In the last list of the top Grandmasters in each country series, we went over the best German Chess players. Now in this article, we’re going through the ten best Chess Youtube Channels to watch. The list is in no particular order. All of these channels are beneficial to watch, even if you’re not a serious Chess player because they are all entertaining.
Agadmator’s Chess Channel: Best Channel For Game Analysis and Recaps
Antonio Radic
Full name: Radic, Antonio
Title: N/A
Born: 1987
Federation: Croatia
Ratings
World Ranking: 32964
Rapid: 1919
Blitz: 1877
Classical (Std): 1949
Profiles
Radić reviews both contemporary and historical chess games on his YouTube channel, frequently focusing on recent games during major tournaments like the Grand Chess Tour events and historical games at other times. Agadmator’s Chess Channel is a famous Croatian YouTuber and chess player who runs an online chess channel under Agadmator’s Chess Channel.
On February 7th, 2021, he surpassed 1 million subscribers and became the second most popular chess channel on YouTube. His channel is currently the most popular chess video site on YouTube, with over 1 billion views as of September 19th, 2021. Radić’s channel has over 500 million views altogether.
If you’re interested in watching some videos, check out the Agadmator YouTube Channel.
GMHikaru: Best Channel For Entertainment
Hikaru, in a nutshell, is the man. He’s hilarious, he’s a genius, and he has an excellent youtube channel. At nearly one million subscribers, he’s one of the top youtubers to watch.
GMHikaru
Hikaru Nakamura
Full name: Nakamura, Hikaru
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2003
International Master (IM) 2001
Born: 1987
Federation: United States of America
Ratings
World Ranking: 19
Rapid: 2836
Blitz: 2884
Classical (Std): 2736
Profiles
In 2018, Nakamura started streaming on Twitch under the handle “GMHikaru.” He plays speed chess against grandmasters, other streamers, and paying subscribers to his channel. Chess.com, a chess website, sponsors him. He can play blindfolded or with handicap pieces such as a queen’s odds.
On stream, he also reviews his tournament games. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began, chess rose in popularity dramatically on Twitch, with Nakamura identified as a vital factor. His channel grew tenfold between February and June 2020. Around August 2020, Nakamura averaged 14,000 viewers and streamed on Twitch on most days.
By September 2020, he had reached 500,000 followers. Nakamura often plays games using “joke openings,” including the Bongcloud Attack and Jerome Gambit.
If you’re interested in watching some videos, check out the GMHikaru YouTube Channel.
GothamChess: Best YouTube Channel For Tutorials
Full name: Rozman, Levy
Title: International Master (IM) 2018
FIDE Master (FM) 2016
Born: 1995
Federation: United States of America
Ratings
World Ranking: 2841
Rapid: 2284
Blitz: 2376
Classical (Std): 2362
Profiles
Chess.com and Rozman have been working together since 2017 when the site became a member of their streaming program. Rozman is a frequent commentator for the platform, observing PogChamps and the 2020 Candidates Tournament. Rozman is a YouTuber and Twitch streamer.
His YouTube chess channel has 1.18 million followers as of October 2, 2021. Rozman, like many internet chess celebrities, saw a sharp rise in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rozman has several videos with a million or more views. In an instructional opening overview, he explains how to play the Queen’s Gambit and a video where he battles the Beth Harmon bot on Chess.com.
He has covered the series’ previous games in great depth. On June 1, 2021, Rozman’s YouTube channel surpassed one million subscribers.
If you’re interested in watching some videos, check out the GothamChess YouTube Channel.
ChessBrah: Best Channel For a Laugh
Eric Hansen and Aman Hambleton
ChessBrah is a Chess channel featuring two Grandmasters from Canada. They’re hilarious and fun to watch.
Aman Hambleton
Full name: Hambleton, Aman
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2018
International Master (IM) 2013
FIDE Master (FM) 2009
Born: 2000
Federation: Canada
Ratings
World Ranking: 1211
Rapid: 2450
Blitz: 2552
Classical (Std): 2454
Profiles
At five, Sam was introduced to chess in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He began playing at the age of five and moved to Toronto when he was six years old. In that year, he competed in his first tournament. He went to Woburn Collegiate Institute. In July of the same year (2017), he won the Canadian Open Chess Championship. In March of the same year, he promised never to shave his beard until he became a GM and had a long beard by the time he claimed his third GM norm in December 2017. He became Canada’s tenth GM in April 2018, after earning his grandmaster (GM) title from FIDE in April 2018. He obtained his first GM norm at the UNAM Chess Festival in 2012 while still a FIDE master but did not achieve the second until the Reykjavik Open in April 2017.
Eric Hansen
Full name: Hansen, Eric
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2013
International Master (IM) 2010
FIDE Master (FM) 2008
Born: 1992
Federation: Canada
Ratings
World Ranking:213
Rapid: 2579
Blitz: 2568
Classical (Std): 2606
Profiles
Hansen is the primary host of the “Chessbrah” chess channel on Twitch. FIDE granted him the title of Grandmaster in 2013. In 2011, he took part in the FIDE World Cup and 2013. Since 2012, Hansen has represented Canada at the Chess Olympiad. The channel features other “brahs” who are known as players, and most of them have names like the one used on the Twitch channel. Stream highlights are frequently uploaded to a YouTube account with the same name as the Twitch channel. As of March 2021, both channels have over 200,000 followers/subscribers.
In April 2021, the Chessbrah YouTube channel was hit by copyright complaints from a multi-channel network acting on Hikaru Nakamura, another Grandmaster, and streamer. Mr. Nakamura apologized and withdrew the copyright strikes, emphasizing that he would take a more active approach to content and enterprise administration in the eventuality.
The ChessBrah YouTube channel is run by Grandmasters Eric and Anand. They are both young, hip, and dashing guys who are a couple of the best Chess players in the world.
If you’re interested in watching some videos, check out the ChessBrah YouTube Channel.
akaNemsko
Qiyu Zhou
Full name: Zhou, Qiyu
Title: FIDE Master (FM) 2016
Woman Grandmaster (WGM) 2017
Woman International Master (WIM) 2015
Woman FIDE Master (WFM) 2014
Woman Candidate Master (WCM) 2013
Born: 2000
Federation: Canada
Ratings
World Ranking: 7988
Rapid: Not rated
Blitz: 1925
Classical (Std): 2218
Profiles
In 2020, Zhou founded a Twitch channel known as Nemsko, where he streamed chess in collaboration with other Chess.com streamers and streamed various games as a variety streamer. She is under contract with Counter Logic Gaming and was the first chess player to join an esports organization. She was born in Beijing, China, on April 15th, 1997. She has a peak FIDE rating of 2367 and holds the No. 100 ranking in the world among women. Since 2014, she has represented Canada at the Women’s Chess Olympiad as the first Canadian woman to achieve Woman Grandmaster or FIDE Master status.
Nemo Zhou, better known by her online handle akaNemsko, is a Chinese-born Canadian chess player who holds the titles of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and FIDE Master (FM). She has represented Canada at the under-14 girls’ World Youth Championship, Canadian women’s national championship, and Finnish women’s national championship.
If you’re interested in watching some videos, check out the akaNemsko YouTube Channel.
Eric Rosen
Full name: Rosen, Eric
Title: International Master (IM) 2015
FIDE Master (FM) 2011
Born: 1993
Federation: United States of America
Ratings
World Ranking:3014
Rapid: 2380
Blitz: 2362
Classical (Std): 2356
Profiles
Eric Rosen, better known as Rosen on Twitch and YouTube, is a famous chess instructor who runs Eric Rosen’s channel. While Rosen is most recognized for his chess highlights, he also puts out Scrabble live streams and movies for his fans. In 2011, he was given the FIDE Master title and the International Master title in 2015.
Rosen began playing chess as a youngster with his father and brother, becoming the K12 US Chess Federation (USCF) national champion. In 2013 and 2014, when Rosen attended the University of Illinois, he was a member of the chess team that qualified and won the President’s Cup.
If you’re interested in watching some videos, check out the Eric Rosen YouTube Channel.
BotezLive YouTube channel features the Botez sisters.
BotezLive
Alexandra and Andrea Botez
Andrea Botez
Full name: Botez, Andrea
Title: N/A
Born: 2002
Federation: Canada
Ratings
World Ranking: 179338
Rapid: Not rated
Blitz: 1763
Classical (Std): 1676
Profiles
Andrea Botez is a chess professional who streams on Twitch. She is of mixed race, being both American and Canadian who is 19 years old. Andrea runs the handle “@itsandreabotez” on Twitter, which has 166.1k followers. She has an Instagram account with over 185k followers using the name “@itsandreabotez.” Her YouTube channel Botez live has 299k subscribers.
She and her sister Alexandra play chess online on Andrea’s channel. Her younger sister, Alexandra Botez, is a chess player as well. They produce videos for Botezlive, where they create chess-related video content and tutorials. The Texas-based esports club is made up of both sisters.
Alexandra Botez
Full name: Botez, Alexandra
Title: Woman FIDE Master (WFM) 2013
Woman Candidate Master (WCM) 2008
Born: 1995
Federation: Canada
Ratings
World Ranking: 24388
Rapid: Not rated
Blitz: 2059
Classical (Std): 2020
Profiles
During her junior year at Stanford University, Botez began streaming chess content on Twitch. Botez’s internet celebrity has aided her in becoming one of the most recognizable figures on Chess.com. She was 15 when she won the U.S. Girls Nationals and became a five-time Canadian National Ladies Champion. In March 2016, she reached her career-high FIDE Elo rating of 2092 and held the Woman FIDE Master title from the International Chess Federation.
The sisters are frequently linked to the fictitious Beth Harmon, protagonist of The Queen’s Gambit, in the media because of their popularity as female chess players. GM Hikaru Nakamura and WGM Qiyu Zhou are among the many chess streamers that collaborate with them on the platform.
She now oversees the BotezLive Twitch and YouTube channels with her younger sister Andrea, and they have over 900,000 followers. Her YouTube channel shot up in popularity, and in 2020 she was joined by her sister Andrea (born April 6, 2002). They run the BotezLive Twitch and Youtube channels, which have more than 700,000 followers combined.
If you’re interested in watching some videos, check out the BotezLive YouTube Channel.
Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta
Ben Finegold
Full name: Finegold, Benjamin
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2009
International Master (IM) 1990
Born: 1969
Federation: United States of America
Ratings
World Ranking: 1306
Rapid: Not rated
Blitz: 2501
Classical (Std): 2446
Profiles
This channel is run by Grandmaster Ben Finegold. The channel is basically videos of him teaching real life classes to students.
Finegold streams chess approximately five to six times per week, with the aim of establishing a positive image for himself. Finegold is now using his Twitch channel “GMBenjaminFinegold” and has over 100,000 followers. His YouTube channel with the same name regularly posts highlights and clips from his Twitch streams. By 2021, his YouTube channel will have over 87,000 subscribers.
He also has a Twitter account with over 9,000 followers as of 2021. Finegold has served as a live commentator at the US Chess Championship, the US Junior Chess Championship, the Sinquefield Cup, and the Chess World Cup. He also gave interesting instructional lectures at the Saint Louis Chess Club on a regular basis.
Finegold may also be found on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube channels and the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta’s channel, and Twitch.
If you’re interested in watching some videos, check out the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta YouTube Channel.
Daniel Naroditsky
Full name: Naroditsky, Daniel
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2013
International Master (IM) 2011
FIDE Master (FM) 2007
Born: 1995
Federation: United States of America
Ratings
World Ranking:166
Rapid:2639
Blitz:2608
Classical (Std):2623
Profiles
Daniel is a popular YouTuber who has over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube and followers on Twitch. Daniel uses the handle DanielNaroditsky to play Chess.com and RebeccaHarris to play Lichess.org. In 2019, Naroditsky graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in history. He resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Resident Grandmaster of the Charlotte Chess Center. At six, Naroditsky began studying chess under his father, Vladimir; he then began receiving more formal chess lessons. In May 2007, when he was just 12 years old, he won the Northern California K-12 Chess Championship, making him the youngest player ever to do so.
If you’re interested in watching some videos, check out the Daniel Naroditsky YouTube Channel.
I hope this list of the best Chess YouTube Channels gave you some good suggestions for content to check out. If you liked this post, you may be interested in reading other list posts like the best American Chess players and the best Greek Chess players.
