How To "Troll" Respectfully, And Other Content Insights From Rising Lithuanian Creator

Agne Semonaviciute is a Lithuanian Twitch streamer, YouTube creator, chess player (whose 1934 FIDE rating is nothing to sneeze at!), and more. In just a year and a half of creating content, she has already built an audience in the thousands. Agne is not only an online presence but has also helped organize events and bring chess to more places in Lithuania. For this interview we focused on content creation, where Agne introduced the concept of a "respectful troll", and discussed her favorite content, her experience at TwitchCon, and more.

How long have you been creating chess content, and what made you decide to start?

I have been creating chess content for year and a half, starting in August of 2023. I've always loved chess and had always thought about focusing more on content, but with studies and a full-time job, it was really hard to manage.

After finishing university, I had more free time, and my boyfriend (now fiance!) suggested some ideas about Twitch. I hadn't heard of it before he mentioned it, so I checked it out and soon started streaming. At first, it was really intimidating... 

... but I haven't stopped since!

What's your favorite thing about creating? What makes it fun?

My favorite thing about creating is talking and interacting with viewers. I enjoy chatting, getting attention, and being visible. Some viewers in my community are also fun and like to troll a bit, but in a nice and respectful way. We even have a term for them in our community: "respectful trolls in the chat." They always make my day! 

Do you have any favorite examples of a "respectful troll"?  

It started with this one chatter whose nickname is always invisible, but he's always in the chat doing what you could call "trolling" but not in a bad way, just making it fun. When some other people were being mean instead, we came up with this term to discourage that. You can make fun without offending the other person, but where everyone can have a good time. The idea grew on us and now it's become a very popular term in my chat.

Who are some of your favorite chess content creators, and why?

I love WFM Anna Cramling and Hannah Sayce's streams. They are so warm and kind with their community, always creating positive feelings. I also love WGM Dina Belenkaya's reels on Instagram. They are very engaging and make chess look interesting even for people who don't know much about it.

I saw you won a game against Anna on video at TwitchCon. What was that game like and also the TwitchCon experience in general? 

TwitchCon was really nice. It was my first time participating in an event with a chess booth, and I met a lot of chess creators for the first time.

Anna was so sweet. She was chatting with everyone, taking pictures and everything. And when I introduced myself, she already knew who I was! 

What is your single favorite piece of chess content you've ever created?

As I love interacting with people, but also can't sit in front of the computer for longer than four hours—I get bored and need to walk around a bit. My favorite content was when I took a chessboard to the Kaunas city center in Lithuania, went to a cafe, and challenged some people to play chess. It was beautiful weather, and my sister and my friend were with me, so we had a nice time playing some chess. I was streaming this the whole time and also made a YouTube video out of it:

I think this is also my favorite because chess isn't super popular in Lithuania, and this way I can spread some love for chess and maybe get people into it. I'm also planning to do this more when the weather gets warmer.

Why do you think it's not caught on so much in Lithuania? I think it's great that you're bringing it to places there that maybe it hasn't been before.

I'm not sure why. We do have some strong players, but we don't really have a lot of tournaments happening, and unlike in some places, you're not allowed to stream a live tournament. I would love to play more classical tournaments in Lithuania and not need to go somewhere else to find one.

What is your single favorite piece of chess content that was created by someone else?

I really liked the Botez Chess Camp idea. I think it's a great way for streamers to play OTB classical games with each other, hang out, have fun, and create content at the same time. Since I've started organising tournaments here in Lithuania, maybe one day I could do something like this camp idea with European female chess streamers

Imagine you could do a chess-based collab with anyone in the world. Who would it be, and why?

I would love to do a collab with the Botez sisters. I also have a sister who plays chess and streams, and I think it would be so much fun to have a sister chess battle to figure out which sisters play chess better!

Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process?

I'm focusing more on Twitch and YouTube right now. For Twitch (streaming), ideas come to me at random moments, and then I plan everything carefully. Since I also work full time, I try to stream as much as I can, so planning is a big part of my process. I usually do my planning on Sundays, thinking of fun ways to hang out with my community and improve my chess.

For YouTube, in 2025 I decided to start creating mini chess lessons for people who don't know much about chess but want to learn more. I try to explain chess in a fun yet accurate way, so my channel is focused on making chess both enjoyable and educational. I plan content monthly, sit down to write ideas, film videos on Wednesdays, and then edit and post them on Saturdays.

Any final thoughts?

I like to keep it real. A lot of people tend to hide their personal lives or pretend they're feeling fine when they're not. I think we’re all human, and we all have our good and bad days, so I’m always doing my best to be honest with my audience!