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Announcing Espot B-Cup 2 Presented By Chess.com

Announcing Espot B-Cup 2 Presented By Chess.com

CHESScom
| 4 | Chess.com News

We're thrilled to announce Espot B-Cup 2 Presented by Chess.com! It's a community and streamer event live from Espot Paris on June 17, 2023, at 6:20 a.m. PT/15:20 CEST. There will be an open bullet arena and on-site tournaments with prize pools, two concurrent broadcasts conducted on-site, with additional creator and player appearances!

How To Watch
NM Kevin Bordi (French) and FM Anna-Maja Kazarian (English) will stream live from Espot Paris. Follow Kevin's Twitch channel and Anna-Maja's Twitch channel so you don't miss any of the action.
Kevin ("Blitzstream") is a French national master, content creator, and streamer superstar. He's the most popular chess streamer in France and the Director of French Content for Chess.com.
Anna-Maja is a Dutch FIDE Master, professional chess player for the Alliance GG, and regularly contributes to Chess.com live event broadcasts.
Anna-Maja in Wijk aan Zee. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023.

B-Cup

Blitzstream organized B-Cup, the world's first chess "LAN" or hybrid tournament, at Espot Paris in December 2022. With 120 players, 100 spectators onsite, and 73k unique Twitch viewers, the groundbreaking blitz competition was all the rage. It's coming back around again.

Blitzstream (center) presents the B-Cup trophy. Photo: Francois Bonfiglio.

Now partnering with Chess.com, B-Cup 2 will have an even greater impact. New features include: English live commentary, a larger cash prize (3500€) to attract higher Elo players, increased production quality, elevated player experience, and additional side events.

Espot Paris

Espot Paris is France’s and Europe's largest public gaming and Esports venue. Located directly across the street from the world-famous Louvre Museum, Espot is a gamer's paradise right in the heart of Paris. The complex includes a 130-seat arena, 90 PCs with 150 games installed, 30 console stations equipped with PS5, simracing venue with 4 F1 Alpine simulators, VIP lounge, and catering area with 2 full-service bars.

Blitzstream (front, left of pilot) with the raucous B-Cup audience at Espot Paris. Photo: Francois Bonfiglio.

So, let's say you find yourself standing on Rue de Rivoli in Paris on June 17. Do you wait in an hours-long line to see a tiny painting behind a barricade with bulletproof glass? Or do you walk across the street and play chess at Espot? You don't need to be a grandmaster to make this brilliant move.

Guest Appearances

B-Cup featured guest appearances by French GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Etienne Bacrot, and Matthieu Cornette. New guest appearances for B-Cup 2 include: GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, Sardoche, and many others.

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk will be in the house at B-Cup 2. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Open Bullet Arena

Do not wait, and join Blitzstream's official Chess.com club to participate in the open bullet arena at 6:30 a.m. PT/15:30 CEST with a 500€ prize pool: https://www.chess.com/club/blitzstream

Indeed, this event is international and everybody can join, with the condition to have already played 3 bullet games: https://www.chess.com/play/arena/2737287

Bullet Arena Information
Length 45-minutes
Time Control 1+0
Max Players 2,000
Min. Games 3
Rated Yes
Format Arena KO
Pairing Score-based
Place  Prize
1st Place          250$        
2nd Place 150$
3rd Place 100$
1st Place E-Spot 150€

Conclusion

B-Cup 2 is just the beginning. In Napoleonic fashion, Blitzstream has plans to take over the (chess) world. In a recent interview with Chess.com, Kevin shared his long-term vision for B-Cup:

Our dream would be to make it an international event one day and to create international online events, like having people from Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, everywhere, all meeting in an e-sports place and having a worldwide tournament. Not just from home, but playing from actual places so the chess community can gather together and really spend time in one location. It’s not like the usual chess tournament where you can’t speak! It was a lot of fun to have people in one place, sometimes screaming that they lost their queen or things like that.

If you want to learn more about Blitzstream, check out Turning Dolphins Into Sharks: Meeting France's Most Famous Chess Streamer. And of course, don't miss the live B-Cup 2 Twitch stream on June 17, 2023, at 6:20 a.m. PT/15:20 CEST!

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