Upcoming charity chess tournament features poker pros going head to head
Chris Moneymaker already has his eyes on the prize for the freshly-announced Joker’s Gambit charity chess tournament. The legendary 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion has already declared that he’s not scared of the lineup of poker pros appearing on the Joker’s Gambit poster that dropped on Twitter last week.
The Joker’s Gambit: All In On Chess event will feature poker pros playing chess for charity. Chess pro Hikaru Nakamura made the announcement on Twitter March 4, along with a poster featuring some of poker’s biggest names:
“BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Joker's Gambit - Can you Bluff in Chess? Two-Day Chess tournament with the biggest names in Poker raising funds for charity with the help of @softgiving,” tweeted Nakamura. “Winner gets bragging rights and a @purlinglondon Trophy.”
The tweet features an image that includes Moneymaker, Liv Boeree, Fedor Holz, Daniel Negreanu, and a host of other poker pros. The “bragging rights” contingent of the winner’s prize could be the most coveted treasure of all in the charity chess event if the thread of responses to Nakamura’s tweet is any indication.
Event organizers aiming for late-April or early-May for Joker’s Gambit
Nakamura tweeted that Joker’s Gambit organizers haven’t set an official date for the event, but the tournament could run in late April or early May. Nakamura added that the event strives to avoid schedule conflicts for the poker players slated to participate.
Chess represents a favorite pastime for poker players, with Negreanu, Dan Smith, Moneymaker, and others often discussing the game on social media. Names like Landon Tice, Jeremy Ausmus, Kevin Martin, and several other poker pros announced intentions to enter Joker’s Gambit in Nakamura’s Twitter thread.
The lineup of names that look like they’re in for Joker’s Gambit could make the tournament the biggest crossover event in poker history. The exposure for both games creates the potential for a massively popular event.
“Very impressed by how much the Chess community comes together to try to create hype moments like this for the community,” Joey Ingram tweeted. “Incredible job being one of those leading the way to set a great example for the community to follow and bringing people together.”
A commenter asked Ingram if he would be joining the fray for Joker’s Gambit, but we don’t have a definitive response from the prolific poker content creator as of yet.
Other faces on the Joker’s Gambit poster include Matt Staples, Parker Talbott, Ben “Spraggy” Spragg, Phil Gordon, and several other notable poker pros.
Check back with Poker.org for ongoing coverage of the Joker’s Gambit charity chess event.
Featured image source: Twitter
