PogChamps 3: Rainn Wins Chess Wars, Neeko Premoves To Victory
Wild semifinals marked one of the last days of PogChamps 3 presented by GRIP6.
Emerging victorious from the highly anticipated match against Benjyfishy, Rainn Wilson advanced to the championship bracket finals. Neeko narrowly escaped defeat and advanced to the consolation bracket finals after flagging Tubbo.
During PogChamps 3, Chess.com will match up to $100,000 in donations to the participants’ favorite non-profit organizations. Please read this article to see how PogChamps is supporting charities and how you can help yourself!
Rainn Wilson Wins Chess Wars
Wearing an intimidating "Chess Wars" hat, Rainn Wilson defeated the strong Benjyfishy to advance to the finals.
In the first game, Benjy stuck to his French Defense to face Rainn's 1.e4 opening. The players entered what seemed to be a balanced middlegame, but Benjy blundered and went down a bishop and then a full rook. Rainn played with precision and converted his advantage into a full point.
The second game was not that easy for Rainn. After blundering three pawns, his position was not simple to play. Benjy had a chance to win the exchange but, unfortunately, did not see it.
The game entered a complicated endgame with both players having less than a minute on the clock. Benjyfishy eventually caved and blundered his pawns, allowing Rainn to promote. In true PogChamps fashion, Rainn stalemated his opponent, which was enough for him to move on to the finals.
All Games
Neeko Premoves To Victory
Neeko won her match against Tubbo in the eleventh hour. After taking the decision to the tiebreaks, the TikTok sensation used the clock as a weapon to take her opponent down.
Pieces were flying everywhere in the first game of the match. Neeko blitzed out her moves as usual but blundered a piece. Tubbo had some trouble coordinating his army to create an attack but eventually managed to checkmate Neeko.
The second game was quick but wild. Tubbo had a good position but gave it away after playing the infamous Botez Gambit. Neeko took his queen and delivered checkmate a few minutes later.
The third game of the match left spectators on the edge of their seats as both players got into huge time trouble. Neeko blundered one of her pieces but played fast throughout the game, putting all her chips on the clock. Despite being a bishop up, Tubbo did not manage to checkmate Neeko, who premoved her way to the finals.
All Games
Make sure to tune into Chess.com's daily coverage of PogChamps 3 presented by GRIP6 on February 28 at 11:45 a.m. Pacific (20:45 Central Europe) on Chess.com/tv.
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Previous Coverage:
- PogChamps 3 Presented by GRIP6 Announcement
- PogChamps 3: All The Information
- Rubius Joins Final PogChamps 3 Field
- Play Chess Against PogChamps 3 Bots
- PogChamps 3: Pokimane Refutes Negreanu's Englund Gambit
- PogChamps 3: Rainn Wilson Wins Despite Two Botez Gambits
- PogChamps 3: Ludwig Wins Bet, MrBeast Donates $10,000
- PogChamps 3: Negreanu Wins Exciting Match Against Rubius
- PogChamps 3: Rainn Hits Tubbo With The "Schrute Bomb"
- PogChamps 3: Ludwig Wins Match, Dinner Date
- PogChamps 3: 100,000 Watch xQc Sweep Group Stage
- PogChamps 3: Ludwig Gets His Revenge
- Pogchamps 3: Sardoche Advances, Benjy Wins In Final Second
- PogChamps 3: Rainn Wilson Advances, Ludwig Defies Logic
- PogChamps 3: Tubbo Advances To Consolation Semifinal
- PogChamps 3: Sardoche Advances, Michelle Khare Shines
Pedro Pinhata is the Writing Lead for Chess.com. He writes articles, feature announcements, event pages, and more. He has been playing chess since 2019 and lives in Brazil.
