About Wuestenigel
Hello everyone, my name is Marco – better known as Wüstenigel. I'm 44 years old and live in the beautiful city of Cologne, Germany. I'd like to introduce myself and share a bit about my passions and goals.
My enthusiasm for chess began back in 1994 when I joined the chess club at my school. It was an exciting time during which I was able to celebrate some remarkable successes. The absolute highlight was winning the German School Chess Cup in 1998, where we even managed to defeat the Naiditsch family. I even had the privilege of playing once in the 2nd Bundesliga.
After those exciting years, I stepped away from chess for about 15 years to focus on other interests.
In 2020, after a long break, I decided to dive back into the game and rekindle my passion for chess. Today, I’m a relaxed chess streamer trying to reconnect with the good old days. I'm a proud member of the club KSK Dr. Lasker 1861 e.V. and regularly stream chess and other games like Valorant on Twitch.
I'm aware that I'm a somewhat controversial figure in the chess world. My past approach to copyright during my time as a photographer wasn't well received by everyone. I’ve decided to address this openly and have published a detailed statement including an apology. As far as I'm concerned, the matter is closed.I aim to become a Twitch Partner and to earn an official ELO rating. I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead and am excited to see what the future holds.
I hope you'll join me on this journey and that we’ll experience many exciting moments together.
See you soon on my Twitch channel or in my Discord server.
Last updated: September 15th, 2025
