WFM Anna Cramling was put on a lie detector and asked tough questions, revealing her true feelings about her career path, her Grandmaster parents and the dark side of fame… and then she was caught in a lie.

After IM Anna Rudolf, the popular Hungarian commentator, player and content creator, answered a series of questions from Cramling in the previous episode of Lie Detector Chess, it was now time for her to put Cramling to the test – all under the careful supervision of lie detector controller Orjan Hesjedal.

Would she pass or would the lie detector reveal her true feelings?

22-year-old Swede Cramling is one of the chess world’s most popular content creators, with millions of followers on social media and YouTube. She also streams on Twitch for her 450,000 followers.

It started again on a cheerful note when Anna had to admit that her infamous creation, the cow, was no good.

“I’ve played chess all my life and it’s not necessarily good to have knights on the sides of the board. You can easily push them away. So it’s an opening with good qualities, but maybe it’s not a good opening from a chess strategy point of view,” she said, noting that at least you don’t need to know much theory and the opening is easy to remember.

When asked more seriously whether she ever regretted this career path, she replied:

“I don’t think I regret becoming a streamer. I love what I do and I love creating content and I can’t imagine doing anything else. But I think there’s a small part of me that wonders what would have happened if I had taken a different path in life.”

I love what I do and I love creating content and I can’t imagine doing anything else. But I think there’s a small part of me that wonders what would have happened if I had taken a different path in life.

—Anna Cramling

As we discussed Anna’s career path, it was a perfect opportunity to ask her about her rivalry with Andrea Botez, a content creator and streamer. When asked if she considers herself the better chess player, Cramling confidently replied, “Yes.”

The lie detector test confirmed her honesty. “I haven’t played against her in classical chess yet, but I think she has good time control. As far as chess knowledge goes, I would assume I have more. I’m sorry, Andrea, if you see this,” laughed Cramling.

The 22-year-old comes from a real chess family, both parents are grandmasters. Her mother is GM Pia Cramling, a true legend of the game and one of the strongest players in history. Her father, GM Juan Manuel Bellon Lopez, is also a grandmaster. That wasn’t only positive, she revealed.

“One of the comments I get the most is, ‘Oh, Anna has two grandmaster parents, but she’s only 2100 or something.’ I know I put a lot of time into content and chose a different path, and I’m glad I did. But part of me wishes I would have maybe studied more or tried harder to get a higher rating before I started streaming. But I know I can still do it. I’m still young and I can still gain ratings,” she said.

The most beautiful place to play chess!! pic.twitter.com/II5VJMRYe8

— Anna Cramling (@AnnaCramling) July 28, 2024

The test took a more serious turn when Rudolf asked her if she had ever cried because of a mean comment from a viewer.

“Yes,” she admitted, her voice softening. The lie detector confirmed her sincerity. “I try to remember that people who write mean comments are probably unhappy themselves. But it’s hard not to be affected by it, especially when you see the same negative comments being repeated by many people.”

I try to remind myself that people who write mean comments are probably unhappy themselves. But it’s hard not to let it bother you, especially when you see a lot of people repeating the same negative comments.

—Anna Cramling

Having a million followers comes at a price, though, because one of the weirder sides of fame is receiving unwanted fan requests. Like marriage proposals. Yes, you heard right.

“It’s like I’m playing chess! You don’t know me! It’s weird, but I think most people do it as a joke. I don’t think they’re seriously hoping I’ll say yes. It’s not the worst thing, but it’s definitely weird.”

Supportive other Anna chimed in with her comments and shared her own experiences with such requests: “That’s very creepy. Don’t do that!”

So far, none of Cramling’s answers had raised any alarms on the lie detector. That changed, however, when Rudolf asked her about her feelings about chess itself: “Do you sometimes hate playing chess?”

Cramling quickly replied, “No.” However, the lie detector disagreed and the polygraph examiner Hesjedal warned, “That’s a lie!”

Somewhat taken aback, she replied, “I really thought I had said ‘no’ convincingly. But I sounded so unsure of my answer, and that’s the worst thing you can do when you’re taking a lie detector test!”

She then expressed a sentiment that many chess players can relate to: “I think I hate playing chess when I feel like I’m playing badly. That’s when I can get really angry with myself. And when I feel a lot of pressure, it also feels like more than just a game. I don’t like that. But chess is a game that I really enjoy, especially like this. It’s the competitive pressure that I sometimes love and sometimes hate.”

I think I hate playing chess when I feel like I’m playing badly. That’s when I can get really angry with myself. And when I feel a lot of pressure, it also feels like more than just a game. I don’t like that. But chess is a game that I really enjoy, especially like this. It’s the competitive pressure that I sometimes love and sometimes hate.

The two Annas followed in the footsteps of other chess personalities who took the lie detector test, such as IM Levy Rozman, WHO took one in January before the GMs Magnus Carlsen And David Howell appeared in April. Previously, even GM Hikaru Nakamura appeared with Chess.com’s own I AM Danny Rensch.

We’re still looking for more Lie Detector Chess videos. Who else would you like to see? Be honest!