"He's not good or fast, so hopefully we're going to win this game."

February 28, 2020 7:50 AM

Fast-and-loose culture of esports is upending once staid world of chess (NBC): Botez, 24, is good and fast. She holds the title of Woman FIDE Master, was the first female president of the Stanford University Chess Club and remains one of the best players in Canada. And under normal circumstances, she probably wouldn't be losing to her anonymous online opponent. ¶ But on the monitor to her right, Botez was also talking to more than 1,000 viewers who were watching the game as she offered a mix of live commentary, trash talk and thanks to the viewers who had given her contributions. ¶ Players like Botez now serve as some of the most visible ambassadors of chess -- and, it can be argued, the game's first entertainers. If chess hustling turned pro, it would look something like what Botez does.
posted by not_the_water (15 comments total)

and, it can be argued, the game's first entertainers.

Have these people not heard of Philidor ?
posted by Pendragon at 8:05 AM on February 28, 2020 [3 favorites]

I have never really played chess or been good at it or really understood the details when watching other people play, but this sounds like it would be fun to watch.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:26 AM on February 28, 2020

Really interesting! I just hope it doesn't turn into a grind leading to burnout like other streamers.

Somewhat related (and heartwarming): The Magic of Chess
posted by gwint at 8:28 AM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]

Very suspicious!
posted by thelonius at 8:30 AM on February 28, 2020

See also: DrDrunkenstein’s Reign of Terror -- Magnus Carlsen, the best chess player alive, has been slipping into online speed tournaments behind pseudonyms to crack jokes, let loose, and destroy the competition. (Joe Holmes for Slate, Feb. 21, 2020)
posted by filthy light thief at 8:37 AM on February 28, 2020 [10 favorites]

Carlsen is now the owner (with partners, I think) of chess24, a chess playing site, and he's made numerous videos of play against members from amateurs to GMs there. It's crazy watching him make burying these very strong players look so easy.
posted by thelonius at 8:48 AM on February 28, 2020 [2 favorites]

One of the most satisfying chess videos ever. Incognito Grandmaster Maurice Ashley plays chess hustler (in washington square park)
posted by lalochezia at 8:56 AM on February 28, 2020 [5 favorites]

Really interesting! I just hope it doesn't turn into a grind leading to burnout like other streamers.

I think Botez has some kind of job in a startup too, so, maybe she is mostly doing streaming for fun. She seems like she is having a lot of fun.
posted by thelonius at 10:23 AM on February 28, 2020

First I'd heard of the Botez Gambit, although I did one once in a tournament, and it was not in a blitz game.
posted by MtDewd at 2:35 PM on February 28, 2020

This is cool! I've been dipping my toe into educational Esports and one of the big ideas is that anything can be an Esport. It's more about the infrastructure surrounding the players/streamers that opens up opportunities for folks whether or not they're any good at games. Definitely plan to use this article as an example for students in the future.
posted by Wulfhere at 3:03 PM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]

I loved watching gwint's link above.
I have proctored, I guess you'd call it, a few kid's tournaments, and the coolest thing is not necessarily the games, but I was blown away walking into the non-tournament area and seeing hundreds of kids playing offhand games.
On the floor, on the tables. Everywhere.
Also, I'm hoping my granddaughter likes the video.
posted by MtDewd at 4:10 PM on February 28, 2020

although I did one once in a tournament

I think I made it to my third tournament before I hung a Queen. The opponent was about 12 years old. It took six months before I was free of suddenly being skewered in horror by the memory of it. How could you not see that there is a simple Knight fork? How? I would be compelled to think, at random, while walking down the street. There was no question of complications or any dream of compensation, either, it was just the game down the chute, right there.
posted by thelonius at 6:28 PM on February 28, 2020

I think it was my third as well, and I thought I was winning a piece in the old Cambridge Springs Defense, but it turns out I wasn't in that variation.
posted by MtDewd at 8:12 PM on February 28, 2020 [2 favorites]

Her twitch channel
posted by vibratory manner of working at 12:29 AM on February 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

Carlsen is now the owner (with partners, I think) of chess24, a chess playing site,

I tell you what, if you are a chess player and you want some useful playing advice, look at this stream of Gata Kamsky playing chess24 members.
posted by thelonius at 4:16 PM on March 1, 2020