Tonight at 9:00 PM EST, Ethereum co-founder and figurehead Vitalik Buterin will face Canadian national team player Alexandra Botez in a live streamed match on Twitch.
The event was born following a series of games and conversations held by members of the Bankless podcast and newsletter focused on Ethereum. After Vitalik participated in a handful of matches, Botez threw the gauntlet:
@VitalikButerin I am a chess streamer and a huge fan of your work, I have heard from some people in the crypto space that you are pretty good at chess! It would be a great honor to play if you ever need a break
– Alexandra Botez (@alexandravbotez) November 13, 2020
Fans of the chess personality have warned Vitalik to watch out for his namesake “Botez Gambit” – a joking term for when he accidentally loses his queen. Seriously, the Canadian boasts some serious accolades: she currently holds the title of Woman FIDE Master and is a five-time Canadian National Girls Champion.
However, not everyone counts Ethereum’s co-founder, 26. Some have speculated that between thinking about Derek Parfit and resolving scalability, Vitalik might be hiding some real chess chops:
Watch Vitalik secretly have a 2500+ in him, never bothered to play enough rated games https://t.co/PD34qfzaWb
– Colin Goltra (@Goltra) November 18, 2020
Additionally, in addition to helping build the largest smart contract platform in the world, Vitalik may be better known as the inventor of a chess variant. In 2019 he debuted “chess at size 1.58”, played on a pyramid plan.
And what would an Ethereum Mindsport prize fight be without on-chain prediction markets where viewers could bet on the outcome? Gamified Prediction Market Yieldwars offers a market for the match, with options for winners to take everything for both sides, while Omen Prediction Markets offers weighted payouts.
So far, the market believes Vitalik will have a tough night. Billed as “King versus Queen”, the Yieldwars market currently has only $ 500 in wagers, with bettors healthy favoring Botez. Omen, meanwhile, has attracted over $ 650 in bets, once again heavily skewed towards the chess streamer.
A possible option for the overmatched founder? An irregular opening. Cointelegraph’s weekend editorial team humbly suggests the orangutan.
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