Tyler1 Starts Chess and Makes New Chess ELO Record

League of Legends streamer Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp entered the influencer chess event PogChamps 5 in mid-2023 as a complete beginner who needed a refresher on how the pieces move in order to understand how they even move. 8 months later and Tyler1 has surpassed expectations in rapid chess on chess.com, reaching 1700 ELO.

For comparison, Tyler1 ranks within the top 1.5% of active players on one of the biggest online chess venues with an ELO rating of 1700. It was an incredible feat in so little time for somebody with virtually no playing experience of competitive chess. “

Chess grandmaster and popular Twitch streamer Levy “GothamChess” Rozman was amazed by Tyler1’s rapid improvement, tweeting “This is completely insane. Tyler1 just surpassed 1700 Elo in chess. His elo was literally 199 just 8 months ago. “In less than 1 year he is stronger than almost 99% of all chess players on Earth.”

So, how good is a 1700 ELO in chess? And could the controversial but indisputably gifted Tyler1 one day become a grandmaster?

How to Understand ELO Ratings in Chess

ELO is a system of rating players based on relative ability in chess. It was developed by the Hungarian-American physics professor Arpad Elo.

For a complete beginner, an ELO rating of around 1000 is normal. Your ELO increases as you win games against higher ranked opponents. It will decrease if you lose to lower rated players.

The ratings have a typical bell curve distribution:

• 2000-2199 ELO is considered an “Expert” level
• 2200-2499 ELO is “Candidate Master”
• 2500 + ELO is “International Master.”
• 2700 + ELO is “Grandmaster”

Tyler1 has stormed into the top ranks of non-professional club and online players with a 1700 ELO after just 8 months of serious play. A rating this high would require years of practice and study for most people.

Tyler1’s Surprisingly Good Potential

While impressive for such a short period of time, a 1700 ELO still leaves Tyler1 far from the 2500 + needed for any kind of master title. As of March 2024, World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has a stratospheric rating of 2868.

Chess prodigies were generally very young grandmasters, often having years of experience and training before reaching their peak performance. Tyler1’s late start makes it unlikely he can continue to improve at this blistering pace all the way up to grandmaster level, as GothamChess put it.

But the ever-confident and outspoken Tyler1 may have bigger ambitions than the average player. He previously managed to grind thousands of hours of dedicated streaming to reach Challenger rank (the highest tier in League of Legends) in all five roles.

With that consistency and stubbornness toward chess, there’s no limit to how high Tyler1’s rating could get. It does not appear that an ELO of 2000-2200 would put him at an “Expert” level.

A New Era for Chess Viewership?

Regardless of grandmaster ambitions, Tyler1’s rags-to-riches chess tale has endeared himself to his over 4 million Twitch followers. His chess streams have brought the niche game to a new audience of viewers who would never see a traditional chess broadcast.

Tyler1’s continued growth and deep runs in online tournaments could put him on a par with streamer personalities such as Hikaru Nakamura in bringing mainstream popularity and exposure to chess. Already there is talk he could line up at the 2024 Streamer World Cup event.

Classic Tyler1: The over-the-top, trash-talking character that made Tyler1 infamous in League of Legends is now being channeled into his chess rivals in classic fashion. It makes for highly entertaining content, even if his outrageous boasts of beating Magnus Carlsen are clearly tongue-in-cheek.

Put simply, GothamChess put it this way: “In less than 1 year he has beaten nearly 99% of all chess players on Earth.” That’s a staggering achievement for a former basketball player who couldn’t even approach Grandmaster level in his favorite video game of League.

This foulmouthed, very competitive rising star should be a target for the chess world! Tyler1 will only continue exceeding expectations over the chess board if his rapid rise is any indication. Would he be the first true crossover chess celebrity? That possibility no longer seems so outrageous.