Announcing Hikaru's Chess 4 The Masses Sponsored by Kick
GM Hikaru Nakamura and Kick are thrilled to present Chess 4 The Masses Sponsored by Kick, a two-tournament event for untitled players that will begin on January 22 at 2:00 p.m. ET/20:00 CET, following in the footsteps of past collaborations between Hikaru and Kick such as the Kickathlon and the Tournament of the Accused.
Chess 4 The Masses features a $5,200 prize fund. There are almost no events for untitled players, especially online, so this tournament is a rare opportunity for untitled players to win cash prizes! You will also be able to follow all the action on Hikaru's stream on Kick and in Hikaru's Fan Club. Hikaru himself will provide commentary!
Watch the Tournament of the Accused stream above and get hyped for Chess 4 The Masses!
Chess 4 The Masses will consist of two tournaments in one afternoon, with winners determined by their cumulative score across both tournaments. The first tournament is a 13-round Swiss of 3+0 blitz for untitled players, and the second tournament a 90-minute, 3+2 Arena with matchups based on ratings, like Arena Kings.
The requirements to participate are:
- Players must be untitled!
- Your account must be at least three months old.
- No sharing of accounts is allowed.
- No sandbagging. Highly suspicious results will be kicked from the tournament and their prize slots negated.
There are five prize sections, based on each player's rating at the conclusion of both events (not before):
- 2500+
- Under 2500
- Under 2000
- Under 1600
- and under-1000.
Each category will have $1,020 in prizes, distributed as follows:
| Prize | Amount |
| 1st place | $250 |
| 2nd place | $200 |
| 3rd place | $150 |
| 4th place | $75 |
| 5th place | $50 |
| 6th-8th place | $40 each |
| Highest number of promoted knights | $25 |
| First smothered mate | $25 |
| First win with a bongcloud opening | $25 |
| Best clip, as judged by Hikaru himself, posted on X, Instagram or TikTok | $100 |
There will also be a $100 prize to any streamer who tweets or instagrams a funny clip with the appropriate hashtags, #kick4themasses, also judged by Hikaru. Join Hikaru's Discord to share your clips and submit claims for the promotion, smothered mate, and Bongcloud challenges.
Prize distribution will be done after a review by fairplay team and by Team GM Hikaru. Decisions will be final.
