A new series from Lichess and ChessMood for streamer teams
Lichess and ChessMood have announced a striking new event that will bring together online chess teams and streamer communities throughout 2026: the ChessMood 20/20 Grand Prix 2026. The series will be held from February 20 to December 20, 2026, taking place on the 20th of each month at 20:00 UTC. The tournament structure is specifically focused on Lichess streamers’ teams, meaning the spotlight will be on the success of the communities built around streamers rather than on individual players. With a total $20,000 prize fund, the event stands out as an important initiative extending team competition in online chess across the full year.
The qualifying phase of the series will consist of 10 team battles played from February 20 to November 20. Each qualifying arena will award $1,000, but the key detail here is that the prizes will go not to individual performances but to the streamers. In this respect, the event rewards not only strong players, but also active community management, team loyalty, and consistent participation. Teams will collect Grand Prix points based on their monthly finishes. Moreover, when calculating the standings, not all of a team’s results will count—only its best 7 performances will be taken into account. This system acts as a balancing factor for teams that miss a few months or have an off day in one tournament.
The Final Tournament will be played on December 20, 2026, again at 20:00 UTC, and will use a 3+2 time control. At the end of the qualifying period, the top 10 teams in Grand Prix points will advance to the final. If there is a tie for 10th place, all tied teams will qualify for the final. The prize fund for the final stage will be $10,000, including $2,500 for the overall winner. Each monthly stage will be held in a team battle format with a 20-leader structure. That makes not only squad depth, but also the consistency of players scoring points near the top of the standings, a decisive factor.
Another notable aspect of the event is its community incentives. Every participating streamer will receive 10 one-month ChessMood memberships to distribute to team members. To claim this benefit, streamers need to contact @Shahinyan_ChessMood. Rewards of this kind offer a model that supports not only competition, but also training and community interaction. Considering the rise of streamer-centered events in online chess in recent years, the ChessMood 20/20 Grand Prix could become an important showcase for both content creators and their viewer-player communities. With Lichess’s open and accessible structure combined with ChessMood’s training-focused brand identity, 2026 looks set to feature a fast-paced, widely attended series worth following closely.