Saying that the lockdown didn’t turn us all into chess enthusiasts at some point would be an understatement. While the Netflix original The Queen’s Gambit made us believe that we all have been a prodigy all along after a stunning win over that six-year-old cousin, online chess tournaments helped us make new friends and keep in touch with the old ones (along with other games such as Ludo, Among Us and Skribbl, of course).


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Well, if you could relate to the aforementioned stuff, then you definitely had been watching Samay Raina’s streams on YouTube. From chess to gaming and random pranks, this stand-up comic surely has kept us all entertained during the two years of lockdown while we were drinking our Dalgona coffee in some dark corner of the house. His streams playing chess proves it that something as “sophisticated” as a game of chess can be funny and an absolute delight to follow!

We picked up some of the best moments and streams of Raina for you, so read on!

1. When he and his followers ended up crashing a chess website

Samay had invited his followers to an online game of chess. Simple, right? But when 3000 of the people turned up, the whole website crashed globally! 

2. The hilarious invitations to random people for playing chess

The streams where Samay tries to convince random people to play a game of chess with him will leave you in splits!

3. When he and other stand-up comics played with the Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand

Can you imagine Viswanathan Anand playing an online chess game, instead of sitting in front of other international players? Well if you can’t, watch this video right away!

Also Read: How Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath Hacked A Chess Game To Beat Grandmaster Vishwanathan

4. When he prank called chess grandmasters unapologetically like a pro!

These prank videos about Samay playing along with his fellow players will leave you wanting more!

5. Chess battles and pep talks

Apart from Raina himself playing chess with people, one can also find various battle streams on his YouTube channel. While he leads one team, other chess streamers go with another, and the battle begins! Samay’s pep talks to his team will motivate you to work today, I swear.

6. When he couldn’t resist singing to his heart’s content, butchering our fav songs on the way

And then we couldn’t resist laughing to our heart’s content. Well, seems like Samay likes butchering songs and corrupting their lyrics as much as he likes chess, so here’s to more funny content!

7. A game with Tanmay Bhatt

Many a times, you can find comedian and co-founder of All India Bakchod Tanmay Bhatt in his streams, which are as fun to watch as these two comics themselves!

8. When he played Antakshari with other chess players

If his streams weren’t enough, Raina brought another refreshing stream where he along with others played the game of (not-so)melodies: antakshari!

9. The game of chess with BB ki Vines

Yes. A full stream with Bhuvan Bam, the star comedian. Naam hi kaafi hai.

Here’s to chess making our lockdown bearable: check and mate!