How Streaming Helped This Creator's Elo Skyrocket

Asmoada (first name Alex) has been streaming chess for only 11 months, yet in that time she has not just already built an audience of thousands of followers, but her chess has greatly improved as well—by 500-800 Elo rating points in various time controls. Alex is now rated at least 2000 in rapid, blitz, and bullet.

As our Creator of the Month for February 2026, Alex talked about her experience in CoachChamps, starting streaming while still a graduate student, the role of psychology in chess, and more.

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

I started streaming in March 2025. It was actually a very impulsive decision on a random Saturday. I was going to stay at home and play some blitz (and I knew that meant a few hours of chess), so I decided to quickly install OBS and try to start a stream. The stream was very laggy at first, but people showed up and helped me fix the issues, so then all that was left to do was keep on streaming and play chess. Fast forward to this day, almost a year later, and chess content creation has almost taken over my whole life!

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

Well, chess is my passion, so I am making honest content about my own experience and sharing it with people who love chess as much as I do. In fact, if I hadn't started streaming, I don't think I would be anywhere near my current playing level. I am basically spending my time doing something that I truly enjoy, so it is going to be fun by default! 

If I hadn't started streaming, I don't think I would be anywhere near my current playing level.

Since I created my YouTube and Instagram channels on the side, I have learned a lot about editing, as well as marketing strategies, what captures people's attention and so on. On top of that, I have gained more confidence talking to the camera. So, another thing I love about creating is how much you grow and learn.

You have an incredible improver story as well. Sometimes I feel like people can either stream or improve but not both, or that the most interesting streams aren't necessarily going to help the streamer get better.

The fact that I grew so much in September, October, November was no coincidence. I participated in CoachChamps and I got to work with IM Andras Toth. Something clicked for me, and from then on I’ve been at the grind. When it comes to streaming, I have to be honest: I cannot play on stream for the life of me! When I started improving, I really shifted what I do on stream and I've been really trying to focus a lot on tactics. I have to be in the right mindset to play games on stream, because it just doesn't go well usually. So I don't know if I can have any tips regarding that! I do what I enjoy, and if I cannot play chess on stream, then I just won't do it as much. It's not such a bad thing as long as I'm happy and people are enjoying it.

I was going to also ask you about CoachChamps and what that whole experience was like learning from Andras and then playing in the games.

Coaching really changed everything for me when it comes to to chess. It completely shifted my perspective. The way Andras sees chess completely inspired me. I used to be a passive player, but he is very aggressive, and he always told me you never go backward—go control this square, put this piece in the center, but never go back.

We still meet once a week, which I'm very grateful for, because my journey would not be possible without CoachChamps and his help. It was a such a great opportunity. I also got so much support from my viewers.. Then the tournament came around and I was the only one who had crossed 2000 in my group. I've been growing, I've been learning, I've been improving, but when it comes to competing—that's my weak spot, and it's something that I plan on focusing a lot this year. Playing more OTB, getting the right mindset, gaining confidence.

And what about balancing your school work and the chess improvement and streaming?

I started streaming when I was actually in the Netherlands working on my master's thesis. I started in March, and by May I had the pressure of submitting the thesis and wasn't streaming very much. I think I streamed like four times that month. I was really surprised at first of how fast the channel grew; I was working during the day and then I would stream a little bit at 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. What kept me going was people kept showing up.

I don't think I balanced it perfectly. I just kept showing up for the people that showed up for me. It was that kind of relationship, and nowadays I have a beautiful community. We we are in touch every every day. And now I am a biomedical engineer—I'm not working in the field yet, but I will eventually.

Even once a week while working on a thesis, that's still dedication to making the streaming work too.

I was grateful that my early viewers didn't forget about me when I hadn't streamed for a couple weeks. I owe a lot to them.

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

Having started playing chess during the pandemic, I have to use this opportunity to shout out the chess streamers/content creators that I used to watch ALL the time back in 2021. The list includes GothamChess, the man who introduced me to my beloved London System, the Botez Sisters (fellow Romanians), Hikaru, Danya, Anna Rudolf; and RoadToGM3000 (although he doesn't stream anymore). I hope I am not forgetting anyone—2021 feels like a lifetime ago!

Since I started streaming myself, I have been lucky enough to meet many fellow chess content creators who inspire me. What inspires me most is seeing people in a "league of their own" who are creative and are constantly evolving their content, bringing something new to the table. It is nice to see that even though chess is over 1500 years old, chess content can be so diverse and versatile.

It is nice to see that even though chess is over 1500 years old, chess content can be so diverse and versatile.

Anna-Maja has been a big inspiration for me, both as a chess content creator and a chess player. Rachel (rachangel) as well, putting out original content out there almost every day. Tamara (loneliwinter) is also always on the lookout for new and unique ideas. And Andras, of course, for all the educational content which he delivers in such an entertaining way, and has been doing so for many years now. And this is just a partial list.

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

This is a tough question and there are definitely a lot of possible answers. But since the "rules" state "anyone in the world", I thought it would be cool to give a little chess lesson to some of my favorite musicians, like Finneas or Rosalía haha! I figured, since I am listening to their music on stream all the time, why not? And who knows, maybe they will write a song about it! We all know how chess can be so inspiring and be used as a metaphor for lots of things.

Any other thoughts you have?

There is one interesting story I have told before, and I would like to share it again. Back in 2014, when I was around 13 and still living in Romania, a Romanian tennis player called Simona Halep started climbing the WTA rankings and doing exceptionally well in tournaments. I developed an interest in tennis because of her, which grew and grew to the point where all I did was watch tennis matches. Tennis became my absolute biggest passion, but I couldn't play tennis on a real court or take lessons where I lived. So I improvised, using dustpans for rackets, until my grandmother bought two tiny beach rackets for my sister and me. We played in the backyard and used a rope as a net. 

In 2015, my family and I moved to Portugal, where I got the opportunity to take actual tennis lessons and play on a proper court with proper gear. And I loved it! Even though I only started playing at 14, I improved quite fast, and a year or two later, I was "promoted" to the competitive lessons for people who played in tournaments consistently. I am a very competitive and ambitious person, and always have been this way, but I had never reached as high a level in sport as I did with tennis. Slowly, my competitiveness took over. I felt the pressure to play better, to try and reach the level of the others (who had been playing for much longer than I), so that I could keep up with them and not be a terrible training partner.

I was getting more and more frustrated every time the ball hit the net or I missed a serve. And this kept getting worse and worse, to the point where I couldn't move properly; I was stiff. I couldn't play anymore. So I quit. Tennis was my biggest passion, but because I didn't know how to manage my emotions and my ambition, I had to stop. 

Why am I telling this story? Well, since then, chess has replaced tennis as my biggest passion. And it almost took over my whole life, since I play and watch so much every day, and I make content about it. So, oftentimes, when someone asks me about my goals in chess, I like to say, "I want to keep loving chess." Even though it sounds cliché, I am aware of how important this is for me, personally. I don't want history to repeat itself. While this story represents a whole experience from which I learned a lot, it is also a source of fear. That sometimes takes over, especially when I play in tournaments.

This year, one of my biggest chess goals is to look into the psychology of it, which is a topic I could speak about for hours. And it is also a topic I will discuss on my platforms, because it is relevant to me personally and to many chess players. It is very important to me to be able to keep playing chess and creating content around it while protecting my passion and love for it. I guess that is the main conclusion to this long story

When you talk about being interested in the psychology, do you think that played a role during CoachChamps or when you play on stream?

Me being an ambitious person, sometimes when the results actually mean something, it puts extra pressure that sometimes makes me freeze and not be able to focus. I remember being in the Zoom call for CoachChamps. Everyone was quiet also competing with each other. It was intense.

This is something that I think happens in a lot of sports to people, but there's just something about chess. When you lose a game, it can be so tilting, but this is something that I plan on working on. And the fact that I stream chess allows me to share my experience with other people.