{"id":127262,"date":"2020-12-06T01:55:28","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T22:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/alexandra-botez-is-taking-the-chess-world-by-storm-live-on-twitch\/"},"modified":"2020-12-06T01:55:28","modified_gmt":"2020-12-05T22:55:28","slug":"alexandra-botez-is-taking-the-chess-world-by-storm-live-on-twitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/alexandra-botez-is-taking-the-chess-world-by-storm-live-on-twitch\/","title":{"rendered":"#Alexandra Botez is taking the chess world by storm\u2014live on Twitch"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Alexandra Botez is taking the chess world by storm\u2014live on Twitch<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

Good\u00a0chess players are master strategists and problem solvers. Alexandra Botez has one more unlikely skill in her arsenal: insults.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad is a huge troll,\u201d the chess influencer, 25, told The Post of her father and former coach, Andrei. \u201cHe would always trash-talk me when we were playing so I had to survive and learn to trash-talk him back. I think he gets very disapp<\/a>ointed if I am not good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexandra\u2019s withering repartee \u2014 like ripping Norwegian grandmaster Jon Ludvig Hammer\u2019s hokey Hawaiian shirt between moves \u2014 has helped her attract 450,000 followers on the gaming platform Twitch<\/a>, where she livestreams game<\/a>s and personal content with her sister, \u00adAndrea, 18.<\/p>\n

Her numbers have shot up this year \u2014 in January, she had just 61,000 fans on Twitch \u2014 as the pandemic forced people indoors without many competitive sports to watch.She also has more than 250,000 followers on Instagram<\/a> and more than 25 million views on her Youtube<\/a> channel BotezLive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now she\u2019s gotten a second boost from the hugely popular Netflix show \u201cThe Queen\u2019s Gambit,\u201d<\/a> a period drama about a female chess prodigy (played by Anya Taylor-Joy).<\/p>\n

\"Alexandra
Chess influencer Alexandra Botez<\/figcaption>
Yvette Velasquez<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think everyone in the chess world agrees that this is the best-ever portrayal of chess on the TV screen,\u201d said Botez, who holds the prestigious International Chess Federation title of Women\u2019s FIDE Master. \u201cChess-set sales on eBay have soared over 130 percent. It\u2019s had a big impact on girls\u2019 interest in chess.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same could be said for Botez herself. Born in Dallas, she\u2019s the daughter of Romanian immigrants who fled communism and sought political asylum. The family moved to Vancouver, BC, Canada, when she was very young, and her father, an engineer, began teaching 6-year-old Alexandra to play chess on a wager.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom only plays a little. So he made a bet that he could teach me to play and that, in only two weeks, I would be able to beat her,\u201d Botez said.<\/p>\n

She did, and her dad realized he had a special talent on his hands. Two years later he began taking her to local parks to hustle old-timers (albeit with no cash involved).<\/p>\n

\"Botez
Botez, now 25, won the US Girls Nationals of chess at the age of 15 and is a Women\u2019s FIDE Master of the prestigious International Chess Federation.<\/figcaption>
Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe\u2019d say, \u2018Is it OK if my daughter tries a game?\u2019 They would make room for me to play but be annoyed,\u201d Botez recalled. But annoyance would turn to confusion once she beat them. \u201cThey would say, \u2018Who is your daughter?<\/em>\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n

After\u00a0the family moved to Texas, she won the US Girls National championship at age 15. At Stanford, where she studied international relations with a focus on China, Botez was the first female president of the university\u2019s chess club.<\/p>\n

She also co-founded CrowdAmp, a now-defunct social-media company that utilized artificial intelligence for more personalized communication.<\/p>\n

The self-described work\u00adaholic began streaming chess matches on Twitch and in 2019, when her startup folded, she decided to make the game her main gig.\u201c<\/p>\n

\"Botez\"
Yvette Velasquez<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some of my advisers said things like, \u2018You should go work at a startup and try to start a company again. You aren\u2019t going to learn much being a chess streamer.\u2019 It wasn\u2019t the best reaction, so that\u2019s partly why I moved to the East Coast. I wanted a fresh start, \u00adBotez said.<\/p>\n

She moved to the East Village in September 2019 and devoted herself to streaming and producing content for\u00a0chess.com<\/a>. She also didn\u2019t have a backup plan: \u201cI was really determined to make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then COVID hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cChess exploded on Twitch, and I was one of the top streamers. I remember being so excited, I couldn\u2019t sleep. I was so high on adrenaline,\u201d Botez said, comparing it to the Eminem song \u201cLose Yourself,\u201d about seizing the moment.<\/p>\n

\"Anya
On the popular Netflix show \u201cThe Queen\u2019s Gambit,\u201d Anya Taylor-Joy (center) plays an orphan who is also a chess prodigy. Botez calls it the \u201cbest-ever portrayal of chess on the TV screen.<\/figcaption>
Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She even won over her parents, who initially didn\u2019t understand her pivot to streaming.\u201cWhen people asked what I did, my mother would say I worked in venture capital. Now my parents watch on Twitch. They sometimes stream with us,\u201d Botez said.<\/p>\n

For high-ranking influencers and streamers, the earning potential is thrilling: Twitch\u2019s No. 1 streamer, the video-gamer Ninja<\/a>, has 16 million followers and is reportedly worth $15 million. Most streamers earn money off sponsorships, but their primary income comes from subscription and advertising revenue.<\/p>\n

Botez and Andrea, who is taking a gap year after graduating from high school this past spring, are soon signing with an agency that represents top e-sports athletes. They also just moved to Austin, Texas, where \u201cthe income tax is a lot better,\u201d Botez noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make the game more accessible to the average players. I think my sister and I have done a good job of explaining ideas clearly,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\"A
A young Alexandra Botez with dad.<\/figcaption>
Alexandra Botez<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And while being a female streamer in a male-dominated world does come with drawbacks like online sexual harassment, \u00adBotez handles it with her trademark cool.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some bad actors. I am tuning that out at this point,\u201d she said. \u201cTheir opinions don\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos by: Yvette Velasquez; Hair\/Makeup: Kylie Sallee<\/em>\n <\/div>\n