A Chess Whopper: Challenge 'The King' On Chess.com
Kings don't usually work this hard, but with tomorrow (July 20) being International Chess Day, "The King" is making an exception.
Burger King's iconic mascot has been a longtime chess fan for years, but he's just now entering the arena of competitive chess. Some customers even claim to have seen his Chess.com app open while working the drive through.
On Friday he will turn off his flame grill and focus on the royal game. For six hours, The King will play all comers on Chess.com's live server. His account? What else, TheKing!
Chess.com and Burger King are teaming up just to make International Chess Day a little more fun. There are no costs or official prizes, but it's possible that those who dethrone The King may get a little offering from the restaurant.
You can challenge The King any time from 10 a.m-4 p.m. Eastern time by clicking this direct link. All games will be five minutes with no increment. The King only likes to play one game at a time, so if you don't have your challenge accepted right away, just wait in the queue.
The 1-3 p.m. block will also be broadcast live at Twitch.tv/chess and Chess.com/TV.
If you beat The King, Burger King may even share your win on its social media channels. Make sure to use the hashtag #PlayTheKing during tomorrow's event.
Playing under a secret account on Chess.com, The King has shown some unorthodox opening choices. We guess he just likes to Have It Your Way. Unsurprisingly, he's shown a penchant for the King's Gambit and King's Indian Defense. Wonder why?
Tomorrow is also International Jump Day and Lollipop Day, but that sounds like a dangerous combination. Instead, we hope you enjoy International Chess Day by participating in the #PlayTheKing challenge!
Remember to use this link to challenge TheKing starting at 10 a.m. Eastern U.S. time July 20!
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Mike Klein began playing chess at the age of four in Charlotte, NC. In 1986, he lost to Josh Waitzkin at the National Championship featured in the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer." A year later, Mike became the youngest member of the very first All-America Chess Team, and was on the team a total of eight times. In 1988, he won the K-3 National Championship, and eventually became North Carolina's youngest-ever master. In 1996, he won clear first for under-2250 players in the top section of the World Open. Mike has taught chess full-time for a dozen years in New York City and Charlotte, with his students and teams winning many national championships. He now works at Chess.com as a Senior Journalist and at ChessKid.com as the Chief Chess Officer. In 2012, 2015, and 2018, he was awarded Chess Journalist of the Year by the Chess Journalists of America. He has also previously won other awards from the CJA such as Best Tournament Report, and also several writing awards for mainstream newspapers. His chess writing and personal travels have now brought him to more than 85 countries.
