You can now help your favorite esports organization fight for the top spot in our new monthly event, the Chess Club Showdown. Play alongside your chess heroes, outscore other clubs, and bring home the title. With a $15,000 monthly prize fund up for grabs, the event is open to everyone in the chess community who joins an esports club on Chess.com.
The event’s first edition kicks off on September 30 at 11 a.m. ET / 17:00 CEST / 8:30 p.m. IST and will feature a special $25,000 prize fund. Join any participating team’s official Chess.com club to compete, or tune in to our Twitch and YouTube channels to watch the event’s broadcast.
In this first edition, members can expect to play side by side with Team Liquid’s GM Magnus Carlsen. After bringing two Esports World Cup titles to his team, Carlsen is now striving to lead Team Liquid to the Chess Club Showdown’s inaugural title.
Another familiar face expected to join is IM Levy Rozman. The world’s biggest creator recently joined BASILISK and will be competing for his team for the first time since signing.
“Esports fans bring real passion to the games they love, and we wanted to give them a new way to bring that same energy to chess,” said Michael Brancato, Chess.com’s Events Commissioner. “Chess Club Showdown builds that community on Chess.com and lets any member step up and play for their favorite team, alongside the players they look up to.”
Event Format & Prizes
The Chess Club Showdown will take place on the last Wednesday of each month. Each event will consist of a multi-club arena followed by a club match finale.
In the multi-club arena portion, players sign up to represent any participating club. Players compete in a two-hour, score-paired arena with a 5+0 time control; each club’s top 50 scorers contribute to the club’s score. When the arena ends, the two clubs with the highest scores advance to the next stage.
Players can then sign up to represent either of the top two clubs in the club match, with the 50 higher-rated players having priority. Players on each club get paired to play a two-game match with a 5+0 time control. The club with the most points wins the club match and that month’s showdown.
Every month, $6,500 in prizes goes directly to the players competing in the event. The remaining $8,500 is distributed among the participating clubs. Community members can earn one of the five $100 prizes by submitting their favorite game on social media, tagging Chess.com and the club they played for, and briefly explaining what makes it their favorite game.
For its inaugural event, an extra $10,000 will be on offer for the club match, bringing the total purse to $25,000. The winning club will take home $10,000, while the runner-up will receive $5,000. Check out the prize distribution below, or read the event’s official rulebook for more information.
Multi-Club Arena: $10,000 monthly
| Prize | Kickoff event | Monthly events |
| Top scorer, 1st | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Top scorer, 2nd | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Top scorer, 3rd | $500 | $500 |
| Signed streamer, 1st | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Signed streamer, 2nd | $700 | $700 |
| Signed streamer, 3rd | $500 | $500 |
| Unsigned streamer, 1st | $500 | $500 |
| Unsigned streamer, 2nd | $200 | $200 |
| Unsigned streamer, 3rd | $100 | $100 |
| Community prize (5x $100) | $500 | $500 |
| 3rd place club | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| 4th place club | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| 5th place club | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Club with the most players | $500 | $500 |
Club Match: $5,000 monthly, $10,000 for first event
| Place | Kickoff event | Monhtly events |
| Winning club | $10,000 | $4,000 |
| Losing club | $5,000 | $1,000 |
Participating Clubs
The event is open to any club registered with the Esports World Cup. To support a team, you must first join its official Chess.com club. You’ll then see a button to join the next Chess Club Showdown event. Check out the list of participating clubs (at the time of writing) below, or check the full list on the event’s official page:
Are you ready to play for your club in the inaugural Chess Club Showdown? Then sign up with your club and hop into the arena on September 30!
