"Hello, everyone!"
From deep in the heart of Croatia comes a man with a mission: The most entertaining Chess commentary in the world.
Antonio "agadmator" Radić provides daily content — usually two videos — breaking down interesting chess games from throughout history move-by-move. This ends up acting as an instructional series that people can use to improve their own game. As he is a club-level player himself — roughly the same as his typical viewer — his analysis is much more welcoming to the masses than the more formal approach taken by grandmasters.
Having his dog Medo rolling around on the couch behind him only adds to the charm.
agadmator provides examples of:
- Alternate History: Used frequently, to show what can result from move choices not made in the game, whether to show an interesting position, a missed tactical shot, or simply showing why a move that may seem like an obvious choice to an average player is actually a very bad idea.
- By "No", I Mean "Yes": "And, of course, any move by the pawn in front of the king is a weakening of the position - uh, unless it's not."
- Catchphrase:
- "Hello, everyone!"
- "Captures, captures..."
- "The [OPENING] is on the board."
- reaches down to turn off his computer speaker "Sorry about that."
- "...for those who just want to enjoy the show..."
- "And [CORRECT MOVE] will be checkmate"
- "And it was in this position when [PLAYER] resigned the game."
- "What's the idea here?"
- "If you found [CORRECT MOVE], congratulations."
- "And it was in this position, as of move [N}, that [PLAYER] resigned the game, as there is nothing more to be done here."
- Cool Shades: Wears them in a few videos due to an eye condition.
- Deadpan Snarker: An international master. Extra impressive since English is not his first language.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Goes by agadmator instead of his real name in almost all his online interaction. Only when showing one of his own games played does he even bother mentioning his real name, and even then only as captioning his mugshot.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Early videos in his archive only have voiceover, rather than seeing him comment like today.
- Funny Background Event: agadmator's dog Medo is often seen in the background, behaving as dogs sometimes do.
- Mascot: Has a picture of former world champion Mikhail Tal at the top of the screen, and features many games he played. Justified in that Tal was notorious for creating sharper and more interesting games than most players could ever dream of.
- Measuring the Marigolds: Defied. The channel shows definitively that beauty of a game is not diminished by analysis, but rather enhances the beauty by highlighting the brilliance behind the moves. It celebrates beauty by demonstrating how it is created.
- My Nayme Is: agadmator with a lower case "a."
- Running Gag:
- If a player's name is unknown, or a mugshot of a player can't be found, a faceless hooded figure affectionately called "Hoodie Guy" is used instead. agadmator usually dresses in a hoodie sweatshirt for videos featuring Hoodie Guy.
- When commentating on a game or tournament involving Boris Gelfand or Alexander Grischuk, he tends to post the most unflattering pictures of them he can find.
- If a game involving modern Grandmasters reaches the "Giuoco Piano" position, he will briefly pretend that the Evans Gambit followed.note
- Forgetting to turn off his computer speakers before presenting.
- Self-Referential Humor: Often plays with the various running gags associated with his videos.
- In Chess is Still Magical! || Dubov vs Guijarro || Airthings Masters (2020)
, "Sorry about that ... shows the first few moves, then reaches down to turn off his computer speaker ... sorry about that, that's a double sorry about that, so sorry about that as well." - In 10 Fun Chess Games for Beginners, goes offscreen to wear his hoodie when he realizes the game he was about to show involves the Hoodie Guy.
- In Chess is Still Magical! || Dubov vs Guijarro || Airthings Masters (2020)
- Serious Business: Zig-zagged. agadmator presents games in a casual and humorous manner, and is invariably cheerful and friendly. Chess is a game, after all. It should be fun! However, the analysis is always in-depth and thoughtful, befitting the study of games usually involving top grandmasters of the era.
- The Unreveal: Occasionally hinted at revealing the actual meaning behind his nickname, but never actually did so for over two years. He finally revealed it after reaching 1 million subscribers in February 2021. It's a Portmanteau Word in Croatian that roughly translates to "Anthony is a wise old bastard."
- Viewers Are Geniuses: Assumes that people viewing chess analysis of their own free will have a better-than-average knowledge of the game, and cheerfully throws around chess jargon with abandon."White goes for the Ruy Lopez, black responds with the Berlin Defence ... This is all standard theory."
