7 Players Who Might Win Thursday's Crazyhouse Championship
The Chess.com Crazyhouse Championship (a 15-round 3|0 swiss event with 100 qualifying invitees) is this Thursday at 10 a.m. Pacific. Don't miss the live show with IM Danny Rensch and one of the game's great commentators and crazyhouse players, GM Yasser Seirawan, on Chess.com/TV.
To whet your appetite, here's the rundown on some of the players to watch on Thursday.
1. JannLee
One of the very best crazyhouse players on the planet, a huge promoter of the game via his streaming, and victor in Chess.com's first crazyhouse championship: Jann Lee (AKA Justin Tan) is a big favorite in a swiss format.
Here he is handily winning a qualifier to secure his championship slot.
Watch Chess.com Qualifier 3 from jannleecrazyhouse on www.twitch.tv
2. These crazyhouse specialists: chickencrossroad, xuanetcrazyhouse, mastertancrazyhouse, Schoolmeester
FM Dan Yeager (chickencrossroad) was also a victor with Justin Tan in the first crazyhouse championship while all of these players are renowned for their crazyhouse prowess online and are among the highest-rated ZH players on Chess.com.
3. helmsknight
Popular streamer helmsknight is a regular in online crazyhouse and bughouse circles, and an elite competitor, consistently ranked at the top in these variants.
Despite hosting an excellent Twitch channel and streaming gameplay, helmsknight seems to have retained her anonymity online. This author has no idea who she is. She admits to being far better at crazyhouse and bughouse than regular chess.
Watch Playing in the ZH Qualifier on Chess.com from helmsknight on www.twitch.tv
America's newest grandmaster finished in shared fifth place in the inaugural Chess.com crazyhouse championship. He's back this year, and with a little extra experience under his belt, it seems likely he could improve his placing.
Tang is renowned for his speed chess skills, which are on full display here against Hikaru Nakamura.
Watch Match vs Nakamura from penguingm1 on www.twitch.tv
5. Firouzja2003
IM Alireza Firouzja may not be a crazyhouse specialist, but he's an elite chess talent who at 14 is already rated over 2650 in FIDE biltz. It will be exciting to watch this gifted youngster battling the best crazyhouse players in the world.
Here he is playing one of the greatest speed chess players: Hikaru Nakamura.
The Chessbrahs are underdogs in this format, but you know they will always will be fun to watch! Check out GM-elect Aman Hambleton's qualification run.
Watch Crazyhouse Qualifier with Aman from chessbrah on www.twitch.tv
7. ya_boy_Agent
A 14-year-old candidate master who streams chess? What's not to love! Agent JL is another longshot in this format, but be sure to check out his streams for his energy and enthusiasm!
Watch Arena Kings Tournament on chess.com from Agent_JL_Chess on www.twitch.tv
I'm the VP of Chess and Community for Chess.com. I earned the National Master title in 2012, and in 2014, I returned to my home state of South Carolina to start Strategery: Chess and Games. In late 2014, I began working for Chess.com and haven't looked back since.
You can find my personal content on Twitch , Twitter , and YouTube where I further indulge my love of chess.
