Chess.com Takes Over TwitchCon
The green pawn took over TwitchCon! With the rise of chess on Twitch in the past three years, we’ve seen more and more streamers eager to try the game, whether online or over the board. Since PogChamps launched three years ago and skyrocketed chess to a brand new audience, we’ve seen massive creators and millions of fans enjoy the age-old game.
Twitch streamers and viewers descended on sunny Las Vegas this past weekend, and TwitchCon North America 2023 did not disappoint. The biggest names in streaming were seen hanging out all around the convention, mingling with fans, and even at the chess board all weekend long!
Andrea Botez, Tyler1, Ludwig, and recent PogChamps alumnus Wirtual stopped by the booth to get a game in and play against some fans. Popular chess streamer HunterWhiz was also among the attendees: "It was amazing to be able to meet people who have supported me over the past year, and getting to play chess—which brought us all together in the first place—was a ton of fun."
We also enjoyed an appearance by the one-and-only green pawn and Chess.com CCO, IM Danny Rensch, which may have resulted in him battling an actual knight and potentially getting stuck in his chair after challenging said knight to a game of chess.
IM Kostya Kavutskiy, SimplyDevina, and ChessCoachNET got the chance to speak with and play against the tabletop community at the BASILISK Chess Event, which brought together the larger tabletop community and the chess world to answer questions and get a chance to play and learn!
As well as hanging out at the booth, Andrea Botez took over Chess.com's official Snapchat account during TwitchCon, bringing plenty of chaos to the occasion (and a fun-filled fan Q&A).
Fans were wrapped around the booth all weekend to play some of the biggest names in the chess streaming world and compete for a lifetime Platinum Membership by recording the fastest time to set up a chess board. Hundreds of participants attempted to take down the king, CaptainHanz, who recorded a crazy 21.05-second time to take the lifetime membership home.
Those who stopped by the booth could also enter into a raffle for two House of Staunton chessboards, one of which was signed by EVERY creator featured at the booth throughout the weekend.
Speaking of featured creators, Chess.com had games running all weekend long, with fans able to challenge Hunterwhiz, Hugs86, ChesscoachNET, Nemo, Anna Cramling, Devina, Andrea Botez, and more to a game of chess!
From Friday to Sunday, the booth was packed with people from all over the world. We had so much fun getting the chance to meet all of you who have played, streamed, and puzzle-rushed on Chess.com.
Whether it was Giant Chess, saying hi to the suspiciously familiar green pawn walking around, a quick lesson with your favorite chess streamer, or a chance to play a game against them, there was plenty to do at TwitchCon this year.
Thank you to all who came out and played a game, and we’ll see you on the board!