Rise of Chess on Twitch

Twitch was supposed to be a streaming platform for gamers. However, during the pandemic, when most of the world’s population has been forced to stay indoors, it is providing a source of income for DJs, piano players, musicians and singers of all kinds, among others.

And of course, chess players! Chess players of all kinds have been streaming on Twitch more than ever since about a year. Leading the community is GM Hikaru Nakamura, arguably the greatest bullet player ever, who receives about 20k live views on an average every time he streams (which is almost daily by the way).

Twitch rewards streamers with partnerships and pays them for views and subscriptions (bought by followers for a certain price which is shared between the company and the artists). Chess players have taken this opportunity and given a huge boost to the popularity of the game in the process.

Over the last few months, I have personally enjoyed watching these genius minds as they commentate on professional tournaments, play with viewers and even engage in playful banter so readily.

The rise in popularity was also influenced hugely by the release of “The Queen’s Gambit” on Netflix this year, a Limited Series based on chess that stayed at number one in overall TV ratings for quite long.

The game of chess helps us shed our sentimentality, it sharpens our intellect, and makes us more alert in general. It is a great way to stay motivated during these tough times.

You can play online on websites such as chess.com and lichess.com, the two most popular options among titled players all over the world. Subscribing to these websites will help you analyse your games and grow more in the process. However, playing as such is completely free and you can sign up for an account right now without hesitation.

You can also choose to watch titled players stream chess on Twitch, a platform owned by Amazon, and spurred by the pandemic for obvious reasons.

Most chess players here are more friendly than you can imagine, and will interact with you as you type on chat, making you feel as if you’re a part of the community.

So, go on, give it a try! Thank me later :)