Chess.com Puzzle Week 2021: All The Information

The Chess.com Puzzle Week will begin January 4, and $23,000 will have been distributed by its end on January 8. However, each day will be its own event, and viewers will be able to see beloved streamers such as IM Eric "Oh no my queen!" Rosen and GM Daniel Naroditsky put their tactical abilities to the test.

Also, IM Danny Rensch and GM Maurice Ashley will be hosting the event and providing commentary throughout. 

Puzzle Rush took the world of chess by storm, gaining immense popularity amongst super-GMs and beginners alike. The game is so ingrained in chess culture now that the phrase "Puzzle Rush moment" is commonly used to describe tactical sequences in games. 

The saying goes "Chess is 99 percent tactics," and there is merit to it; so Puzzle Week is a great opportunity for everyone to pursue their goals of improving in chess.

Below are quick links to event details:

• Format
  • Day 1
  • Day 2
  • Day 3
  • Day 4
  • Day 5
• Schedule
• Prizes
• Results
• Broadcast

Format:

Day 1 (January 4): Invited streamers will play 5-minute Puzzle Rush games, and the highest performers in each hour will be eligible for prizes.

Day 2 (January 5): Invited streamers will compete in pairs and play Survival Mode Puzzle Rush, with prizes being distributed on a rolling basis. Super-GMs such as GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Hikaru Nakamura will be competing in this event, along with celebrity streamers such as IM Levy Rozman and WGM Qiyu Zhou.

Teams: 

• GM Hikaru Nakamura (GMHikaru) & IM Levy Rozman (GothamChess)
• IM Danny Rensch (danielrensch) & GM Aman Hambleton (chessbrah)
• GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (mvlchess) & NM Kevin Bordi (BlitzStream)
• WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (Tatev_A) & IM Eric Rosen (imrosen)
• VelcroDot & WFM Anna Cramling (AnnaCramling)
• GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (chessqueen) & WCM Rebecca Selkirk (HashtagChess)
• WGM Qiyu Zhou (akaNemsko) & WFM Alessia Santeramo (AlessiaSanteramo)
• IM Anna Rudolf (Anna_Chess) & QTCinderella
• FM Anna-Maja Kazarian (annamaja) & Naycir

Day 3 (January 6): 16 invited streamers will play Puzzle Battle in a single-elimination bracket,  where each match will consist of three rounds. The winner of each round will be given points equal to the score difference they won by, with 10 being the point-cap for each round. The player with the most points after three rounds will win the match.

Day 4 (January 7): Similar to Day 1, invited streamers will play three hours of Puzzle Rush, with prizes being available each hour. However, on this day players will compete in 3-minute Puzzle Rush games.

Day 5 (January 8): This day will feature the Puzzle Battle Championship, where invited participants will compete for the $8,000 prize, keeping in mind it is a winner-takes-all format. The eight participants will play a single-elimination tournament, and the initial matches will consist of five Puzzle Battle rounds. In the finals, though, the two remaining contestants will play 10 rounds of Puzzle Battle to determine the winner.

Tiebreakers: Should any match end in a tie, the players will play another round of Puzzle Battle, and the winner of this will also claim the match.

Schedule:

The events will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific time, or 19:00 Central European time, on January 4-8.

Prizes:

Day 1, 2, and 4 will each have a prize pool of $4,000, and $3,000 will be up for grabs on Day 3. For these days there will be a multitude of awards throughout the day. In Day 5, the final day, $8,000 will go to the winner of the Puzzle Battle Championship.

Results:

Below are the current results for each day.

Day 1:

Broadcast: 

Follow the event live at Chess.com/tv, starting 10 a.m. Pacific time on January 4-8, with commentary by IM Danny Rensch and GM Maurice Ashley.