In view of the coronavirus pandemic ravaging all parts of the world, many sporting events which require physical contact have been either cancelled or postponed. Chess is not an exception as most of its events worldwide have been put on hold. A notable example is the 2020 FIDE Candidates Tournament which was postponed after 8 rounds had been played and was to be resumed on a later date.
Despite this ugly situation, Chess seems to be thriving with the help of the internet. There are now lots of chess platforms on the internet where players are able to interact and play with each other with different time controls from any location in the world. Online chess is now receiving huge attention as more tournaments are being moved online. Recently, the world chess champion Magnus Carlsen emerged as the winner of the Magnus invitational, an online professional tournament in which eight(8) top grandmasters participated.
This shows a new trend which would most likely last for a very long time. Here are five(5) reasons why you should switch to online chess;
1. Wide Range of Players: You get to play different players ranging from beginners to grandmasters. This is definitely a great advantage of online chess as you get to play titled players easily which is difficult in OTB chess tournament if you are a lower rated player.
2. Praticing Speed chess: Online chess is a great avenue for improving your blitz, rapid chess skills and time management. There are lots of time controls online that accommodates speed chess.
3. Improvement of Playing Skills: You can easily learn and train online; you can practice your opening repertoire against different players, solve chess puzzles to improve tactical vision and analyze your games.
4. Watch Titled players( GMs, IMs, FMs, CMs) games online: Almost every professional chess player plays online so it is now easy to follow and watch their games live. This act improves pattern recognition and gives you a wider scope of the game.
5. Participate in lots of Tournaments: You can easily participate in tournaments some of which are prized. You can also create one yourself for you and your friends to play.
There are so many other reasons why you should now move your chess online, so many benefits and advantages involved. This article may not cover all the benefits involved but it’s time to give online chess a trial!
What are the ways to earn money from chess online?
This is virtually one of the most asked question by chess players as many players especially in developing countries, most have asked themselves at one point or the other “Is playing chess worth it?”. Also, most beginner players often want to be well aware of the economic incentives available to them before committing themselves to the game.
While many beginner players only know earning money is possible by playing chess and coaching, they probably don’t know many other available ways and many players who are earning a decent amount of money through it.
If we’re to compare chess to other big sports like football, we’ll see that there’s a really low prize fund in chess compared to other sports except, say, you compete amongst the top 10 chess players in the world.
But thanks to the internet, chess has become somewhat more lucrative for people that are passionate about it and more and more people can earn from what they love. so let us do a rundown on how you can earn money from chess online.
Online coaching: with a rating above 1400, you can register on many websites where you can list as a chess coach. the most popular ones are chess.com and lichess. Online coaching has become popular in recent times. This can be attributed to the effects of covid-19 and the aftermath of the popular “Queens Gambit” Netflix series. The pay range for online coaching ranges between $5 to $125. Some Grandmasters even charge more than $125.
Playing online: Chess is an easy game to learn but difficult to master. While playing chess, the only thing that remains hidden from you is the intent of your opponent. Everything else about the game is crystal clear; you can see it on the board in front of you. Luck or chance has nothing to do with the outcomes of a chess game.
Chess websites like BMchess.com allow you to play chess with an opponent and win real money (it is required that you 18+). You can also play chess games for free and win real money by participating in tournaments hosted on chess websites like Chess2play.com, lichess and chess24.
It is worth nothing that playing chess online for real money is fun but it is not without risks. Since chess is not a game of chance, it is very difficult to enforce the game rules while playing it online for real money. There is absolutely nothing to stop players from cheating.
Players can cheat their opponents by using chess engine software. Your opponent can set an engine to the hardest level and feed your moves into it. The software will then give your opponent the best response to your move. You would be unknowingly playing against a robot and not a human player. Of course, the best online chess websites do not permit such software, but there is nothing to stop your opponents from using another device.
Content Creation: Aside from making money with online chess by playing and coaching, many players employ other methods to monetize their chess activity. Many players have taken to platforms like twitch so their fans can watch them live, but the most prominent style of content creation by chess players have been uploading chess-related videos to YouTube. The videos may contain commentary on professional games or chess tips and strategies.
Some popular chess channels on YouTube include (subscriber counts as of late July 2021)
agadmators Chess Channel (over 1.15 million subscribers). Social Blade estimates that this channel makes up to around $50,000 per month and up to around $600,000 per year.
GothamChess (over 1.09 million subscribers). Estimated income is up to around $76,000 per month and up to around $900,000 per year.
GMHikaru (over 1.08 million subscribers). This is the channel of Japanese-American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. GMHikaru makes up to around $75,000 per month and up to around $900,000 per year.
BotezLive (over 500,000 subscribers). Estimated income is up to about $100,000 per month and up to about $1.2 million per year.
Eric Rosen (over 470,000 subscribers). Estimated income is up to approximately $24,000 per month and up to about $290,000 per year.
Many chess players have also found success as Twitch streamers. Blogging and submitting publications to online chess magazines are some other forms of content creation for chess that can be monetized.
READ ALSO: Top 10 Exciting Careers In Chess To Earn Cool Cash
Affiliate Marketing: One of the best ways to make good money in chess is by selling a digital chess course. Many grandmasters create their courses for students and can potentially sell for several amounts of dollars each. Imagine selling a $1,000 course to 1000 customers? You do the math and you’ve racked up a million dollars in sales!
You don’t have to even be an expert to sell a chess course online. Many online marketers do what is called Affiliate Marketing, and that is simply promoting other peoples products or services in return for a commission of that sale. Normal people who have absolutely no experience in chess making at money every single month on autopilot just by promoting other peoples courses, and you can do the same.
More so, chess websites that have paid memberships may have referral programs. An example of such a website is chessclub.com where players receive points for each player they refer. Points may be exchanged for US dollars. Chess.com has an affiliate program. The starting commission percentage for affiliates is 15% of Chess.com premium membership purchases.
Conclusion: Online chess when compared to real-world tournaments appears to have lower income potential. However, it is worth noting that the online world of chess provides more opportunities to chess players— both amateur and professional as they are presented with a larger online audience globally.
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