Chess in 2025 embedded itself further into the esports lexicon, appearing at top-tier series like the Esports World Cup and seeing the best players represent legendary organizations. The game also continued to evolve to make it more presentable to modern audiences, with formats like Freestyle Chess/Chess 960 and Fast Classical finding more favor among organizers and players.
Chess also continued to find a stable viewership on livestreaming platforms, led by the efforts of content creators and professional players, with the latter becoming an increasingly common breed. With a month of the new year gone, Chess Watch has gone through its database to rank the most-watched streamers for the ancient game in 2025, with this list showing off the sport's impressive diversity.
Most-watched chess streamers in 2025
In the top position once again is grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, who multistreams on Twitch and Kick. Put together, his livestreams on these two platforms last year accumulated 5.3 million Hours Watched (HW). To put his fame among fans and online viewers into context, no other chess influencer even passed 1.4 million HW. What makes the American World No 2 so popular is a perfect storm of elite skill, timing, and streaming persona that makes a sport, often associated with being elitist, accessible to anyone and everyone.
GM Magnus Carlsen comes next as the only other male with over 1 million HW in 2025. The legendary Norwegian, like his rival Nakamura, has slowly been growing his presence on livestreaming, albeit exclusively on YouTube for now. The World No 1's presence in livestreaming is defined by a "quality over quantity" approach, where he doesn't grind the hours like Nakamura, but his streams are considered "must-watch events" for the entire gaming community thanks to his personality and winning mentality.
Rounding off the podium is Anna Cramling, who holds the title of Woman FIDE Master, with just over 1 million HW combined from YouTube and Twitch. The Swedish-Spanish professional player is considered one of the stars of the chess content creation scene, thanks to the entertaining nature of her content. Apart from regularly popping up as an analyst during prominent tournaments, she also livestreams vlogs and challenges, including playing strangers or other pros during her travels across the globe.
Russian GM Sergei "Crestbook Шахматы" Shipov finishes in the fourth spot after putting up 731,374 HW last year from his YouTube and Twitch channels. Also renowned as Crestbook Chess, he remains the premier destination for Russian-speaking chess fans and represents a more "traditional" but highly respected pillar of the streaming world. His streams are defined by his knowledge and expertise, earning Shipov the label of "voice of Russian chess."
Fifth is Jonathan "JonLiMusic" Li, whose channel is unique compared to the rest of the entries on this list. A pianist and singer-songwriter, the American's combination of creating music while playing games online has made him a popular name among fans and viewers of chess. He carved out a unique and wholesome niche in the livestreaming world throughout 2025, becoming notorious for his wholesome and high-energy content. As a "Dad of 4," he frequently includes his daughters in his music segments, contributing to his reputation as one of the most family-friendly "cozy" streamers on Twitch and Kick.
Brazilian star Rafael "Raffael Chess" Santos is next, having accumulated 734,694 HW in 2025. It is safe to say that he is the leading face of Brazilian content for the sport and one of the most successful Portuguese-speaking chess creators in the world. The 41-year-old has built a massive audience by making the ancient game accessible through humor, high energy, and a very specific "chaotic" Brazilian flair.
In the seventh spot is a bittersweet entry, GMNaroditsky, the channel run by former grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky. The American, affectionately known as "Danya," was one of the most popular chess influencers until his untimely passing in October. His content is considered by many to be the gold standard for chess education, with his informative speedruns, "Dream Team" commentary partnership with GM Robert Hess and endgame mastery leaving behind a massive legacy.
In the next two spots are two rising Kick chess streamers. Poland's Sergiusz "niter" Górski, also popular as TheNitroZyniak, continued to attract new audiences with his mix of reaction streams and playing chess. He is joined by Maria "photochess" Emelianova, the Woman FIDE Master and FIDE Instructor fondly known as LovaLova among her fans and loved ones. The Brit's love for chess photography, combined with her expert gameplay, has earned her a loyal audience.
Last but not least is Speedchess14, a chess player and trainer who loves sharing his passion for the game and helping others improve. He covers and plays matches, providing strategic insights to viewers as he believes that there's always something new to learn and enjoy. One of the rare streamers who multistreams, his growth points to a new breed of chess influencers who are becoming popular despite being semi-professional.
Most popular chess streamers in 2025
This leaderboard for last year is similar to the one above in terms of the names occupying it, but the leader is niter with 97,969 Peak Viewers (PV). He reached this figure during a family get-together at his uncle's place on Christmas Eve, which also saw him play games like League of Legends and Hearts of Iron IV.
Ludwig "Ludwig" Ahgren was the second most popular chess streamer in 2025, with his Twitch livestream from September 27 peaking at just over 41,000 viewers. It was the broadcast of Fast 52, a 52-hour speedrunning charity marathon that he hosted. The chess portion featured Hikaru Nakamura playing speed chess, but with restrictions and other challenges thrown at him, which attracted a healthy online audience.
The table also features Nicholas "Jynxzi" Stewart, whose live broadcast from early September drew in 30,163 PV. It involved him doing a 24-hour livestream, where he also played popular titles like Rainbow Six, Fortnite, Clash Royale, NBA 2K26 and Fall Guys.
Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura also made this list, as did Matthew "Mizkif" Rinaudo. The former One True King (OTK) member held a collaboration broadcast with star chess influencers Anna Cramling and the Botez Sisters in July, which did just over 21,000 PV. Anna even beat him blindfolded at chess, which became one of the standout moments of this stream.
Overall, 2025 was another successful year for chess, with the sport further integrating itself into the esports ecosystem. The new year promises to build on this development, especially with top-tier professional events like the FIDE Candidates Tournament and the World Chess Championship also scheduled through 2026.
