Photos by Damiano Lingauri and Pepi Stojanovski on Unsplash
Making money with Chess
Chess has never been the most financially buoyant sport.
I think this has highly influenced the choices of people who would have pursued a career in the game.
In the local scene, right from a young age when I got introduced to the competitive Chess scene, it was hard to find someone who was financially successful in pursuing chess.
The lack of popularity of the game and the unavailability of tournaments made things even worse. Most times, chess players had to resort to chess hustling also known as blooding in order to make a few extra bucks. But that was far from sufficient.
Photo by Egor Myznik on Unsplash
However, there have been great improvements over the years.
The Internet has greatly helped in the increase in popularity of the game, both local and international.
Also, it has increased the chances of attaining monetary satisfaction.
Prior to this time, only the top of the top chess players in the world were able to gain good income from playing chess.
Today, we have:
- Online Platforms and Streaming
- Chess as an Educational Tool
- Online courses and communities
Online Platforms and Streaming
As a means for chess players to make extra income and even a living off of.
The advent of online chess platforms has further expanded the financial landscape of the game. Websites and apps like Chess.com, lichess.org, and chess24.com offer not only opportunities for players to compete virtually but also avenues for monetization. Subscription models, premium features, and virtual goods are common revenue streams for these platforms.
Chess as an Educational Tool
Also, chess also intersects with money through its educational value. The game is widely recognized for its cognitive benefits, including improved problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and concentration. As a result, chess has found its way into educational curricula, after-school programs, and enrichment activities.
Let's take Levy Rozman also known as GothamChess for example. He is an international master, rated 2322 elo – nothing close to the top in the world.
He started out streaming and making chess content on YouTube about 5 years ago. Today, he has over 4.5 million subscribers on YouTube with over 2 billion views.
From commentary to AdSense incomes to sponsorships, to his online courses, and his book sales, Levy Rozman has made millions of dollars by leveraging chess. Something that was far from possible in previous times
Another example is Chesspage1 on YouTube, he has over 500k subscribers and aside from the money he makes from video adsense, he has been able to monetize a certain percentage of his audience by creating a paid community. He currently makes roughly $14,000 in Monthly recurring revenue from his paid community alone.
Then there are the Botezsisters, the Chessbrahs, etc.
This is just to mention a few ...
So you see, a lot of money can be made from chess or any skill you have. If you are able to leverage your skills, it could become a money printer for you.
So tell me, what skill do you have and how do you think you can leverage it for money?
Now, It's time for our weekly routine — some Hive Chess Analysis
Hive Chess S17 Round 7
This week, we were back at the Arena. A 1 hour 10 minutes; 3+2 incremental time control arena.
And once again eniolw wore the victory crown. With tortyllan coming in at second place and Jonbellionfan finishing 3rd.
Game 1
eniolw (2374) vs Pavarotty (2323) | see full game here
e4 c5!? A Sicilian defense, arguably the most combative opening for black against 1.e4
Nf3 Nc6 3. d3 d6 4. Nbd2 g6 5. g3 Bg7 6. Bg2 e5 7. O-O
White has opted for the KIA set-up. One of my favourite opening, let's see if White will be able to make the best out of it.
Both sides finished their development but this is where White started to get things wrong. Usually in the KIA, alot of the times, white is attacking from the kingside. But in this game, white allowed black to expand on the kingside with 11. Nf1 f5 12. c4 f4 13. b3 g5 aiming for an attack on White's King.
This is already looking uncomfortable for white. Black is attacking on the kingside and white as no counterplay on the middle of the board or even on the queenside.
White's pawns are passive in this a2-b3-c4-d3-e4 diamond formation.
Usually, the best way to follow up an attack on the flanks is by opening up the centre but white is finding that difficult to do here.
16.gxf4 Nxf4! Knight is in and soon, more pieces will join the attack on the white king.
22.Re1 Bh6 white is in a bind, blacks moves are coming easy but white hardly has any plan to survive this attack.
23.Ne3 Nf3+ opening up the g file to crash down on the king, 24. Bxf3 gxf3
25.Kh1 Nh3, an inaccuracy from black, stronger was Bh3! with h4 coming in hot 🔥
Game continued 26. Rg1 Nxg1 27. Rxg1 Kh8 28. Ngf5 Qf4. Whit giving up a rook to elevate some pressure from his position. But it wasn't enough.
After a few moves, we reached this position. Can you spot the killer blow for black?
Game 2
2nd game of today features a miniature from 2nd place finisher tortyllan.
tortyllan (2037) vs lighteye (1691) | see full game here
- e4 c5 2. c3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. cxd4 d5 5. e5 e6 6. Nc3 Nge7 7. Be3 Ng6 8. Nf3 Be7 9. Bd3 Bd7 10. Rc1
Game started as a Sicilian Alapin Variation - an extremely solid line for white against the Sicilian and even the likes of Magnus Carlsen employ this Variation when a draw is enough for them.
10... Qb6 attacking the pawn on b2, 11. Qd2 white defined 11... Nb4 black attacks the bishop, 12. Bb1 white retreats then after 12... Nc6 white finished his development by castling and black followed suit, only it was to an unexpected direction 13. O-O O-O-O?!
14.a3 Kb8 15. b4 h5 16. Bd3 h4
17. Na4! 1-0
Black Queen is trapped! Thus, the game ends.
There you have it! Hope you enjoyed today's blog and game analysis. To check out the official Hive Chess Article click here
And to view more games from the tournament, click here
I am @samostically,I love to talk and write about chess because i benefited alot from playing chess. I love to review books and movies too!.I believe life is all about staying happy and maintaining peace.
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PS: @stayoutoftherz & other Hivers, I forgot to add the weekly %10 to @chesspricepool to help our season, but I'd make up by sending 1 HBD from this post payout
Again Youtubers are the by far best monetizers, not only in chess, but in any domain. But one has to consider that there are only a handful who climb to the top. Most youtube channels earn nothing.
By the way, with Lichess there are no subscription models, premium features, etc. (the opposite of chess.com), one of the reasons I like it!
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