The internet has provided many materials for different industries since its conception, one of the niches that the internet has changed so much is the state of chess. It used to be that grandmasters and their secret arts were hidden in the basement out of plain view, one has to dig earth in order to get access to their magic.
Those days are now gone, people can have as much chess content as they can consume with the flick of their fingers, youtube is the biggest one that has changed the game for many people.
Chess, after all, is a visual game. It used to be that the only ones who have access to resources are chess masters who already had the knowledge of notations.
The game is different now, youtube is a game changer, this list will take a tour on the best youtube chess channels! Keep on reading if you are interested.
Table of Contents
Agadmator’s Chess Channel – Antonio Agadmator Radic
Agadmator’s Chess Channel is probably the best one to introduce a beginner to chess, it features analysis of famous games as well as the context behind it. It is an entertaining channel that will spark someone’s interest in chess, it also has beginner friendly analysis that most people would understand.
The thing about other chess analysis youtube channels is that they mostly focus on complicated lines that beginners wouldn’t understand, and agadmator breaks down complicated ideas into simple ones. Not only this but he also focuses on other things besides the game which will help someone become more invested for the long-term.
Antonio Radic (youtube creator) doesn’t only focus on the actual moves played in the game, he also talks about the history, psychology of the players, time control, situation in a tournament, rating of the players, the drama, etc., he presents a full package video on the game that includes everything there is to know.
Most people who started playing chess would lose their interest if they did not find an immediate result (which is likely), this is bad for the community. Agadmator is one of the best since he is not only trying to make people stronger but also make them understand why a particular game is so important, he is one of the best at this.
Saint Louis Chess Club
Saint Louis Chess Club is a pretty underrated youtube chess channel, the only reason why they don’t have a lot more subscribers is because of the length of their videos. However if you actually watch one of their videos the quality is top-notch, it is usually a grandmaster talking about a particular aspect of the game.
Saint Louis is a professional chess club home to many grandmasters and international masters who provide chess lessons for those who are willing to pay, they also offer some of their old lessons to their youtube channel. And their old lessons are gold, it is basically watching a premium course for free.
The subjects that they are talking about range from the opening, middlegame, endgame, psychology, time management, and many more, it is such a steal. Since they are for premium lessons the videos usually last for hours, and one could watch it for free on their youtube channel.
The presenters are usually grandmasters who have been playing the game for years, they also are pretty good at explaining complicated ideas into simple ones. They are not as popular since the length of the videos are long (their watch time is being hammered by the youtube algorithm), but this is actually good for those who are willing to learn since there is so much material to be absorbed.
Gotham Chess – International Master Levy Rozman
Gotham Chess is a nobody who has risen through the pinnacle of the chess niche in youtube, agadmator used to be the undisputed king of chess channels until GothamChess took the cake. He has the most subscribers among all chess channels out there, and he has garnered a lot of fans for his beginner friendly chess lessons.
Levy Rozman (youtube creator) is an international monster that creates engaging beginner-friendly chess videos that helps people to become stronger, his content is a little bit different than agadmator. He is only focusing on teaching the concept rather than the context around the games, thus providing objective insights.
With agadmator who views the game smaller than the world, Gotham chess is different, his approach to his analysis is really to make people become stronger in chess. In other words, if agadmator will inspire you to keep on playing chess, Gotham chess will inspire you to become better at it.
With his expert knowledge in the game being an international master and his attractive personality, many have been drawn to his content (mostly hikaru fans). His content is sometimes compared to premium courses in quality, some even say that his videos are more valuable.
GMHikaru – YouTube Channel of Hikaru Nakamura
GMHikaru is a super grandmaster who started streaming on twitch in his free time, usually playing against other titled players on platforms like lichess and chess.com. This unexpectedly gained him a lot of followers that keeps on bringing revenue, probably of a higher amount than what he could get by playing tournaments.
He then further expanded and started uploading some of his twitch clips on youtube, the project was a success, most of his followers transitioned to the platform. Since then Hikaru’s platform has evolved a lot, it also features analysis but mostly still with hikaru doing crazy chess challenges for the masses.
This channel is mostly for chess entertainment, hikaru does a lot of beginner-friendly challenges and memes with his viewers all the time. He also does some reaction videos on his colleagues that the internet would really adore, he had a loyal following due to this.
He has become one of the biggest chess personalities on youtube along with gotham chess and agadmator, if you are looking to be entertained then GMHikaru will be on your service. Apart from this he is also a super grandmaster, probably one of the best chess players in history, his insights can be powerful if you listen to them.
Coffee Chess
Coffee Chess is one of the original chess channels that have become popular given before agadmator, it is basically a channel where certain characters keep on playing against titled players. The setting is similar to a chess hustler’s game with a lot of trash talking from the players, it gives a casual atmosphere of what you can see from street chess.
Sometimes they also pull out pranks where a grandmaster will play against an actual chess hustler, seeing the surprised face of the hustler has always been one of the signatures of coffee chess. That is actually the reason why it is even called that way in the first place, it is the chess that you will casually have while having a sip of coffee.
While the game is going on there is usually a 2d board indicating what moves have been played, so you can follow what is happening on the board and gain insight from the players participating. Most of the chess players being featured at coffee chess are strong players by their own right, one can definitely improve from watching them.
However the point of the channel is really about trash talking l, there is nothing better than going back to the old days where chess players badmouth each other into submission. The celebration when one beats the other is outstanding, it really turns chess similar to an actual sport with fans celebrating/booing in the background.
Eric Rosen
Eric Rosen is an international master who has started his own chess channel in order to share his passion for the game, he has been somewhat successful and has hung out with the big boys of chess. His youtube channel is not as big as gotham chess, but he provides a lot of interesting value for the community.
He plays some matches with people who are willing to have a game or two and share his own analysis. The great thing about him is that he is tackling the game from a beginner’s perspective. He is an expert, of course, but since he is not a grandmaster he can understand the beginner’s sentiments, which some grandmasters couldn’t do.
He has been popularized by the phrase “oh no, my queen” also something that he commonly says when performing a queen sacrifice (something that can shock his viewers). Due to his personality being that of a tamed cat, a lot of people have been rooting for him, this is because he is relatable.
Him playing against someone like hikaru (a super-grandmaster) is like a domestic cat battling a fierce tiger, it is brutal but also quite relatable. Just like how many people have been drawn to zenitsu (demon slayer) he might have been weak but he does have courageous moments that made him quite popular.
Chessbrah – YouTube Channel of Aman Hambleton and Eric Hansen
Chessbrah is also one of the original youtube channels before agadmator came into the scene and made his wave, they provide a lot of interesting content for all chess players out there. Mostly they do some challenges against other strong players with cool music in the background, their studio is pretty chill.
The value that chessbrah provides is both on an educational and entertainment level, their personality is the best and they have a lot of fans for it. Their content is usually marked as “relatable” and “memeable”, having all sorts of nasty tantrums in between loss games.
The most famous thing about chessbrah is probably Eric Hansen’s rage quits and tantrums after an outrageous mouse slip, it is probably one of the reasons they are popular. Aman Hambleton on the other hand (the other host) has an attractive energy about him, they have a lot of viewers due to their personality.
But overall they are just chill, relatable chess content creators, just like how many people pander to Magnus due to his sense of humor and attractive appeal. Chessbrah emanates the same energy, except they are significantly weaker than Magnus Carlsen.
Some view this as an advantage though, saying that their on the ground nature is what made them stick in the youtube game for so long. They also do speedruns, challenges, banter blitzes, and crushing cheaters who dare to use stockfish on rated games; they have a pretty interesting content pattern for their channel.
Kingscrushers YouTube Channel
Kingscrusher is a channel dedicated to chess lessons by the methodology of showing some of the most famous chess games and analyzing them, usually the themes are shifted from time to time. The creator’s analysis is straight up and less about context (like agadmator) and variations (like gotham chess), the content is straightforward in plain.
Some may not like this type of content with no sprinkle of humor and just straight up analysis but this can actually be quite good, especially for people who don’t have the time. Most of his videos are not that long (unlike with other famous chess analysis channels) and pretty digestible, this is perfect for individuals who don’t have a lot of time.
People want to learn something even without much time to invest in chess, even if you don’t finish his videos it would still provide an insightful learning experience. The segments on his youtube channel are stand alone after all, they can still have some value even if there one were to not finish everything.
The really interesting thing about this channel though is the fact that he can create videos on specific themes of the game and focus on that, not many channels can do such a feature. And if somebody were able to do something like this it would be considered inferior to the kingscrusher youtube channel, the hist can hone in like a missile on very specific topics that are quite interesting.
There are many chess youtube channels that one can go for depending on the type of need that they are looking for, so many are available out there if you only know where to look. Many of the youtube channels mentioned here are pretty underrated, something that has a better value than what people perceive it to have.
This is an opportunity that is best for beginners out there, after all one can get all these amazing materials without paying an exclusive fee. So many chess youtube channels can fulfill your different needs, this list is a haven for people who want to take advantage of the internet.
