Wow! It's 4 YEARS Since the Launch of the Chess.com/TV Group!
Just last week, on November 11th, was the 4thAnniversary of the genesis of the Official Chess.com/TV Group, with its official “launch” anniversary being Dec. 15th. From its conception, the Group and Chess.com/TV became a strong, symbiotic team. Over the past four years, the TV Group has grown by leaps and bounds, recently having surpassed the “1500 member” mark, and show viewership has expanded along with it!
When IM David Pruess conceived Chess.com/TV, having launched with only two hosts: himself and FM Elliot Liu, he’d hoped for eventual blockbuster programming and viewership. His dream has been continuously realized over time and continues to do so. What began as a small Chess.com feature with limited programming has morphed into a Chess TV “monster” with unlimited potential. Chess.com/TV is now one of the most popular features on Chess.com! It broadcasts immensely popular events like 3+-hour Death Matches, major tournaments, and other original programs featuring outstanding hosts such as GM Hikaru Nakamura, NM Dan Heisman, IM Danny Rensch and many others. Currently the channel is covering and recapping the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship between 23-year-old Champion Magnus Carlsen and former World Champion GM Vishy Anand.
In 2010 I first became a fan of Chess.com/TV. It was at that time the Official Chess.com/TV Group took shape, and with the encouragement of both Danny and David, I (ChessMarkstheSpot) and my girlfriend, Donna (RookedOnChess) ran with it. Over the course of 5 weeks we worked hard to create the theme (many were created ‘til there was the majority vote for the one you see now) and brainstorming content. Donna created the three “square” logos you still see used on Chess.com/TV, and she recently updated the artwork itself in honor of our group’s 4th Anniversary. One of our original features was the many “Host Interviews” located in the group’s “News” section. (These will be updated in the near future, adding interviews by the many newer hosts.) Initially I wrote recaps for virtually all the shows, but that tapered over time; my blogging about events eventually became the more popular feature. Donna had even created games and puzzles (viewable on the first forum pages).
The group officially “opened for business” on December 15th, with a 2+-hour celebratory Chess.com/TV Group Launch Party show. It was fantastic! Masters like GM Sam Shankland, GM Jon Ludvig Hammer, IM Kayden Troff (now a GM), FM Elliott Liu showed up for the broadcast, along with many others, some of whom entertained the audience with Blitz matches. From then on, with our promotion of the programming, viewership rose dramatically, and Chess.com/TV grew along with it, having gone from hosting about 3-5 shows a month at that time, to its present 3-5 shows a week! It eventually warranted the formation of an Official Chess.com/TV Moderators group (41 hardworking mods strong), with passionate leadership by staff, along with recent notable efforts by zealandzen.
Donna and I are proud and honored in being catalysts in the growth of Chess.com/TV, and responsible for the formation of the Official Group. It was laborious, but—was a labor of love. We look back fondly, having been enthusiastically supported from the beginning by Chess.com staff, from Erik on down, and look forward to its future growth. The sky’s the limit, as IM David Pruess’ dream comes to fruition, now attracting even the reigning World Champion to Chess.com/TV! Yes, Magnus himself will make an appearance, playing a 10-game simul against Chess.com Diamond members on December 14! Talk about BIG!!! 
The Official Chess.com/TV Group will continue to grow as Chess.com/TV itself becomes even bigger and more entertaining in time. You don’t want to miss the excitement, so to stay abreast of “All Things Chess.com/TV,” simply join the group! Activity is about to kick up a notch, so we’ll see you there.
Thanks for reading and have a good day, everyone!
-Mark
(ChessMarkstheSpot)
