Everything You Need To Know About The PogChamps Chess Tournaments

PogChamps is a series of chess tournaments that Chess.com began in 2020. What is PogChamps, where did it come from, and what has it meant for chess? Answers to these questions and more. 

• Origins
• PogChamps
• PogChamps 2
• PogChamps 3
• PogChamps 4
• PogChamps 5
• Impact

Origins

The gamer-turned-streamer xQc began playing chess in March of 2020 in front of an audience that was already 2.7 million followers at the time. (Now, in 2023, he has 12 million!) He soon caught the attention of GM Hikaru Nakamura.

Before 2020, there was already some popular interest in chess. In 2018, the live Chess.com coverage of the World Chess Championship playoffs reached 80,000 viewers in English and 100,000 overall. By the end of 2019, Chess.com had 32 million members, with help from events like a Twitch Rivals event that year.

But it's fair to say that lockdowns stemming from the pandemic gave people much more time to fill, even streamers who already lived much of their lives online and that a sizeable group of people spent that extra time on chess. 

The result was a perfect storm: More people playing chess, more people who already had a following now exposing that following to the game of chess, and more people watching chess.

Shoutout to the big streamers who've discovered chess. Some do it once or twice, some every single stream. Some are casual visitors to our game, some are becoming obsessed. Streamers like @xQc @BoxBox @voyboy @Papaplatte @Yassuo @nymnion Chess thanks you for all the new fans.

— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) May 21, 2020

PogChamps

It all led to the announcement of PogChamps on May 25, 2020. All six creators from Nakamura's tweet were part of the 16-player field.

Nakamura, along with IM Danny Rensch, WFM Alexandra Botez, and others, took on the roles of coach and commentator. The live, on-stream coaching dynamic viewers saw in the leadup to the competition—derived from Hikaru's April training session with xQc—became a model for future editions of PogChamps.

Breakout star: Ludwig was the last player to gain entry into the tournament, and he made the most of it. He has since become a three-time participant, a regular commentator, and now a partner for PogChamps 5.

Iconic moment: xQc walks into Cr1tikal's opening preparation and is checkmated in six moves. Chaos ensues.

Final Report: VoyBoy, MoistCr1tikal Win Chess.com PogChamps Finals

PogChamps 2

About a month after PogChamps ended, it was time for another one, which was announced on July 20. Fourteen new players, along with returning poggers xQc and Forsen, joined up. Some players, like bodybuilder and Game of Thrones star Hafthor Julius Bjornsonn, didn't even start their careers as streamers.

The commentary team widened, with Andrea Botez, IM Levy Rozman, GM Daniel Naroditsky, WGM Nemo Zhou, and GM Robert Hess making more regular appearances.

Breakout star: QTCinderella showcased aggressive chess and even more aggressive post-game interviews. She became a fan favorite, appearing in two further PogChamps.

Iconic moment: Hafu became the first, and so far only, woman to win PogChamps.

It's all over! It's all over! 🤯🤯🤯

👏 @itshafu checkmates @GripexJ and wins the #Pogchamps Championship Bracket! 👏 pic.twitter.com/f8TfMXMm01

— Chess.com (@chesscom) September 6, 2020

Full highlights:

Final Report: PogChamps Final: Hafu Is Champion

PogChamps 3

The anticipation for another Pog lasted slightly longer this time, about three months, but PogChamps 3 was announced in early 2021.

It was worth the wait, with two of the world's most popular content creators, MrBeast and Rubius, playing for the first time while fan favorites Ludwig, Cr1tikal, and xQc all made repeat appearances. PogChamps even branched out into Grammy and Emmy nominees Logic and Rainn Wilson as well as poker star Daniel Negreanu. The French first-timer Sardoche outlasted them all.

Breakout star: Michelle Khare turned her PogChamps journey, during which she improved significantly, into one of the best installments in her "Challenge Accepted" series.

Iconic moment: PogChamps 3 ended on a one-move blunder. Happens to all of us, even Dwight Schrute. 

Full highlights:

Final Report: Over $150,000 Raised For Charity As Sardoche Wins PogChamps 3 

PogChamps 4

The PogChamps train kept rolling in 2021 with the fourth event in a year-and-a-half. PogChamps 4 was announced on July 26. MrBeast, Rubius, Ludwig, and Boxbox all came back for more.

Breakout star: IamCristinini, who only first learned chess in order to play in the event, showed some natural ability and made a run into the championship bracket, where she nearly defeated the eventual champion Fundy.

Iconic moment: Ludwig gets overconfident and premoves a stalemate against Boxbox to lose the match.

Full highlights:

Final Report: PogChamps 4 Finals: Fundy, MrBeast Are New Pog Champions

PogChamps 5

PogChamps took a break after the fourth rendition but returns in the summer of 2023 with PogChamps 5, which was announced on June 29 and begins on July 26.

The full field was announced on July 24. After taking a break in PogChamps 4, xQc returns for PogChamps 5 in a record fourth appearance. QTCinderella makes her third appearance. 

Impact

PogChamps, perhaps more than any other chess event, has brought hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of new fans to chess. With help from content creators like Nakamura, xQc, and Ludwig, PogChamps began changing the public perception of chess from a deadly serious game to one that could be fun, too. PogChamps also offers live insights into the thought process of amateur players in an entertaining way.

It's not too much to say that PogChamps has changed chess forever.