Blitzcoin Invitational: All The Information

The Blitzcoin Invitational presented by The Charlotte Chess Center and Chess.com is an event where top US Chess players 25 years old and under will compete for their share of one Bitcoin. The prized Bitcoin is generously provided by one of Daniel Naroditsky's supporters: Chad Engan, also known as "Montanachess" on Twitch.

The 16 invited elite US Chess members will compete in blitz and bullet matches to see who prevails. The event runs from October 27 through 31, with the first match starting October 27, 5 p.m. PT/October 28, 02:00 CEST.

• Broadcast
• Format
• Players
• Brackets
• Schedule
• Prizes
• Results

Broadcast

You can watch the event live on Chess.com/TV or on our Twitch and YouTube channels. The Charlotte Chess Center Founder and CEO FM Peter Giannatos will be joined by the Chessbrahs GM Eric Hansen and GM Aman Hambleton to provide commentary.

Format

Players will compete in the 5|0, 3|0, and 1|0 time controls, as described below:

Round of 16 and Quarterfinals

• The entire match will feature a single time control;
• The two players competing will play a two-game bullet mini-match. The winner will determine the time control of the match (out of 5|0, 3|0, and 1|0);
• In case the bullet mini-match described above ends in a tie, the player with the lowest US Chess rating decides the time control;
• The match will last for one hour. The player with the most points at the end of the match wins;
• If there's a tie, the tiebreaker will consist of one armageddon game, with White having 5|0 and Black 4|0, and Black having draw odds. The player with the lowest US Chess rating plays with the black pieces.

Semifinals

• The match will feature two time controls;
• The two players competing will play a two-game bullet mini-match. The winner will determine the time control of the first round of the match (out of 5|0, 3|0, and 1|0); the loser chooses the second round's time control.
• In case the bullet mini-match described above ends in a tie, the player with the lowest US Chess rating decides the time control for the first round;
• The match will last for two hours, with one hour for each time control. The player with the most points at the end of the match wins;
• If there's a tie, the tiebreaker will consist of one armageddon game, with White having 5|0 and Black 4|0, and Black having draw odds. The player with the lowest US Chess rating plays with the black pieces.

Finals

• Players will compete in all time controls, starting with 5|0, then 3|0, and finally 1|0;
• The match will last for three hours, with one hour for each time control. The player with the most points at the end of the match wins;
• Weighted scores will be applied for each time control:
  • 5|0 victories will be worth 3 points each;
  • 3|0 victories will be worth 2 points each;
  • 1|0 victories will be worth 1 point each;
  • Draws in all time controls will be worth half a point.
• If there's a tie, the tiebreaker will consist of one armageddon game, with White having 5|0 and Black 4|0, and Black having draw odds. The player with the lowest US Chess rating plays with the black pieces.

Players

• GM Daniel Naroditsky
• GM Awonder Liang
• GM Nicolas Checa
• GM Ruifeng Li
• GM Andrew Tang
• GM Michael Brown
• IM Praveen Balakrishnan
• GM Brandon Jacobson
• IM David Brodsky
• IM Atulya Shetty
• IM Andrew Hong
• IM Christopher Yoo
• IM Justin Wang
• IM Joshua Sheng
• IM Craig Hilby
• IM Carissa Yip

Brackets

Schedule

Prizes

The prized Bitcoin is generously provided by one of Daniel Naroditsky's supporters, Chad Engan (/Montanachess on Twitch). The total prize fund of the event will consist of one Bitcoin, distributed as follows:

• 1st: 0.296 BTC
• 2nd: 0.148 BTC
• 3rd and 4th: 0.086 BTC
• 5th-8th: 0.046 BTC
• 9th-16th: 0.025 BTC

Results

We will publish the results here.