How To Watch The Speed Chess Knockout Qualifier

The most-awaited online chess event is back for 2018 as the Speed Chess Championship kicks off its season next week with a new invitational knockout qualifier. 

Follow the action live at Chess.com/TV and Twitch.tv/chess on Tuesday, June 26 at 10 a.m. Pacific time (1 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. UTC).

The following viewing options will be available:

• Twitch.tv/chess: the official broadcast with IM Daniel Rensch and GM Robert Hess—watch here to see the Twitch chat.
• Chess.com/TV: watch here to see the Chess.com chat.

Four grandmasters popular in the online chess community will square off in a knockout, playing three elimination matches to determine which one of them gets to advance into the main Speed Chess Championship bracket, where the world's biggest chess names and stacks of prize money ($50,000 total) await.

Georg Meier, Eric Hansen, Leinier Dominguez, and Jon Ludvig Hammer will battle it out for a $1,500 prize pool and the right to advance in the Speed Chess Championship.

The match format:

• The seeding order will be determined by the Chess.com blitz rating of each player at the start of the event.
• The top seed will play the fourth seed, and the second seed will play the third seed in knockout matches. Then the two winners will meet with everything on the line.
• The three matches will run consecutively so fans don't miss a moment of the action.
• The 1-vs-4 match will begin first, then the 2-vs-3 match, and then the finals will conclude the event.
• Each knockout match will be five games of 5/1, five games of 3/1 and 10 games of 1/1. The highest score moves on to the next round and the loser is eliminated.
• If one player leads the match with 10.5 or 11 points, the match is over.
• Colors alternate each game, with the higher seed playing White at the start of the match. 
• If the match is tied at the end of the 1/1 segment, the match will continue as sudden death until the first winning game.

The $1,500 prize pool:

1. Qualify for SCC + $500
2. $400
3-4. $250 each
Best game prize: $100

Don't forget: The seeding of the main Speed Chess Championship bracket of 16 will be determined by Chess.com blitz rating after the open qualifier on July 10, so the winner of the knockout qualifier need not worry about getting a "matchup of death" against someone like Hikaru Nakamura in the first round of the SCC—as long as his blitz rating is high enough.

You can find all the information on the 2018 Speed Chess Championship here, including rules, format, players, and complete schedule. 

Let us know your match predictions in the comments or on Facebook.