As Chess and its various events come to the fore more often in this era of unique digital content creation, many content creators and players are jumping on this bandwagon. All this has led to a renaissance of sorts for the ancient game, which has never been more popular across the world, at least among the younger demographic.
At the forefront of this change are streamers like xQc, Tyler1, and Pokimane, with chess stars like Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen bringing thousands of eyes to the intricacies associated with this game. With this in mind, it is time to look at who has been the most-watched name in August and which organization attracts the most viewers.
Most watched Chess channels in August 2023
Leading the pack is the renowned League of Legends creator, loltyler1, who notched 443K Hours Watched across August. Most of it came through his participation at PogChamps 5, the much-followed streamer-celebrity Chess competition that ran across the first three weeks of the month. The American went all the way to the Quarterfinals of the Championship Bracket before losing 2:0 to YouTuber I did a thing.
Second is Hikaru Nakamura, the World No 2 who has revolutionized how his sport is seen worldwide in the post-pandemic era. His continued success when competing has also helped make the American an in-demand entity among fans. Having topped this list in July, he had to be content with dropping down a spot thanks to his participation at events like the FIDE World Cup 2023.
Following him is xQc, one of the most influential influencers ever who has wholeheartedly embraced Chess and been one of the leading names from his field to provide it with unmatched visibility. This has put the Canadian in a unique and enviable spot of being one of the most viewed content creators overall and in Chess.
Fourth is AnnaCramling, the Spanish-Swedish Chess player and streamer who is also a Woman FIDE Master. Thanks to her achievements on the board and online, she has slowly made her way up the ladder in the industry and has become of the foremost voices for fans when it comes to learning about the game and watching and understanding competitive action live.
Rounding off the top five is Papaplatte, another popular streamer who benefitted from his participation in PogChamps 5. The event saw CDawgVA come out on top after beating Franks-is-heres 3:1 in the Championship Bracket Final, with the German ending as the second most popular channel overall.
The last five names — GMNaroditsky, akaNemsko, Raffael Chess, Wirtual, and CDawgVA — are a mix of famous broadcasters and Chess players cum streamers who have made the internet space their own with quality content. The influence of PogChamps 5 can be seen again here, as the last two names were participants at the event, which finished as the second most popular and third most watched competition in the series.
Most watched organization Chess channels in August 2023
Atop the summit is chess24, which combined for 1.9M HW across its YouTube and Twitch channels. It was also a big jump from the previous month's topper, and that is thanks to the various major tournaments that took place across August and brought a lot of attention to the happenings within Chess.
Third is Chess, which was first on July's list but fell down a couple of pegs as there was a more even spread of channels broadcasting the various events live. However, it continues to play a major part in taking the sport to different parts of the world and making it a viable, attractive proposition for online users, especially those who aren't familiar with the game.
Next is BlitzStream, France's number one chess website which also fell a slot this time. It was birthed by the country's most-watched chess streamer Kevin Bordi, also a National Master, and fans can find live blitz with commentary and educative videos to help improve their chess skills.
Fifth is ChessBase India, which caters to all things Chess in India, one of the largest markets for the sport globally. With the recent encouraging performances of its upcoming talent like R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi, and D Gukesh, who ended Viswanathan Anand's 37-year run as India's number one, a lot of viewers actively followed their exploits at events like the FIDE World Cup 2023.
The last five entries — chessbrah, chess24de, chess24es, chess24fr, and chess24 en Español — are an eclectic bunch of handles from various languages that were all vital in the extended coverage that prominent events like PogChamps and the World Cup received. One thing about these top ten rankings is the sheer variety of names from different countries and languages, showing the diversity and reach of a sport that continues to evolve and keep itself in the consciousness of the masses.
