Rappers Drake and J. Cole recreate an iconic image of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in their latest music video for the song “First Person Shooter”. The picture of the football stars is among the most liked pictures on Instagram of all time, with a total of over 75 million likes. But the photo was also praised for copying a chess position from a game between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura from 2017. Can Drake and J. Cole impress the chess experts in the same way? ICONIC: Messi and Ronaldo in an advertisement for Louis Vuitton. Photo: Annie Leibovitz / Louis Vuitton Wrong on wrong on wrong The answer to that is no. Because where the people behind the Messi and Ronaldo picture had done thorough research, it doesn’t seem like Drake and co. have an equally good knowledge of chess. When news asks a couple of experts to study the position, it doesn’t take long before a number of errors are pointed out: The board is 90 degrees the wrong way. White’s king and queen will switch places. White gets more pieces during the game. In addition, several illegal moves are made, which make the whole session completely unrealistic. In other words, the world’s biggest rapper needs to sharpen up. EXPERT: Sheila Barth-Stanford. Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen / NTB scanpix – It’s an incredibly cool clip that shows the nerve in a chess game. But they have lined up the board and the pieces incorrectly. White’s position is hopelessly lost, but then you miraculously get more farmers and officers in the video. It has never happened to me in my games, says chess coach Sheila Barth Stanford with a twinkle in her eye. “Cringe” Like Messi and Ronaldo, Drake and J. Cole are betting that there is a duel between the greatest of all time. Drake is the most played artist of all time on Spotify and boasts a long list of monster hits. J. Cole is often referred to as one of the world’s best rappers and has won a number of awards. However, they are unlikely to receive any medals or praise for their chess playing anytime soon. EXPERT: Odin Blikra Vea. Photo: news – It’s typical that when people who don’t know a hint of chess make films or music videos, it only becomes “flashy” and very “cringe” for chess people, says Odin Blikra Vea, who runs the podcast “Sjakksnakk” together with Askild Bryn. Going viral The chess sequence between the rappers ends with Cole crushing Drake’s white king. This despite the fact that the king is not checkmate in this position. It is not usual to topple the king at checkmate either. – The clip ends with White’s king being crushed and they correctly show that Black’s queen has put White’s king in check. But in reality it’s not game over then, says Barth Stanford. – It’s probably nice for anyone who doesn’t know the chess rules with such a dramatic effect, says Blikra Vea. On social media, the image of the rappers goes viral – just as the image of the football legends did. On the internet, there are many chess enthusiasts who praise Drake’s use of chess in the video, but even among these he receives criticism for the game. – Nothing on that chessboard makes sense, writes chess historian Olimpiu Di Luppi on X, formerly Twitter. – Drake and J. Cole make sure all chess players are triggered when they see the board turned sideways. But, it is so incredibly cool to see this, writes the boss of Chessable, Geert van der Velde. The “Spy King” surprised: – Best known for spy clips on VGTV 00:48 Regrets after declaring fiance 00:46 Receives a very special greeting from Ingrid in Demenskoret 01:03 This is how much the cross-country stars must have to participate in Maskorama 01:07 Show more
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Drake copies iconic image – mocked by the experts
