Learning chess isn’t an easy skill that you could pick up overnight. You need to know the basics, learn new strategies, and practice your skills to become a good player.
And like every other skill, you’ll need a tutor to teach you along the way, or you could depend on YouTube!
If you don’t want to splurge on private chess tutors, you could always head to YouTube and learn from the best chess YouTubers for free.
Now, if you’re wondering where to start, we saved you the hustle. We’ve gathered for you the best chess YouTubers to learn from right here in this list:
Top 11 Chess YouTubers
Here’s a list of the best chess YouTubers that’ll teach you all the tips and tricks you need to become a professional chess player.
1. Gotham Chess
Gotham Chess was founded by Levy Rozman, who is also the founder of Chessly. It’s the perfect place to grow your chess skills. Rozman is an international chess master, and he’s famous for his chess streams and his YouTube videos.
The content on Rozman’s channel is mainly educational, and it fits perfectly with players who are rated below 2000. So, whether you’re a beginner or a pro, you’ll enjoy Levy’s videos.
If you’re still at the beginning of your chess journey, we recommend you start with his ultimate beginner guide to walk you through all the basics of playing the game.
2. Agadmator
Antonio Radic, the host of Agadmator’s Chess Channel, has successfully created one of the top chess channels on YouTube.
The 36-year-old Croatian YouTuber and chess player used to have the most subscribers on any YouTube channel until Gotham Chess surpassed him in 2022.
One of the main reasons for the popularity of Radic’s channel is that it caters to a wide spectrum of chess players and chess fans.
Antonio’s daily videos on Agadmator are educational and entertaining, which makes them a delightful daily dose of chess for everyone! That’s why we highly recommend watching his daily videos, especially if you’re a new player or below the rate of 2000.
3. Chess Talk
Jeetendra Advani created Chess Talk on YouTube to help people learn chess and improve their skills. He creates educational videos about everything you need to know, from basics and rules to chess openings, gambits, strategies, tactics, and game plans.
Jeetendra also provides his subscribers with secret tips, tricks, traps, and hacks to give them an edge while playing with someone. You’ll also learn new variations, game analyses, and middle-game and end-game plans.
He creates content that suits all chess players on every level, but beginners and intermediate players will benefit the most. They’ll learn a lot of improvements from Jeetendra’s videos about advanced moves, positional play, and, of course, attacks.
As for the pros, they’ll enjoy watching his videos for entertainment and may pick up a thing or two to add to their advanced skill set.
4. Eric Rosen
Eric Rosen is a world-class chess player who was awarded the titles FIDE Master in 2011 and International Master in 2015. He usually streams chess games on Twitch and posts the best moments on YouTube, but that’s not all of his content.
Rosen also shares his experience in chess openings, strategies, tactics, and gambits, including his favorite one: the Stafford Gambit. If you’re unsure of why he loves this gambit, check out how he used it to beat all his opponents in this video.
Eric creates his content to fit all chess players and help every chess enthusiast feel like they belong, no matter how skillful they are. Chess is meant to be accessible to and enjoyed by everyone.
5. Hanging Pawns
Stephan from Hanging Pawns managed to boost his rating from the 1700s to above 2000, even though he entered the chess scene at 26, which is considered pretty late. His ultimate goal is to become a grandmaster eventually, no matter how long it takes.
Stephan shares his growth journey with his subscribers, along with all of his games, preparations, and learning methods to improve.
If you’re a beginner, hanging pawns will not only be a source of education but also for motivation. It helps to remember that if he can do it and improve his score, so can you!
6. FIDE Chess
This channel doesn’t belong to a specific Youtuber. Instead, it belongs to the International Chess Federation. Since this channel is managed by the FIDE, it’ll be your go-to for learning about what’s happening in the world of chess.
They regularly post live commentaries and post-interviews on official tournaments, including the World Championship cycle and World Rapid & Blitz Championships.
You’ll learn a lot from their content, and the best thing about it is that it’s 100% trusted and reliable.
7. Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura is a world-class chess player and a formidable chess grandmaster. He’s also very famous on Twitch and YouTube, with over a million subscribers on each platform.
However, Hikaru’s content is more about entertaining than educating. His subscribers watch his videos and live streams for fun, along with some important tips here and there while he plays.
So, we suggest you follow Hikaru if you already have your basics covered and understand the art of playing chess. Hikaru’s channel would be extremely beneficial if you just need to fine-tune your skills with some professional tips.
8. Chess.com
If you’ve ever tried looking up anything related to chess, you’ve definitely come across Chess.com during your research. Chess.com is one of the top websites that has information about everything related to chess, and the same applies to their YouTube channel.
The Chess.com YouTube channel has everything every chess fan would ever need. You’ll find multiple playlists about world championships, Rapid & Blitz championships, commentaries, interviews, and so much more.
Of course, there’s a dedicated How to Play section for those looking for help learning chess. It explains all the basics, such as how to set up a board, move the pieces, and most importantly, get out of check.
There’s also another fun section called The Greatest Player’s Greatest Moves. This section shows you the best five moves of every great player, such as Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and many other world-class players.
9. Dan Heisman
The US Chess Federation National Master, Dan Heisman, is giving out all his experience for free on his YouTube channel. If you’re a beginner who’s looking for a free online course from a chess master, this is it. This channel is your gold mine.
You’ll find different playlists for tactics, strategies, end-games, and so much more. As a bonus, you could also get one of Dan Heisman’s many chess books that’ll also help you tremendously.
Whether you’re starting with the basics, looking to improve your skills, or even understanding the meaning behind the game and the pieces, you’re sure to find Heisman’s books super helpful. Check out his website to know more about all his work and everything else.
10. Anna Cramling
As a daughter of two grandmasters, GM Pia Cramling and GM Juan Manuel Bellón López, Anna Cramling grew up to be a Sweden WFM (World FIDE Master) and was nominated for the Streamers award in 2023
Her online popularity began in 2022 when she began to stream chess games on Twitch and upload chess videos on her YouTube channel.
Although her content isn’t classified as educational, it’s pretty entertaining and you could learn a thing or two from watching her play. As a bonus point, you get to see her grandmaster mother, Pia Cramling, in action.
11. Botez Live
Botez Live is hosted by Alexandra Botez, a WFM chess player, and her sister Andrea Botez. The Botez sisters have learned to monetize their passion for chess and became famous chess YouTubers and Twitch streamers in less than a year.
Since they’re mainly streamers, their videos, and live streams are for entertainment. So, you might not learn a ton from their channel if you’re looking to work on your strategies and tactics. However, you’ll feel more connected to the chess world and put your thoughts in the right mindset.
In Conclusion
Learning chess takes a lot of time, and it’ll cost you blood, sweat, and tears. But it doesn’t need to cost you an arm and leg!
Instead of paying someone to teach you or booking a class to learn how to play chess, you have everything you need on YouTube for free.
Whether you’re looking for beginners’ classes, intermediate tactics, or just live streams to watch how chess masters play out certain games and take notes of their moves, you’ll find it for free on the internet. So, make sure to check out the list we’ve gathered for you to help you get started.
By the time you finish learning the basics, you’ll know your favorite online tutor, aka YouTuber, and understand your personal style in playing. We won’t hold you back any longer, go ahead and start learning.
