The Dark Side of Chess Streaming

"There is something about live performance that you just can't replicate anywhere else." - Carrie Hope Fletcher

At one point, everyone has wanted to try streaming, whether it's on Twitch, YouTube, or some other lesser-known site. And although streaming chess may seem all like fun and games, hanging out with your viewers, and doing something that you like, streaming, just like pretty much everything else, has a dark side. Today, I will be discussing the dark side of streaming, and how bad of an effect it can have.

Stream Sniping

Let's start with the obvious, stream sniping, one of, if not the most popular techniques used by viewers to get an unfair advantage over the streamer. What is stream sniping? According to the internet, "Stream sniping is when a viewer exploits information by watching the livestream of someone they're playing against." This tactic can be used in any game, such as Fortnite, Valorant, or Minecraft.

Now, how can stream sniping be used in chess? Obviously, the streamer has to be talking about their game, whether it's to keep the chat entertained, or to simply let them know what's going on. If the opponent happens to be in the chat, listening in on what the streamer is talking about, the opponent can easily get an unfair advantage.

The streamer can also use stream sniping to their advantage. For example, if the person they're playing is a beginner, or isn't as skilled at the game, the streamer could give them false advice/guidance. A good example for this is a YouTube/streamer, GothamChess.

Unfortunately, stream sniping is just one of those things that you can't stop from happening. If you happen to stumble upon a player that is currently streaming, just mute their stream, or better, just turn it off. There's no reason to stream-snipe, apart from ruining the fun for everybody.

Toxicity

I'm sure that if you play on either Chess.com or Lichess, you've come across some online toxicity, whether it's from a troll getting mad at you for winning, or some terrible person who is being racist. Thankfully, with the site's banning system, you can simply report one of these trolls and they will be off the site in no time. 

However, if an opponent swears on stream, there's nothing the streamer can do, and the potentially thousands of people watching will see. Also, the viewers/opponents may not always be the ones doing the swearing. Sometimes, streamers and content creators can lose it too, especially with such a frustrating game like chess. 

Privacy

There is a main, and very big difference between creating content on YouTube, and streaming on Twitch. For streamers, everything happens "live," meaning that it can be much harder to protect your privacy. Your viewers can pretty much see exactly what you can, so possible leaks of important info can happen. If you are a streamer, you have to be very careful of the stuff that you show on stream, otherwise bad consequences can arise.

Conclusion

These were some of the obvious cons of chess streaming. Off course, there are also many pros and great reasons to watch streams. Comment below who your favorite streamer is. Anyways, that's it for now. Hopefully you learned something new today, and goodbye.