WFM Anna Cramling Bellon
Bio
Anna Cramling is a Swedish woman FIDE master. She is the daughter of grandmasters Juan Manuel Bellon Lopez and Pia Cramling, and has a peak FIDE rating of 2175. Anna is also a chess commentator, streamer, and chess celebrity. In January 2021 she joined the Panda Global esports organization as their first chess streamer.
Chess Career
Cramling was born into a chess family in 2002. Her mother was the fifth-ever female grandmaster, and her father a five-time Spanish chess champion. As the daughter of two grandmasters, Anna took up chess very early; according to her website, she was three years old (an age when even future world champions don’t usually begin playing).
Two of her biggest accomplishments in over-the-board chess are making the Swedish women’s team at the 2016 Olympiad, which finished 23rd out of 140 countries, and obtaining the WFM title in 2018 when her FIDE rating jumped from 2043 to 2175. In 2019, Anna finished tied for fifth place at the European Girls U-18 Championship.
Anna describes her playing style as aggressive. We can see her aggressive qualities on display in this game against IM Renier Castellanos, who was rated 2498 at the time. After a sharp middlegame with opposite-side castling, Castellanos misstepped with 30...Rxb2? and Anna ended the game in style:
Chess Channels
Cramling began streaming in February 2020 and has built her Twitch stream to over 130,000 followers as of April 2021. Speaking in November 2020 to Expressen, a Swedish evening newspaper, Cramling credited “The Queen’s Gambit” with helping build her audience. At that time she was at 35,000 followers, so her channel has only grown since then. Anna also plays other games and chats with viewers on her stream.
Sometimes her mother, Pia, will drop by to play games, including Chess960, and provide advice, opening ideas, and other content.
Anna Cramling’s second most popular platform is Instagram with over 10,000 followers. She also runs a YouTube channel where she often features her best Twitch content, such as a game against GM Hikaru Nakamura, who was playing blindfolded (off-screen).
Cramling became the first chess streamer for the esports group Panda in January 2021.
Chess.com Content
In March 2020 Cramling participated in “Femme Batale” along with IM Anna Rudolf, WGM Jennifer Shahade, and fellow WFM and streamer Alexandra Botez. It was a charity match with proceeds going to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
Cramling also joined GM Robert Hess to do live commentary for the first leg of the 2020 Women’s Speed Chess Championship.
On February 6-7, 2021, Cramling is hosting the Smashers Gambit, a crossover event featuring "Super Smash Bros" players trying their hand at a double-elimination chess tournament. Cramling will also be coaching players for PogChamps 3.
