Join Chess.com Duck Chess Championship Tomorrow, Sep 4

Dear Variant Fans,

A new month, a new Chess.com Community Championship coming up: Chess.com Duck Chess Championship is happening between September 4-5 and features a $2,500 prize fund.

Duck Chess is one of the newest variants on Chess.com. It went viral in 2023, quickly winning over the hearts of creators like IMs Levy Rozman, Eric Rosen, WFM Anna Cramling, and even GM Hikaru Nakamura.

In Duck Chess, a rubber duck is placed on the chessboard and blocks the square it's on, with each player moving the duck on their turn. This added element adds a whole new layer of complexity to the game, enabling new types of tactics—or "quacktics" for Duck Chess fanatics.

As always, the event will have two stages:

1. Qualifiers on September 4

• There are eight qualifiers
• Each qualifier is a 75-minute arena
• Time control: 3+2
• The winner of each arena qualifies for the Final
• Players who have already qualified for the Final cannot play in subsequent qualifiers

Any member of the Chess.com community can join. You can check the full qualifier schedule here:

Click the "Join" button to participate in the qualifier that best suits your schedule. We may require participants to join a fair play video call. Players who join the call must set up two cameras from different angles in the room. Players who refuse to comply will be removed from the event.

2. Knockout Final on September 6

• Double-elimination knockout
• Time control: 3+2
• Each match is best of four games

Read the full announcement of the Duck Chess Championship here.

Hope to see many of you in the qualifiers.