Hawks and elephants are storming the chessboard once again in the next event of the Chess.com Community Championship. The Seirawan Chess Championship takes place on October 2 and 3, featuring a $2,000 prize pool.
Seirawan Chess is the brainchild of GM Yasser Seirawan and FM Bruce Harper. The variant introduces two powerful new pieces to the classic game. The hawk, with the combined powers of a bishop and knight, and the formidable elephant, blending rook and knight movement, are ready to change the game entirely.
The new pieces not only add considerable firepower to each army but also unlock new tactical possibilities. Hawks can leap like a knight and strike across diagonals, setting up forks that no other piece could create. Elephants dominate files and ranks and can quickly hop over other pieces, making them some of the most unpredictable attackers on the board. Here’s an example of Seirawan using his hawk to deliver a crushing tactic and win a game against GM Jeffery Xiong.
The competition kicks off with eight qualifier arenas, all taking place on October 2. Each arena lasts 75 minutes and features a 3+2 time control. Any member of our community can join to compete—and maybe even play against Seirawan himself! To join the action, check out the event’s schedule and join any of the qualifiers.
As always, fair play remains a priority. We may ask some players to join a fair play call. If asked to join, you’ll need to set up two cameras from different angles in the room—refusal to comply will result in removal from the event.
The winner of each qualifier advances to the Final on October 3, an eight-player double-elimination knockout bracket with a 3+2 time control. From there, only one player will emerge victorious and become the second Chess.com Seirawan Chess Champion.
If you don’t make the Final, you can still catch every moment on our Twitch and YouTube channels, with live commentary by the variant creators, Seirawan and Harper, along with FM James Canty.
Last year, Seirawan himself joined the event and almost made it to the Grand Final, but was stopped by Xiong. However, it was GM Awonder Liang who triumphed in the Grand Final, defeating his friend and regular Bughouse partner Xiong by a score of 2.5–1.5. With this victory, Liang secured the $600 top prize and became the first Chess.com Seirawan Chess Champion in history.
Are you excited for the next Chess.com Community Championship event? Then join the qualifiers on October 2!
