Today: The Smasher's Gambit Presented By Panda
North American esports organization Panda Global, in cooperation with Chess.com, has announced The Smasher's Gambit, a double elimination chess invitational on February 6-7. The tournament will bring professional Super Smash Bros streamers and chess players together in celebration of chess as an esport.
Over the past year, the most popular offline esport, Super Smash Bros., has struggled to find its footing in the absence of in-person events. Many of the top Smash Bros. competitors, who call themselves Smashers, have turned to new games to fill their time, and the invited professionals are the ones who turned to chess during the quarantine.
The Smashers Gambit invites 8 of the biggest Smash competitors and content creators who have taken to chess during the lockdown and pairs them with top chess players as coaches to prepare them for the tournament. The invited players include and their corresponding coaches are:
Ludwig — GM Robert Hess
Mang0 — Chessbrah’s GM Eric Hansen
Leffen — Chessbrah’s GM Aman Hambleton
ESAM — WIM Anna-Maja Kazarian
Marss — WFM Anna Cramling
iBDW — IM Miodrag Perunovic
VoiD — WGM Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou
HugS — WFM Alessia Santeramo
There will also be an exhibition match between the top two Smash Bros. Melee players in the world who have yet to test their skills in chess: HungryBox and Zain will have two weeks to learn the game before they face-off on Saturday, February 6th at 5pm EST.
The event will be streamed on Panda’s newly signed chess player Anna Cramling’s twitch channel,where she will host the matches alongside Smash figurehead, Kris “Toph” Aldenderfer. Anna’s livestream will also be featured on Chess.com, bringing the tournament to both the gaming and chess communities.
About Panda Global
Panda is a championship-caliber esports brand that has become the pillar for grassroots esports communities. With a heavy influence in solo player genres, Panda stands alone at the top of the mountain for their games. Using Panda's groundbreaking technology, websites, and community outreach programs, Panda's influencers are able to integrate brands at a deeper level than any other esports organization.
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About Chess.com
Chess.com is the world’s largest chess site, with a community of more than 53 million members from around the world playing millions of games every day. Launched in 2007, Chess.com is the leader in chess news, lessons, events, and live entertainment. Visit Chess.com to play, learn, and connect with chess—the world’s most popular game.
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