Watching Hikaru and Danya has really helped my board visualization and how I think about the game. My ideas are a lot more abstract now than they were years ago when I was still a "strong" player. I'm stronger now than ever before and I no longer actively train, and I credit this entirely to players like Hikaru helping me view the board in a drastically different way than I was previously. Something just clicked after awhile.
I’m at the same chesscom rating as you and have watched a bit of Hikaru content but somehow felt like I was procrastinating on “real chess study”. Your comment has given me an excuse to try again!
Previously I was just looking for tactics and calculating the best possible moves in a very linear manner. Now I look at the board and visualize ways the position would work better in my favor and kind of work my way back from there. Linear calculation is still required, but getting an idea first and then trying to find the path of least resistance to that idea is just so much more fluid for me.
Remove the tunnel vision and treat the entire board as an organic structure that you can reconfigure.
This is probably only beneficial after like 1700-1800 because it assumes you have a solid tactical / positional understanding obviously.
The only other "training" I do is solving puzzles but that's more out of entertainment than actual training.
1. GothamChess is the most educational and entertaining. The video format also varies quite a bit which helps.
2. Agadmator is less entertaining than Gotham, but very consistent.
3. Hikaru is of course very strong, but sometimes he doesn't care about explaining what he's thinking and even when he does its harder to follow.
I've ben watching Gotham and Agadmator, almost daily. My wife is a bit annoyed sometimes, but I remember it could be worse. I could be into football.
Levy (GothamChess) is a much better player, although it's tedious that a lot of his content is silly stuff like laughing at beginner games. He also tilts really hard which makes me feel really bad because I just want to sit down with him and show some him positivity and I can't, but maybe that's just me.
IMO the best of the chess streamers for actually getting better is Eric Rosen, and maybe John Bartholomew but he's not as prolific. Both are very good but also good at explaining good ideas. Hikaru is almost too good to be instructive, given that he solves hard tactical puzzles completely with muscle memory instead of analysis.
Agadmator channel is educational and informative when it comes to chess scene, drama and history. In this regard, I think he’s the best and most comprehensive.
Overall I enjoy Gotham, Agadmator, Hikaru, Eric Rosen in that order.
The perfect format to enjoy the beauty of the game.
The snoozing dog in the background completes the perfection of it all.
Blindfolded Hikaru against the Botez sisters is a timeless classic.
The Botez sisters playing against (and often losing to) some chess hustlers is incredibly entertaining. The thrash talk is just something else...