Banter Blitz Is Back: it's YOUR chance to challenge famous players, creators, and chess personalities!

Chess.com is excited to announce the return of Chess24’s flagship show, Banter Blitz. Finally, the much-loved series where fans got to play their heroes is making a comeback!

Over the years, Banter Blitz has featured all the top stars of modern chess, including the always-entertaining host GM Jan Gustafsson. With its blend of humor and insight into the mind of chess legends, the show developed a cult following centered around Chess24 legends like Gustafsson, GM Peter Svidler, GM Pepe Cuenca, and GM Peter Leko.

Now that Banter Blitz has found a new home on Chess.com’s YouTube and Twitch channels, you can safely expect familiar faces from Chess.com - such as IM Danny Rensch and GM Robert Hess - to join in on the fun.

The format remains the same: while Banter Blitz events happen, community members challenge the host to a blitz game. Hosts then choose from a pool of players to take on and then battle them, both over the board... and in their commentary! That's right: players live stream and commentate on their moves during the game.

Watch one of the show's many highlights: when a 16-year-old GM Alireza Firouzja defeated GM Magnus Carlsen's who had been unbeatable in the 2020 Banter Blitz Cup until this game. 

Firouzja checkmated the world number-one with just seconds to spare to secure a narrow 8.5-7.5 win. This result made headlines globally and announced Firouzja as a rising force!

Gustafsson will host the first of a new generation of Banter Blitz events starting on May 15 at 3 p.m. / 21:00 CEST - check it out on ChessTV and challenge him during the broadcast to participate! 

For more information, read the full article by Leon Watson here