Solo Antichess World Championships, More Titled appearances, and another Hikaru/Botez/Nemsko/Gothamchess Collab!
The qualifiers for the first ever World 4 Player Chess Championship (W4PCC) of Antichess will continue on Friday, June 19, 2020 at 5:00 pm US Pacific / 7:00 pm US Central / 8:00 pm US Eastern / midnight UTC (the 20th)! Many major titled chess personalities made an appearance to 4 player chess this week, and once again on Thursday, June 18, 2020 at 6:00 pm US Pacific / 8:00 pm US Central / 9:00 pm US Eastern, four major streamers and chess players, GM Hikaru Nakamura ( @hikaru https://www.twitch.tv/GMHikaru ), IM Levy Rozman ( @gothamchess https://www.twitch.tv/gothamchess ), WFM Alexandra Botez ( @alexandrabotez https://www.twitch.tv/BotezLive ), and WGM Qiyu Zhou ( @Nemsko https://www.twitch.tv/akanemsko ) will be collaborating in a 4 player chess battle!
Last Friday, these four personalities played several 4 player chess games on Friday, June 12, 2020 at 2:15 US Eastern Standard Time. During the first game, a game of 1 minute with 15 second delay Free-For-All, Hikaru lived up to his name and defeated the other three players with more than 30 seconds of time odds! During the second game, a game of 1 minute with 3 second delay Teams, the Team of Rozman and Zhou defeated Nakamura and Botez in a stunning checkmate combination. During the third and fourth games, two games of 1 minute with 5 second increment Teams, Nakamura and Botez took revenge and won both games.
On Monday afternoon, Rozman took coaching from two experienced regulars in 4 player chess, Tom Merrall (@tommerrall949 , https://www.twitch.tv/fourplayerchess ) and W4PCC Director Luke Romanko (@e4bc4qh5qf7). After being joined by FM/WIM Anna-Maja Kazarian (@annamaja7 , https://www.twitch.tv/annamaja ) , one of the commentators for the Solo W4PCC Final, the four players played each other in 2 teams games, with an even result of 1-1. The replay can be seen here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/651487564 (coaching starts at 2:38:00 and the teams match start at 2:57:35) Rozman will soon teach the rest of his opponents on Thursday what he learned from the regulars.
On Wednesday afternoon, Kazarian, Merrall, and Romanko made an appearance in another two-titled, two-regular match, this time joined by WFM Kimberly Liu ( @nicecream18 , https://www.twitch.tv/kimmyliu18 ). The four players challenged each other in many Teams matches, including Hand & Brain, a challenge where one player names a piece and the teammate can only move a piece of that kind. The replays can be seen on their twitch channels:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/653534581 (starting at 3:07:03)
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/653696403
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/653699848
Other major titled appearances and returns to 4 player chess this month include WFM Anastasiya Geller ( @IceBelka ) and FM @Muifel, a duo who were known for playing the most popular irregular starting position in 4 player chess, "King Safety." Grandmasters Nihal Sarin @nihalsarin , Arjun Erigaisi @GHANDEEVAM2003 , Srinath Narayanan @GMSrinath , and international master Harshit Raja @Raja3401 were found playing many hyperbullet (15 second or faster with no increment) games against one another. IM @DragonB70 , once a number one FFA player in the world in the early stages of 4 player chess in 2017, was found playing FFA games and hyperbullet games. GM Dmitry Kononenko @valger has been seen playing casual teams games against his reigning Teams W4PCC Champion Teammate @icystun . The list of titled players who have returned and tried the game is without limits and has been constantly growing this month.
Solo Antichess World 4 Player Chess Championships Continue This Weekend
After 8 qualifying tournaments, the following players qualified for the Preliminaries of the Antichess W4PCC event: @MagicSteph , @Chesskq75 , @7R0N1C , @viloski , @TTVYukoTheKid , @a1t19 , @SPatrik, and @NegavitLibertas . There will be 8 more two-hour Solo Antichess Qualifying Tournaments on Saturday and Sunday at 00:00, 11:00, 16:00, and 21:00 UTC. To join, when the tournaments are available, you go to https://www.chess.com/4-player-chess?t=Leaderboards and click Arenas, and click Join on the Arenas titled "Solo Antichess W4PCC." The tournament director wishes best of luck to all players who wish to qualify.
