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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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[[Cueball]] shows [[Megan]] an {{w|mobile app|app}}, [http://magnuscarlsen.com/playmagnus Play Magnus] ([https://itunes.apple.com/app/play-magnus/id808138395?mt=8 iOS], [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.mw.playmagnus Android]) which claims to simulate playing {{w|chess}} against {{w|Magnus Carlsen}} at various ages. Carlsen is a {{w|chess grandmaster}} who is the world champion as of the date this comic was released. The idea behind the app is that as Carlsen grows up he becomes better at chess and thus it become exceedingly difficult to beat him as he gets older. As Cueball claims he could have beaten Magnus when he was 8½-year-old, but not a half-year later, we can now estimate Cueballs strength to be that of a typical adult hobbyist, with a FIDE rating of [https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/2qcv95/what_is_the_strength_of_the_play_magnus_app_at/ about 1200].
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[[Cueball]] shows [[Megan]] an [https://itunes.apple.com/app/play-magnus/id808138395?mt=8 iOS app] that allows one to simulate playing {{w|chess}} against {{w|Magnus Carlsen}} at various ages. Magnus is a {{w|chess grandmaster}} who was ranked no. 1 in the world when this comic, sharing his named, was released.
  
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Taking the idea a step further, Megan wants such an app for other sports {{w|tennis}} and {{w|Swimming (sport)|swimming}}, where skill couldn't imaginably be simulated via an app at all. She wants to compare herself to an 8-year-old {{W|Serena Williams}}, a top-ranked professional tennis player. Or to a 6-year-old {{W|Michael Phelps}}, the {{w|List_of_multiple_Olympic_medalists#List_of_most_Olympic_medals_over_career|most decorated Olympian competitor}} of all time.
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The idea behind the app is that as Magnus grows up he becomes better at chess and thus it become exceedingly difficult to beat him as he gets older. Cueball could actually have beaten Magnus when he was just 8½-year-old, but already half a year later Magnus had progressed beyond Cueball's chess skills.
  
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Cueball expands beyond sport, wishing to determine if he could cook better than an 11-year-old {{W|Martha Stewart}} (author of several cookbooks). Megan wonders if she'd have won an election against a 12-year-old JFK ([[John F. Kennedy]], the 35th American President). Obviously, cooking and politics were skills acquired later in life for both figures.  Also, the U.S. Constitution prohibits anyone from serving as President {{w|Age of candidacy laws in the United States|before the age of 35}}, so it seems unlikely that any 12-year-old candidate could win, regardless of skill level, simply because voters would not want to elect someone ineligible to serve for another 23 years. Such a contest would likely be prohibited altogether, as ineligible candidates tend to have {{w|ballot access}} issues.
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Megan then exclaims that she wants to have such an app for other games as well, and mentions two types of sport, {{w|tennis}} and {{w|Swimming (sport)|swimming}}, where a persons skill cannot be simulated in an app as with chess. She want's to compare herself to an 8-year-old {{W|Serena Williams}}, a professional tennis player who was ranked no. 1 on the women's singles player world ranking when this comic was released. Or to a 6-year-old {{W|Michael Phelps}} who is the {{w|List_of_multiple_Olympic_medalists#List_of_most_Olympic_medals_over_career|most decorated Olympian competitor}} of all time, with a total of 22 medals in three {{w|Olympiads}}.  
  
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Cueball and Megan continue speculating about an app simulating the skills of random celebrities at various ages, even beyond the talents that made them famous. They finally end up comparing 8-year-old Magnus's swimming skill against 9-year-old Martha's (he wins). But they'd both lose a {{w|hot dog}}-{{w|Competitive eating|eating contest}} against the championship racehorse {{W|Secretariat (horse)|Secretariat}}. At this point even Megan realizes (with considerable understatement) their project "has gotten weird". Chess was previously compared to {{w|basketball}} in [[1392: Dominant Players]], which also mentioned Magnus. This is the tenth [[:Category:Chess|comic about chess]] on {{xkcd}}.
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Cueball is not even satisfied with just looking into sport, and wish to find out if he could cook better than for instance an 11-year-old {{W|Martha Stewart}}, who among other things, has published several cookbooks. ''Martha Stewart's Cooking School'', debuted on {{w|PBS}} in October 2012. Each episode covers cooking techniques based on her book of the same name. Megan suggest finding out if she could have won the eating contest against a 12-year old JFK. {{W|John F. Kennedy}} was the 35th President of the United States, and got assassinated in 1963.
  
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The title text extends the point to even greater absurdity, e.g. the ludicrous prospect of a young Martha Stewart knocking an adult {{W|Ronda Rousey}} (professional wrestler and actress) unconscious, or 9-year-old {{W|Muhammad Ali}} (professional boxer and activist) beating a 10-year-old JFK in {{w|air hockey}}. The former may be a reference to the fact that professional wrestling is more entertainment than competition, and the outcomes are often pre-staged, so the victor would not depend on which contestant was more skilled. This was also referenced in the title text of [[2291: New Sports System]]. The horse also gets re-mentioned in the title text, losing in a hot dog eating contest against 12-year-old {{W|Ken Jennings}} (at time of comic writing record-holder of winning streak on {{w|television game show}} ''{{W|Jeopardy!}}'').
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Being the nerds that they are, Cueball and Megan continues developing their idea into a program that simulates what famous people (or animals) could do at a certain age, often not even looking at the things they are famous. They finally end up comparing 8-year-old Magnus' swimming skill against 9-year-old Martha's (he wins). But those two would both loose a {{w|hot dog}}-{{w|Competitive eating|eating contest}} against the 2-year-old horse {{W|Secretariat (horse)|Secretariat}} which won the {{w|Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)|Triple Crown}} in 1973 (it died in 1989). At this point even Megan realizes their project is weird.
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The title text continues the theme of the last panel with more comparisons, leading to the ludicrous situation of a young Martha Stewart knocking an adult {{W|Ronda Rousey}} unconscious. This is a reference to Rousey's {{w|UFC_193#Rousey_vs._Holm_fight|fight}} against {{w|Holly Holm}}.  When this comic was released, Rousey was the top ranked female {{w|bantamweight}} fighter in the world according to the {{w|Ultimate Fighting Championship}} (UFC). Rousey, who was then the female bantamweight champion for five championships straight, was largely expected to come out on top before being knocked out in less than 30 seconds.
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Others famous/known people are mentioned in the title text. The first is {{W|Muhammad Ali}}, a boxer who is "among the greatest heavyweights in the history of the sport", as it says on his wiki page. The 9-year-old Ali manages to beat a 10-year-old JFK in {{w|air hockey}}. Air hockey was not invented when Ali was a kid, but it came out in the early 70s so maybe JFK actually played while he was a kid (he was from 1961).
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The horse is also mentioned again in the title text, this time losing in a hot dog eating contest against 11-year-old {{W|Ken Jennings}}. Ken currently holds the record for the longest winning streak on {{W|Jeopardy!}}.
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Note that there is no relationship between the age that different people are compared at.
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Chess was earlier compared to {{w|basketball}} in [[1392: Dominant Players]]. Magnus is also featured there and already then (July 2014) no. 1 for some years.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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:[Cueball walks from the right towards Megan while holding up his smartphone.]
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:[Cueball walks from the right towards Megan while holding up his pokédex.]
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:Cueball: Magnus Carlsen has an app where you can play chess against a simulated version of him at different ages.
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:Cueball: Magnus Carlsen has an app where you can play chess against a simulated version of him at different ages.  
 
:Cueball: I can beat the 8½-year-old, but lose to him at 9.
 
:Cueball: I can beat the 8½-year-old, but lose to him at 9.
  
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:[While Megan talks to Cueball he lifts his hand to his chin, while holding the smartphone down.]
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:[While Megan talks to Cueball he lifts his hand to his chin, while holding the pokédex down.]
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:Megan: I want that, but for other games. Can I beat 8-year-old Serena Williams at Tennis? Swim laps faster than a 6-year-old Michael Phelps?
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:Megan: I want that, but for other games. Can I beat 8-year-old Serena Williams at Tennis? Swim laps faster than a 6-year-olf Michael Phelps?
 
:Cueball: We should make a simulator.
 
:Cueball: We should make a simulator.
  
 
:[Cueball walks out left and Megan follows him. He must have pocketed his phone as it is not in his hand.]
 
:[Cueball walks out left and Megan follows him. He must have pocketed his phone as it is not in his hand.]
 
:Cueball: ...Why limit it to games? Can I cook a better chicken than 11-year-old Martha Stewart?
 
:Cueball: ...Why limit it to games? Can I cook a better chicken than 11-year-old Martha Stewart?
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:Megan: Win an election against 12-year-old JFK?
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:Megan: Win an eating contest against 12-year-old JFK?
  
 
:[At the top frame of this panel there is a small frame with a caption. Below lies Megan on the floor to the left in front of her laptop, while Cueball sits on the floor to the right facing her in front of his own laptop. Between them are some heavy books.]
 
:[At the top frame of this panel there is a small frame with a caption. Below lies Megan on the floor to the left in front of her laptop, while Cueball sits on the floor to the right facing her in front of his own laptop. Between them are some heavy books.]
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:Cueball: But they both lose a hot-dog-eating contest to 2-year-old Secretariat.
 
:Cueball: But they both lose a hot-dog-eating contest to 2-year-old Secretariat.
 
:Megan: This project has gotten weird.
 
:Megan: This project has gotten weird.
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==Trivia==
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The app they are talking about is called [http://magnuscarlsen.com/playmagnus Play Magnus].
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Sport]]
 
[[Category:Sport]]
 
[[Category:Animals]]
 
[[Category:Animals]]
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[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]
 

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