a little bit older and I have less energy,
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so I actually need to be really fit to have a lot of energy.
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So, yeah, it's definitely one room for improvement these days.
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I'm going to offer you a deal.
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For every Magnus thumbnail I make, I have to donate 20 bucks to a Norwegian charity, or any charity of your choosing.
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No. No, no, no, that's okay.
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I'm a bit of a narcissist anyway, so I enjoy it.
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Okay.
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When are you focusing on content and overtaking as the number one chess channel?
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You have a Dorman channel with a million subscribers.
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No. I know no wish for that,
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but I do want to stream a bit more so that I can get more content out on these channels.
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But just for people to have something to enjoy.
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I'm gonna name a sport.
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You have to tell me the greatest of all time.
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Basketball.
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LeBron James.
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Soccer.
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Messi.
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I agree with both.
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Baseball.
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Barry Bones.
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Okay.
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Football like American football.
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Tom Brady, I guess.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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Good one.
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Tennis.
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Djokovic.
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Was it always Djokovic for you?
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Or you thought maybe.
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No, it was after the Australian Open thing that he became the greatest for me.
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Was it Nadal before or Federer?
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Probably Federer, but I always identified more with the way the medal plays.
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Golf.
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Tiger?
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Poker.
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Do I practice?
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That's a unique one.
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Chess.
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Gary Kasparov?
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Are you allowed to say yourself?
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I don't know if I'm allowed, but I think Gary is the best of all time still.
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Chess, boxing.
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Amman Hamilton.
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We know the answer to this one, I think.
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If you could be the greatest of all time in a sport other than chess, what would it be?
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Yeah, soccer.
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Soccer.
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What team would you play for?
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Madrid?
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Yeah, for sure.
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Saudi League can't...
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No, I mean if they had money I would play in Saudi for sure.
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Okay.
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Can I answer the question about dream sponsor again?
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Sure, yeah.
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What is your dream sponsor?
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Summer and Wealth Fund of Saudi Arabia.
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Okay.
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We're gonna play this or that.
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Fiction or non -fiction?
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Non -fiction.
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Window or aisle seat?
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Where you fly business class?
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There's no such thing.
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Yeah, I used to be big window guy.
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yeah I'm still a window guy would you rather go on a cruise
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or a road trip road trip comedy or thriller comedy coffee
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or tea tea but only slightly preferably neither how do you get energized the Sun love it cats
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or dogs cats but I like dogs too it's like a this
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or that is a little bit tough with you you like everything shower or bath
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Oh shower for sure okay I don't have the patience to take baths
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I think adults taking baths is a weird thing
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but they it's on here so uh are you a morning person
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or a night owl night owl for sure would you rather get on a phone call
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or text message text i feel like the answer for you is neither
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i feel like it's just usually yes just go uh sunrise
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or sunset sunrise winter
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or summer summer okay i don't know maybe maybe you know
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you're uh from norway uh i'm gonna i'm gonna throw one in here um sauna or ice bath?
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Both.
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Okay.
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That's what you do in Norway that you go in the sauna
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and then you take an ice bath and then you go back in the sauna and you do that a few times.
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It's really nice.
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Best city in Norway?
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Oslo.
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Oslo.
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We're going to play title chess player or Ikea furniture.
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I asked you how you think you're going to do.
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You seem confident.
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I was at first
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but now I'm a little less sure i'll start with the first one profumo
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you see now i'm already i'm already unsure profumo doesn't sound
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i mean most of the ikea names are scandinavian profumo
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but i haven't heard about profumo chess player i could say ikea furniture
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but i'm not sure chess player oh boy go with your gut keep in mind
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i found some pretty obscure chess players because i had to make sure you didn't know
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He's an Italian, 2270.
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I'm gonna give you the tricky one first.
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Söderström.
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Uh, Söderström.
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Uh, I mean, I definitely heard Söderström as...
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I'm gonna say that's such a player.
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Yes.
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Swedish, which is why it's...
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Yeah, I mean, it's obviously Swedish.
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You can hear from the name that it's Swedish, but...
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Really?
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Söder means, like, south.
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Ah!
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So, and it's written a bit differently in Danish and Norwegian.
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Um, Ostano.
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I think that's furniture.
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You are correct.
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You are, I think, the first one to guess that fast.
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Fabi needed to know if there were dots on the O, which kind of gave it away.
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Like the Swedish O and two dots.
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Yes, two out of three.
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Vesken.
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Vesken?
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How do you spell it?
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V -E -S -K -E -N.
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Vesken?
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I mean, that's like, Veske is purse in Norwegian.
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So I'm gonna say furniture.
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Yes, correct.
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Three out of four.
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Zaibi.
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Z -A -I -B -I.
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Is that a Z or a Z?
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Z. Zaybi?
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Nah.
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Like Zebra.
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That's got to be a chess player.
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Yes.
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Do you know who it is?
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It's a Grandmaster.
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Zaybi is a Grandmaster?
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What's his first name?
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Amir.
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Amir Zaybi from Tunisia or something?
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Yes, yes, yes.
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How does that ring a bell?
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You just know the name from somewhere?
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Yeah, I probably have seen it somewhere.
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Usually, I thought I would know the name of most Grandmasters in the world, but maybe not.
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I don't know.
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Well, I think he was an I .M until maybe five years ago.
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Fabiano actually played him in the World Cup, which is actually...
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Yeah, I mean, it rings some kind of bell.
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Torald.
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Torald?
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Ah, that's furniture.
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Yeah, that is furniture.
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Torald.
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Last two.
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Panelo.
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P -A -N -E -L -O.
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And there's no, like, dance at the end of the...
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No. Panelo.
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That's not really a word.
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I'm going to guess chess player then.
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You're correct.
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Marcelo Panelo, 2370.
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Argentina.
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Okay, last one.
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Furniture or chess player?
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Kallax.
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And it's an A, there's no.. no...
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Yeah, no, no, I tried to avoid those.
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That would be too...
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Okay, then I'm gonna say chess player.
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Furniture.
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Yeah.
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Sorry.
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Kallax.
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Can I see how you write it?
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Yeah.
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Kallax.
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K...
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I hope I didn't mess that up.
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For some reason, I thought it was K...
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S.. then.
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That was not easy.
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I mean this is why the game exists.
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I mean six out of eight is still pretty good.
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Yeah, but I'm I have an advantage since I so to speak when It's kind of even language.
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Okay.
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Well next big tournament.
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We'll do a we'll do the next one
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So folks, I hope you enjoyed this conversation
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And I hope that I was able to ask some questions
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that I think were slightly non -traditional not something that you hear
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When chess players are interviewed all the time
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This was a very special one for me
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because really only since 2020 have I become any form of personality out there on the internet.
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I've always been a fan and spectator of chess as well as a chess player and teacher.
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But being able to meet Magnus and many other top players over the last few years has been super special.
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And I look forward to creating more media with them in the future because I think that it's helpful for you,
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the viewers at home, to get a lens into some of the greatest chess players in the world.
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beyond the 64 squares.
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That's all I have for you today.
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Until next time.
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And before I go, also a massive thank you to Magnus.
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He was in great spirits, and that was probably because he won some chess match earlier in the day, so that definitely made it easier.
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But I look forward to having a conversation in the future.
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Now you know the drill.
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Get out of here.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “EXCLUSIVE Magnus Carlsen Interview ft. GothamChess”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: chess, player, Magnus. This video has 335 sentences and 2776 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:52. The speaker talks at a natural 175 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| chess noun | /t͡ʃɛs/ | A board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the… |
| furniture noun | /ˈfɝ.nɪ.t͡ʃɚ/ | Large movable item(s), usually in a room, which enhance(s) the room's characteristics, functionally or decoratively. |
| soccer noun | /ˈsɑk.ɚ/ | Association football. |
| bath noun | /bɑːθ/ | A tub or pool which is used for bathing: bathtub. |
| sponsor noun | /ˈspɒn.səː/ | A person or organization with some sort of responsibility for another person or organization, especially where the responsibility has a religious, legal, or… |
| fiction noun | /ˈfɪkʃən/ | Literary type using invented or imaginative writing, instead of real facts, usually written as prose. |
| classical adjective | /ˈklæs.ɪ.k(ə)l/ | Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. |
| chef noun | /ʃɛf/ | The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household. |
| necessarily adverb | /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/ | Inevitably; of necessity. |
| charity noun | /ˈtʃæɹɪti/ | An organization, the objective of which is to carry out a charitable purpose. |
| rank noun | /ˈɹæŋk/ | A row of people or things organized in a grid pattern, often soldiers. |
| rat noun | /ɹæt/ | Any of the numerous members of several rodent families that usually have short limbs, a pointy snout, a long, hairless tail, and a body length greater than… |
| dot noun | /dɑt/ | A small, round spot. |
| sunrise noun | /ˈsʌnɹaɪz/ | The time of day when the sun appears above the eastern horizon. |
| viewer noun | /ˈvju.ɚ/ | Someone who views a spectacle; an onlooker or spectator. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| look forward to verb | To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to. | |
| break through verb | To gain popularity. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| get back to verb | Return to (an activity) | |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. | |
| turn down verb | To refuse, decline, or deny. | |
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Do you have a dream sponsor?
- What's your drink of choice?
- Are you allowed to say yourself?
- What team would you play for?
- Can I answer the question about dream sponsor again?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if they had money I would play |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has been interviewed · have accomplished · has said |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | has been interviewed · is titled · was ranked |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Swedish, which is · Cup, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 68 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: bath /bɑːθ/, throne /θɹəʊ̯n/, thriller /ˈθɹɪ.lə/, thumbnail /ˈθʌm.neɪl/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: fiction /ˈfɪkʃən/, chef /ʃɛf/, patience /ˈpeɪ̯.ʃəns/, accomplish /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/, nutritionist /njuːˈtɹɪʃ.ənɪst/
- Long words — get the stress right: necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, participate /pɑːˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/, technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/, melatonin /ˌmɛləˈtəʊnɪn/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like chess, furniture, soccer.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.