Embrace The Darkness! Get Ready For The Chess.com Fog Of War Chess Championship

It's the spookiest month of the year, and with it comes the scariest event of the Chess.com Community Championships. Mark your calendars, for the Chess.com Fog of War Chess Championship is coming! The event happens on October 17 and 18 and will treat a $2,000 prize fund to the trickiest players who make it to the Final.

Fog of War is a chess variant where a fog takes over the chessboard, and players can only see the squares to which their pieces can move. This variant went viral in 2020 after it first came to Chess.com, with creators like GM Hikaru Nakamura, IM Levy Rozman, and IM Eric Rosen publishing multiple videos playing it. Since then, it has remained a fan favorite.

Now, it's your turn to embrance the unknown and prove that you're not scared to play in the dark! Join any of the eight arena qualifiers on October 17 to conquer the shadows and try to claim your spot in the Final the following day.

Each qualifier will be a 75-minute arena in a blitz time control. You can check the qualifier's schedule here or by clicking the image below. Make sure you're a member of Chess.com's Community Club to participate in the event, and note that registrations open one hour before the event starts.

While you won't see your opponent's pieces, we may keep an eye on your every move (creepy? We hope so). As always, we may require participants to join a video call for fair play checks. Players who join the call must set up two cameras from different angles in the room. Non-compliance will result in a player's removal from the event.

The winner of each arena will move on to the final, a double-elimination knockout bracket. Matches will consist of four games, so expect plenty of drama as the finalists try to maneuver their pieces around the murky battlefield. Those who get consumed by darkness and don't make it to the final can still find the light at the end of the tunnel by tuning in to our live broadcast, with commentary by AnittaDrink on our Community Twitch channel.

Last month, IM Nhat Minh To defeated Rosen to claim the title of Chess.com Duck Chess Champion. Can you join him and other players like GMs Andrew Tang, Vladimir Fedoseev, Luca Moroni, Awonder Liang, and Jeffery Xiong to become a Chess.com Community Champion? 

Are you excited for the Chess.com Fog of War Chess Championship? What other variants would you like to play in this championship series? Let us know in the comments below!