ULTIMATE SENSEI | Season 1 Cast, Format, & Schedule
ChessDojo is proud to present ULTIMATE SENSEI, an all-new chess coaching reality show which will premier this Saturday, 9/26, at 10 AM PT on https://twitch.tv/ChessDojoLive!
First check out the Season 1 promo video here:
WHO'S PARTICIPATING
4 invited coaches (aka Senseis) + 8 invited students, all rated between ~1800-2000 OTB
Here are the competing Senseis for Season 1:
Senseis
IM David Pruess - (https://twitch.tv/ChessDojoLive)
IM Alex Astaneh - (https://twitch.tv/Astaneh)
GM Eugene Perelshteyn - (https://twitch.tv/EugenePerelshteyn)
GM Arturs Neiksans - (https://twitch.tv/GMNeiksans)
And here are the student participants of the event:
STUDENTS
Mitch Fabian - 1744 USCF (https://twitch.tv/ChessDojoLive)
WIM Jesse February - 1824 FIDE (https://twitch.tv/HashtagChess)
WCM Rebecca Selkirk - 1799 FIDE (https://twitch.tv/HashtagChess)
Maxim Farberov - 1900 USCF (https://twitch.tv/Chess_Gainz)
Michael Green - 1950 FIDE (https://www.youtube.com/chesslifestyle)
Dylan Mize - 151 ECF (https://www.youtube.com/chesslifestyle)
Frank Johnson - 1824 FIDE (https://twitch.tv/ChessCoachNet)
WFM Kimmy Liu - 1904 FIDE (https://twitch.tv/KimmyLiu18)
SHOW CAST
Host: NM Sam Copeland (https://twitch.tv/SamCopeland)
Lead Commentator: GM Jesse Kraai (https://twitch.tv/ChessDojoLive)
Season 1 Commissioner: IM Kostya Kavutskiy (https://twitch.tv/ChessDojoLive)
FORMAT
The tournament will start with a 4-round rapid swiss tournament with all 8 participants playing, while being observed by the Senseis. After the tournament, the Senseis will immediately take turns drafting two students each. The draft order will be randomized and balanced: (1+8, 2+7, 3+6, 4+5), i.e. the coach that gets to pick first will also pick last.
Over the course of the next 6 weeks, each Sensei will train their students on a weekly basis, streaming each lesson on their individual channels. Every two weeks, the students will compete in special events such as blitz and puzzle challenges.
At the end of the season the students will play an 8-player rapid knockout tournament, with prizes awarded based on cumulative team standing at the end of the knockout: 1st - 8 points, 2nd - 7 points, 3rd - 6 points, 4th - 5 points, 5th - 4 points, 6th - 3 points, 7th - 2 points, 8th - 1 point. In case of a tie in the final standings, a tiebreak will be played between the winning teams.
In addition to eternal glory, the students will be playing for monetary prizes! All prizes earned by the team will be shared between the coach and two students. Here you can see the full prize fund and schedule for Season 1:
This first season is sure to include lots of excitement, so make sure to follow ChessDojoLive on Twitch and tune in this Saturday, 9/26, at 10 AM PT for the Season 1 premier of Ultimate Sensei!
Who do you expect to win? Let us know in the comments below!
