OT: Chess Pogchamps 3

[Steve Maughan]

This is slightly off topic but still related to chess, and it's such a revolution for the game that anyone vaguely interested in chess should know about it.

Up until 2020 virtually all streamed chess games were between strong opponents. Then we had the Queen Gambit and lockdown which gave a massive boost to chess. As part of this Chess.com held a pogchamp tournament — and this part is pure genius — an invitation-only tournament for gamers and streamers. Typically the participants have a massive following of their own, playing games such as Fortnight etc.. And the prize money is decent ($100k). Some of the participants are new to the game but all are given coaching from chess personalities. It turns out watching newbies (ELO range from 350 to 1350) play chess is exciting, especially when top GMs are commentating. These games are being watched by 300,000 people. At one point, on the first day of Pogchamps 3, Hikaru Nakamura's Twitch stream was the top English speaking stream on the whole of Twitch. I still can't quite believe the genius of this event. It's normalizing chess for thousands of gamers and making chess accessible for the masses.

You can find out everything here:

https://www.chess.com/article/view/pogc ... nformation

It's a great time to be a chess player!

Steve

P.S. The Chess.com platform is an amazing place to play chess

[supersharp77]

This is slightly off topic but still related to chess, and it's such a revolution for the game that anyone vaguely interested in chess should know about it.

Up until 2020 virtually all streamed chess games were between strong opponents. Then we had the Queen Gambit and lockdown which gave a massive boost to chess. As part of this Chess.com held a pogchamp tournament — and this part is pure genius — an invitation-only tournament for gamers and streamers. Typically the participants have a massive following of their own, playing games such as Fortnight etc.. And the prize money is decent ($100k). Some of the participants are new to the game but all are given coaching from chess personalities. It turns out watching newbies (ELO range from 350 to 1350) play chess is exciting, especially when top GMs are commentating. These games are being watched by 300,000 people. At one point, on the first day of Pogchamps 3, Hikaru Nakamura's Twitch stream was the top English speaking stream on the whole of Twitch. I still can't quite believe the genius of this event. It's normalizing chess for thousands of gamers and making chess accessible for the masses.

You can find out everything here:

https://www.chess.com/article/view/pogc ... nformation

It's a great time to be a chess player!

Steve

P.S. The Chess.com platform is an amazing place to play chess

Yep I happened to see it on my youtube feed...(monday) let me tell you I had no idea at all what was going on and I called a long time Chess associate and He had no idea what it was either (he was raving about the Carlsen tiebreak with Wesley So)
It was both alarming and fascinating with Gotham chess and Hikaru analyzing games of a 980 elo and a 1080 elo "Social Media Sensations" not boring and fun to watch..The prize money (100,000 dollars) I did find shocking but it is GREAT for Chess overall....'The Queens Gambit'.......


ps I think you hit it right on..The average player finds these 'Patzer Games' much more easier to follow and understand than GM games or computer chess games without a doubt...

[lithander]

The average player finds these 'Patzer Games' much more easier to follow and understand than GM games or computer chess games without a doubt...

I'm one of these new players that got interested in Chess from watching Queens Gambit. It's not only that these games are easier to follow, they also communicate that chess is for everyone and you don't have to be a professional to enjoy it. It's very relateable.

Also, the way GothamChess for example recaps them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GAi0_2RRIU is not only highly entertaining I think it is also providing more valuable insights to players of a similar (low) level than a recap of actual grandmaster games would provide them.

Last but not least, while I do agree that it's a great event it's only original in the context of chess. These kind of collaborations between video game publishers and influencers/streamers have been a major marketing tool in the video game and e-sports space for years. But it's great to see the video game crowd on Twitch appreciate chess as the great game it is!

P.S. The Chess.com platform is an amazing place to play chess

That's were I'm playing almost exclusively and even though my rating isn't seeing barely any improvement the lessons and puzzles and achievements make you feel like you're making progress nonetheless. And I always find opponents instantly. Can highly recommend!

[supersharp77]

The average player finds these 'Patzer Games' much more easier to follow and understand than GM games or computer chess games without a doubt...

I'm one of these new players that got interested in Chess from watching Queens Gambit. It's not only that these games are easier to follow, they also communicate that chess is for everyone and you don't have to be a professional to enjoy it. It's very relateable.

Also, the way GothamChess for example recaps them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GAi0_2RRIU is not only highly entertaining I think it is also providing more valuable insights to players of a similar (low) level than a recap of actual grandmaster games would provide them.

Last but not least, while I do agree that it's a great event it's only original in the context of chess. These kind of collaborations between video game publishers and influencers/streamers have been a major marketing tool in the video game and e-sports space for years. But it's great to see the video game crowd on Twitch appreciate chess as the great game it is!

P.S. The Chess.com platform is an amazing place to play chess

That's were I'm playing almost exclusively and even though my rating isn't seeing barely any improvement the lessons and puzzles and achievements make you feel like you're making progress nonetheless. And I always find opponents instantly. Can highly recommend!

No I saw you on the stream and the announcers thought you were playing pretty well... I don't recall if you were at the top or the bottom of your particular group though...Gotham Chess seems to be everywhere.....not only announcing but also playing chess games.....I found fascinating that some sites broadcast "live games" with chess enthusiasts on a first come first serve basis...Twitch seems to be exploding right now....Quite Interesting...Good luck in the tourney!!

[lithander]

No I saw you on the stream and the announcers thought you were playing pretty well...

Oh, but I'm not playing *in* the tourney. Are you sure you saw... me?

I just meant that I'm playing on chess.com as one of the probably thousands of new players that got attracted to the game by queens gambit. And that I appreciate the pogchamps3 format. Sorry if I made any misleading comments that led you to believe otherwise.