Today is International Chess Day, and lovers of the ancient game all over the world are celebrating the anniversary of the International Chess Federation's (FIDE) founding in 1924. The FIDE is the globally recognized governing body for the game and its international competitions, headquartered in Switzerland, and responsible for the various national federations.
To celebrate such a special day for one of our favorite sports, Chess Watch has dug into its data to bring to readers the top streamers of the game in the first half of 2025. These rankings are based on the cumulative watch time of various streamers and organizations, which is a good metric to see who has been active the most and attracted more viewers for longer periods.
The International Day of Chess was first celebrated in 1966 as proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). July 20 marks the 59th such celebration of this monumental day, which sees players, clubs, and organizations from around the globe create and participate in events to commemorate this remarkable game.
Last year, FIDE marked International Chess Day by celebrating its centennial anniversary and setting a Guinness World Record for the most chess games played in 24 hours: over 7.28 million matches played across over 350 events worldwide. For 2025, the organization launched the Year of Social Chess, an initiative dedicated to using the game as a tool for inclusion, education, empowerment, and mental well-being. A lot of other activities have been planned by FIDE, the details of which can be found here.
Most watched chess streamers of 2025
The most watched Chess creator so far this year is Hikaru Nakamura, the American Grandmaster who has played a pivotal role in the game becoming so popular on livestreaming since the COVID-19 lockdown days. When not participating in and livestreaming tournaments like the Champions Chess Tour 2025 - Chess.com Classic and the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 - Paris, the World No. 2 is busy providing commentary for events like PogChamps and continuing to upload educational content for his fans and viewers.
Next is Anna Cramling, one of the most popular female chess creators going around today. The Swedish-Spanish Woman FIDE Master is popular for her challenge streams, where she plays random strangers or other pro players, apart from being a regular analyst/co-caster during prominent events.
Rounding off the podium is GM Magnus Carlsen, the World No. 1 and undisputed best player of this generation, if not of all time. Like Nakamura, he was busy livestreaming his matches from different competitions (and winning most of them). As is the case with the Norwegian superstar after almost every classical event nowadays, it is hard to say how much longer he will want to play the format, but for now, he remains the man to beat on the chessboard.
The rest of the top ten is filled with other renowned chess streamers like GMNaroditsky (the channel of American GM Daniel Naroditsky), Raffael Chess (Brazil's biggest chess influencer, Rafael Santos), and Russia’s most prolific creator for the sport, Crestbook Шахматы (GM Sergei Shipov). GMbancsoo, run by Hungarian GM Tamas Banusz, made the top ten after becoming popular for providing coaching sessions to 2000+ rated players in 2025.
Polish streamer Sergiusz "niter" Górski, also famous as TheNitroZyniak, made this list despite being a lot less active, with his mix of reaction streams and playing chess becoming a hit among viewers. We also have to mention Jonathan "JonLiMusic" Li, a pianist and singer-songwriter whose combination of creating music while playing chess games online has made him an in-demand name among fans and viewers of the game.
Maria "photochess" Emelianova is in the seventh spot, with the Woman FIDE Master and FIDE Instructor growing in fame thanks to her enthusiastic livestreams. Fondly known as LovaLova among her fans and loved ones, the British player also shares her love for chess photography with her audiences during her broadcasts, making her a favorite among online followers of the game.
When looking at chess organization channels, the leaderboard is filled with entries from chess.com, the world's largest chess community, and its subsidiary, chess24. We also have chessbrah, the Chess entertainment and education channel run by Canadian GMs Eric Hansen and Aman Hambleton. Saint Louis Chess Club, which hosts the coveted Sinquefield Cup, and French National Master Kévin Bordi's initiative, BlitzStream, find spots on this top ten table as well.
With the focus now on the Esports World Cup 2025, where chess is making its debut, it remains to be seen how the watch time rankings look come the end of the year. Apart from the likes of Carlsen and Nakamura participating in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a lot of these chess creators will be livestreaming these matches either from home or the venue, so it will be an interesting time to be a chess fan/viewer.
