Chess.com Seirawan Chess Championship Kicks Off October 2

Hawks and elephants are storming the chessboard once again in the next event of the Chess.com Community Championship. The Seirawan Chess Championship takes place on October 2 and 3, featuring a $2,000 prize pool.

Seirawan Chess is the brainchild of GM Yasser Seirawan and FM Bruce Harper. The variant introduces two powerful new pieces to the classic game. The hawk, with the combined powers of a bishop and knight, and the formidable elephant, blending rook and knight movement, are ready to change the game entirely. 

The new pieces not only add considerable firepower to each army but also unlock new tactical possibilities. Hawks can leap like a knight and strike across diagonals, setting up forks that no other piece could create. Elephants dominate files and ranks and can quickly hop over other pieces, making them some of the most unpredictable attackers on the board. Here's an example of Seirawan using his hawk to deliver a crushing tactic and win a game against GM Jeffery Xiong.