This coming weekend, popular streamer Ludwig Ahgren is hosting his first-ever Mogul Chessboxing Championship event inside the Galen Center in Los Angeles on December 11, 2022. The event will place 18 of the biggest content creators, chess players, and Super Smash Bros. competitors from YouTube and Twitch and see them step into the squared circle to play both chess and box in quick succession until a winner is crowned by winning either sport.
Ludwig Ahgren -better known professionally and mononymously as Ludwig- is an American live streamer, YouTuber, podcaster, esports commentator, and Super Smash Bros. competitor. Ludwig has also become well-known within the chess community after partaking in the first-ever PogChamps tournament in 2020. Later that year, he became a commentator for the PogChamps 2 event. The following year, Ludwig returned as a player for the PogChamps 3 and PogChamps 4 -which both took place in 2021. Now, Ludwig is upping the ante with a new venture in creating and hosting his twist on the dual sport of chessboxing. While the exact rules of Ludwig's Mogul Chessboxing Championship haven't been shared, and we don't know exactly how they'll play out. The precise rules are set to be announced closer to the event. However, the typical rules of chessboxing consist of alternating rounds of chess and boxing, and each one lasts only a few minutes -three minutes is the ordinary length. A quick break between rounds occurs and lasts approximately a minute long. The referee will determine a winner by the means of checkmate, resignation, knockout, or disqualification. Usually, in case neither player wins in regulation, the competitor ahead in boxing points is rewarded the win.
Tickets for in-person attendance are currently available and can be purchased here and start at $60 USD. For those around the globe that can't attend in person, Ludwig announced on a previous stream that he doesn't want to make any money off this event from pay-per-view. With this intention, Ludwig's chessboxing event will be completely live-streamed on his YouTube for free, and he is hoping to attract the most viewers he has ever had on an event.
Currently, the event will showcase 18 of the biggest names in the streaming and chess communities at the event. This includes names such as Myth, Disguised Toast, Sardoche, boxbox, PointCrow, and Abroad In Japan, to name a select few. Also featured on the fight card will be Aman Hambleton, who is a Canadian Chess Grandmaster and UK International Chess Master, Dina Belenkaya, who currently holds the title of Woman Grandmaster, International Chess Master Lawrence Trent and chess streamer Andrea Botez.
The Fight Card:
SMASH UNDERCARDS:
Nathan Stanz vs. boxbox
Dina Belenkaya vs. Andrea Botez
MAIN EVENT:
See the Mogul Chessboxing Championship announcement here:
In-person tickets are on sale now and are still available here.