Who is Kiwhiskey?

Welcome back! Today, we're chatting with Kira, a.k.a. Kiwhiskey. Born in 2006, she is one of the fastest growing chess streamers on Twitch, with an audience dedicated to watching her climb the ranks of chess, starting from scratch. In this article, Kira shares some surprising facts about her life and her go-with-the-flow philosophy on streaming, dance, chess, and life in general.

The name "Kiwhiskey" has a fun backstory. How did you come up with it?

The name was inspired by my friend who was just looking for new nicknames for me. Growing up, people called me Kiwi (hence the kiwi profile picture), and Kiwhiskey is what he came up with. Not sure why "whiskey," but I went with it since it was easy to remember (I hate whiskey, by the way). A few years ago, I didn’t think I'd stream, so I didn’t think too much about it. Now, I get asked a lot if I'm from New Zealand or a fan of whiskey, but I'm neither. Unfortunately, there’s no deep meaning to the name; I just liked how it sounded.

You begged your dad for a computer to start streaming back in 2021, but you ended up quitting after a week. What made you stop, and what motivated you to come back and stay consistent in 2023?

Back in 2021, I was 14, and I had a lot going on in my life at the time — so streaming wasn’t a priority. I begged my dad for a computer, but I ended up only streaming for a week before quitting. In 2023, when I was 16, I returned to streaming after I had just stopped working at my dad’s place. I was kind of lost and bored at this point, so I figured I’d better do streaming than nothing. My mom asked me if I was going to pick up streaming again and told me to go for it. I’ve been consistent since March 2023 because I enjoyed it so much that it became routine. I actually have a diary where I wrote, “If I give up now, I won’t know what could’ve been” (09/12/2022). PREACH 16-year-old me!

Why did you decide to keep your streaming a secret at first, and how did things change when your friends and community finally found out?

I decided to keep it secret at first because it’s very uncommon here in Malta, and I didn’t want to share something like this in case I just ended up quitting. I didn’t even tell my closest friend until I had around 10 thousand followers on Twitch. Once I did tell people, I had already acquired a bit of a following, so all the reactions were similar — usually saying it’s cool. Eventually, word got around, and now everyone knows what I do. Living on an island means everyone knows each other, so I used to be scared of getting bullied for it, but then I remembered... no one cares. In general, not much has changed in how people treat me. I’ve always been a bit odd, so I guess it didn’t surprise people too much.

After dancing for 10 years and even winning awards, how did your dance experience shape your discipline in other areas of your life, including streaming?

To be honest, I don’t think dancing made me more disciplined. Growing up, I danced for about 10 years and won a couple of awards here and there. I even broke my leg during a dance class at 5 but returned to dance as soon as it healed. I purely did it for fun, and it was effortless for me to go — it’s the same with streaming. However, dancing did help me build connections, as I met my good friend Lily there, and we’ve been friends since.

Quitting school at 16 and working at your dad’s restaurant is a pretty big decision at a young age. How did that impact your sense of responsibility, and how did your parents react?

I started working at my dad’s restaurant as a bartender and waiter when I was 12 until I was about 16. It was mostly from March to September due to school, but I worked there every summer. Quitting school at 16 isn’t uncommon here since schools in Malta aren’t the best. My parents supported this fully — they were never the type to prioritize grades or going to university. Working at my dad’s place definitely shaped me the most and gave me a ton of experience. It helped me develop communication skills, which I ended up needing for streaming.

A viewer introduced you to chess. Can you tell us more about that moment and what hooked you on the game?

A viewer called Mahim introduced me to chess about one month into me streaming Minecraft. He stumbled into my chat, and we hung out on Minecraft for a while. One day, he asked me if I wanted to play chess with him. I had absolutely no idea how to play — I didn’t even know how the pieces moved! But I think the way Mahim hyped me up when I got my first checkmate (with his help, of course) made me determined to become better. The chess community on Twitch is also very supportive, which made it a lot of fun to be part of, so I stuck around.

You rose fairly quickly from 100 to 1500 Elo — what milestones on that journey stand out the most?

I started at the bottom of the barrel, and now I’m at 1500. Hitting 1000 was fairly big for me. I got up to that in just a few months, and people seemed to love seeing me grow. After 1000, it definitely got harder to improve, and I tilt a lot nowadays.

In the summer of 2023, your channel became really popular. What do you think created that hype?

That summer, Chess.com created an event called Summer of Chess, which gave away free membership if you watched a chess streamer long enough. I think Chess.com chose a number of streamers to be on the homepage — I still have no idea how I got there, and I had no warning beforehand! I quickly gained popularity in August 2023. I remember that on the first day of this event, I was scared about why there were suddenly so many more people following, and I thought I was getting follow-botted, so I ended the stream early.

How did it feel to suddenly gain popularity, and did it come with any unexpected challenges?

It was definitely weird seeing so many more people in my chat. I quickly learned that I needed way more moderation, both on Twitch and Discord. At times, I did get scared due to some questionable interactions, but my mod Thinker really helped me through that. I would’ve quit without him, for real.

The goal of reaching 1969 Elo across all time controls is interesting — what’s the story behind that number, and how serious are you about achieving it?

The goal of 1969 Elo started as a joke, but after some time, it became serious. I promised my community I would reach this, and I definitely won’t stop until I have. Only after I reach the goal can I retire in peace, lol. My guess is that it will take me another year or so to reach 1969 since I am taking it easy at the moment.

What kind of IRL streaming or travel content are you most excited to create, and how has Jinnytty influenced your vision for it?

For most of my life, I wished to travel, but I never had the opportunity to do so with my family much, except to Germany every now and then. When I found Jinnytty, I was amazed that it was possible to stream and travel at the same time. I always wanted to do this, and now I finally have the opportunity. I can’t wait to see the world and capture it live. I plan to travel a bunch in the coming years—not sure for how long or where yet, but I’ll figure it out as I go.

Lastly, who is Kiwhiskey?

A chess streamer from Malta.