Chess.com has announced the King of the Hill Chess Championship, set for May 6 to 8 with a $2,500 prize fund. The event features the popular variant where players can win by advancing their king to central hill squares. Qualifiers begin Tuesday, open to all participants.
The Chess.com King of the Hill Chess Championship launches as the latest in the platform's Community Championships series. This variant follows standard chess rules but allows victory by moving the king to any of the central squares d4, e4, d5, or e5, encouraging bold strategies that can lead to quick wins or losses, Chess.com stated in its announcement. Qualifying rounds run on May 6 and 7, with four time slots each day in a 75-minute arena format at a 3+0 time control. Players can join directly via the event schedule on the site. Organizers may require fair play verification through two-camera setups during qualifiers; non-compliance results in removal. Winners advance to the May 8 finals, an eight-player double-elimination bracket where the champion claims the top prize. Last year, Grandmaster Mitrabha Guha defeated FIDE Master Semyon Puzyrevsky in a tense grand final reset to secure the $750 first-place prize.