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Boom! GM Hikaru Nakamura and Misfits Gaming Group are thrilled to announce a massive and thrilling chess tournament series: Hikaru’s Chess Decathlon. This epic ten-tournament contest kicks off with a format for which Hikaru is the reigning World Champion. That’s right, event 1 will be a Chess960 spectacular on Monday, March 27 at 9 a.m. Pacific/18:00 Central European. Nine more monthly events including a finale in December will follow, each featuring a roughly two-hour tournament format highlighting different chess disciplines, including King of the Hill, Puzzle Battle, Crazyhouse, Blitz, Bullet, and even Chess Trivia!
The Decathlon features a total prize fund of $46,500, including streamers’ prizes in each event, and gives YOU the chance to compete against Hikaru. The first five events in Hikaru’s Chess Decathlon are open to everyone who loves the game of chess and will test the mettle, humor, and tenacity of all of the decathletes.
The fifth event will be a unique Duck Chess invitational followed by an even more unique Chess Trivia Knight. The final three events will all be invitationals based on performance in the preceding events. The ultimate tenth event will be a special two-hour bullet arena featuring the top 200 players based on standings through the first nine events. The top 16 players will advance to a knockout bracket with one victorious player becoming the first-ever Decathlon champion!
Do you have what it takes to take on Hikaru? Will you be the exciting chess variant specialist to score a huge upset? Don’t miss this opportunity of a lifetime to take on Nakamura and the best chess players in the world with huge cash prizes at stake!
Nakamura joined Misfits Gaming Group as an influencer and content creator for this reason—to push the boundaries of chess entertainment and to captivate new audiences. Be sure to follow GMHikaru on Twitch so you don’t miss any of the action.
Don’t miss the first monthly event on March 27th, and be sure to keep an eye on Hikaru’s Twitter for future date announcements!
Note: Team Hikaru reserves the right to modify tournament formats, prize structures, and other conditions as needed to ensure the best possible event.
Events
Event 1: Chess 960
When the pieces are arranged randomly on the back rank, opening preparation won’t save you. Also known as Fischer Random, this event will test how strong a chess player you truly are. Will you get to play against the reigning world champion?
Format: two-hour arena, open to everyone, 5+0 time control.
| Event 1: Chess 960 | Prize |
| 1st | $2,000 |
| 2nd | $1,500 |
| 3rd | $750 |
| 4th | $500 |
| 5th | $250 |
| U-2400 | $250 |
| U-2000 | $250 |
| Streamer | $250 |
Event 2: King of the Hill
Can you get your king to the center? This Swiss-style tournament will test your king’s athletic ability.
Format: 16-round Swiss, open to everyone, 3+0 time control. Must have played at least 30 rated games of King of the Hill.
| Event 2: King of the Hill | Prize |
| 1st | $1,500 |
| 2nd | $750 |
| 3rd | $500 |
| U-2400 | $250 |
| U-2000 | $250 |
| Streamer | $250 |
Event 3: 3 Check
It’s not the mates that matter; it’s the checks. Check your opponent three times to win your game and do it the most times to win this checkfest.
Format: two-hour arena, open to everyone, 3+0 time control. Must have played at least 30 rated games of 3 Check.
| Event 3: 3 Check | Prize |
| 1st | $1,000 |
| 2nd | $500 |
| 3rd | $250 |
| U-2400 | $250 |
| U-2000 | $250 |
| Streamer | $250 |
Event 4: Bullet
How fast are you? Play chess where each side has just two minutes to win, lose, or draw and see how you can win with tricks and traps in the waning seconds. The dirtier the tricks, the more the audience roars!
Format: two-hour arena, open to everyone, 2+0 time control.
| Event 4: Bullet | Prize |
| 1st | $1,500 |
| 2nd | $750 |
| 3rd | $500 |
| U-2400 | $250 |
| U-2000 | $250 |
| Streamer | $250 |
Event 5: Crazyhouse
Crazyhouse is like chess, but you can drop captured pieces on the board at any point during the game. It’s like chess invented by squirrels on caffeine. Crazy!
Format: two-hour arena, open to everyone, 5+0 time control. Must have played at least 30 rated games of Crazyhouse.
| Event 5: Crazyhouse | Prize |
| 1st | $1,000 |
| 2nd | $500 |
| 3rd | $250 |
| U-2400 | $250 |
| U-2000 | $250 |
| Streamer | $250 |
Event 6: Puzzle Battle
Let’s take the most studious thing in chess—solving puzzles—and add speed and competition. In Puzzle Battle, two chess players go head-to-head solving the same puzzles as fast as possible for three minutes. It’s guaranteed to improve your chess while also making your head spin.
Format: Puzzle Battle bracket, open to top-64 rated entrants only.
| Event 6: Puzzle Battle Bracket | Prize |
| 1st | $1,500 |
| 2nd | $700 |
| 3rd | $400 |
| 4th | $400 |
| Streamer | $250 |
Event 7: Bar Quiz of Chess Trivia
It’s a bar quiz with only the nerdiest chess questions. This is an event that the bookworms will win, and it’s open to everyone. B.Y.O.B.
Format: More details to follow.
| Event 7: Bar Quiz of Trivia | Prize |
| 1st | $1,500 |
| 2nd | $750 |
| 3rd | $500 |
| 4th | $250 |
| 5th | $250 |
| Streamer | $250 |
Event 8: Duck Chess
Apparently, someone got bored of regular chess while playing in the bathtub, and now we have Duck Chess. It’s a variant where there’s an extra piece—a yellow duck that you place after you move. You’ll need your tactics and your quacktics to win this one.
Format: Double-elimination knockout, 32-player invitational based on performance thus far in the Decathlon, 3+0 time control.
| Event 8: Duck Chess | Prize |
| 1st | $1,000 |
| 2nd | $500 |
| 3rd | $225 |
| 4th | $225 |
| 5th | $150 |
| 6th | $150 |
| Streamer | $250 |
Event 9: Blitz
Now that we’ve been silly for eight rounds, let’s get serious and invite only the cream of the crop to play in a knockout blitz tournament. No silliness, only excellence.
Format: Double-elimination knockout (with byes), 64-player invitational based on performance thus far in the Decathlon, 3+1 time control.
| Event 9: Blitz | Prize |
| 1st | $2,000 |
| 2nd | $1,000 |
| 3rd | $750 |
| 4th | $250 |
| 5th | $250 |
| 6th | $200 |
| Streamer | $250 |
Event 10: Bullet Finale
Finally, we separate the kings from the pawns.
Format: two-hour arena, 200-player invitational based on performance in the Decathlon, 1+0 time control. Followed by a knockout bracket of the top 16 players, two bullet games each; tiebreak is average accuracy for each set of games. Winner moves on.
| Event 10: Top 200 Bullet | Prize |
| 1st | $1,000 |
| 2nd | $750 |
| 3rd | $500 |
| 4th | $250 |
| U-2400 | $250 |
| U-2000 | $250 |
| Event 10: Top 16 Bullet | Prize |
| 1st | $2,000 |
| 2nd | $1,150 |
| 3rd | $600 |
| 4th | $600 |
| 5th | $350 |
| 6th | $350 |
| 7th | $350 |
| 8th | $350 |
| 9th-16th | $100 each ($800 total) |
| Streamer | $250 |
Overall Prizes
Prizes for overall performance across the entirety of Hikaru’s Decathlon will be distributed as follows:
| Overall Place | Prize |
| 1st | $1,750 |
| 2nd | $1,200 |
| 3rd | $800 |
| 4th | $400 |
| 5th | $300 |
| 6th | $150 |
| 7th | $100 |
| 8th | $100 |
| 9th | $100 |
| 10th | $100 |
Each event will have a $250 “streamer” prize based on clips tweeted and judged by Misfits Gaming streamers and employees’ secret ballots. To be eligible for a streamer prize, you or a fan of yours needs to tweet a funny, clever, or exciting clip of the event with hashtag #GMHikaru and mention MisfitsGG on the date of the event.
Fairplay
All Chess.com Fair Play regulations apply, including prohibitions against any assistance, human or otherwise, and against sandbagging. Players found to have violated Chess.com’s Fair Play Policy will be ineligible for prizes, and prizes will not awarded until after appropriate fair play review. For all tournaments, players must have completed at least thirty games in the variant used in the tournament to be eligible to play.
Do you think you can beat Nakamura in your favorite chess variant? Which event are you most excited to watch? Let us know in the comments below!
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