All The Information On Our New Chess Trivia: How Much You Know

Sure, playing chess on the board is fun, but have you been playing chess for many years now but are still alien to many rules, terms, players, events, and so on? That’s because the world of chess goes beyond the 64 squares, and to experience the game fully, you must dive deeper into the chess world. So we thought to ourselves, “What’s the most fun and educational way to learn about new stuff?”. Then we decided to bring you the first ever LIVE CHESS TRIVIA (or quiz) game! 

What Is This Chess Trivia?

Our live chess trivia game — How Much You Know — is a chess model of the popular game show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire(WWTBAM).” And while we cannot make you a millionaire at the moment, you are sure of getting new valuable chess knowledge and cash rewards, and you get to flex How Much You Know about chess to your friends and random chess lovers.

Core Details

• The chess trivia is set to occur twice a day, spread across the 24-hour cycle, to allow our members from across the world (different time zones) to partake in the trivia session at least once daily.

• There are indeed prizes attached to every live trivia session, and because they are LIVE, they are fixed into specific times. This means that live chess trivia cannot be played at will. 

• There are a maximum of 15 questions in a live session, which progress in difficulty as you play. Each of these questions will be timed according to their difficulty, ranging from 10-20 seconds. 

Now that we know the core details, let’s look at some more terms in our chess trivia;

Reckoning

This is the stage where you have the chance to attempt the 15 questions. If there were any preliminary stages before the Reckoning, you have already passed them. 

Checkpoints

We know that if we miss a question in the Reckoning, we are bound to fall to the prize at the nearest checkpoint. Summarily, checkpoints are questions that guarantee a prize in case a player gets a question wrong. 

Checkpoint questions are Questions 5 and 10. This means that if you are on question 8 and you incorrectly attempt the question, you will be awarded the prize on question 5. If you are on question 14 and you miss that question, you will be rewarded with the prize on question 10. 

It also means that if you are on questions 1-4 and you miss the question, you will be guaranteed no prize from the Reckoning. But don’t worry! These questions are pretty easy, so you should be fine! 

Keens

These are your tickets to participate in the live chess trivia session. Tickets to the trivia is just one function of the keens. You can read more about our Keen currency here. How do you obtain these Keens? Keep reading.

Assist

These are buttons that provide you with support while you are in the Reckoning. They are regarded as lifelines and can only be used once per session. They are;

• Blitz
• Skewer
• Transpose 
• Resign

1. Blitz

Like the WWTBAM game show, the How Much You Know chess trivia has Assists to help you through tough cookies, one of which is called Blitz. This Assist serves to add 15 seconds to your ticking clock. Now, you get a few extra seconds to carefully ponder on that tricky question.

2. Skewer

This is a lifeline that removes two incorrect answers, leaving one correct answer and one wrong answer. The lifeline increases your chances of getting a question right from 25% to 50%.

3. Transpose

This Assist swaps out a question you do not know for another question, hoping you have a better chance at attempting that question. This Assist could be better or worse, so keep your fingers crossed before using it. And your timer will be restarted once the new question appears. 

4. Resign

If you’ve exhausted your Assists and you have successfully attempted the fifth question on the Reckoning, you are free to quit the trivia along with your cash prize for the last question you attempted. 

For instance, if I’m currently on question 8, don’t know the answer, and would not like to risk a guess, I can resign from the Reckoning with the prize won from question 7. 

Modes

The chess trivia is split into 4 modes to accommodate the preferences of chess fans. They are;

• Demo
• Lobby
• Pack
• Versus

1. Demo

This free-for-all mode allows our members to play-test the trivia at will. Keens are not required, and prizes cannot be won from this mode, but it gives an avenue to test the waters of our chess trivia. The demo has very limited questions, but more questions will be added over time for more education and entertainment!

2. Lobby

This mode is the most similar to the WWTBAM show because the participating players are gathered in a Lobby, and a Time Scramble question is thrown at the players in the Lobby. The first player(s) to find the right combination in the options will progress to the Reckoning. Other players in the Lobby who do not progress to the Reckoning will have the option to spectate the player’s progress on the Reckoning.

A Time Scramble question is a special question that is designed differently from the questions in the Reckoning. There are no correct options or wrong options. Instead, the players in the Lobby are expected to find the right order of the options for the Time Scramble question. 

For instance, the correct order could be D, C, A, B. The first player to find this combination advances to the Reckoning. Each player has 4 trial attempts on the Time Scramble question.

Note that Keens are required to be a part of the lobby, and there are two tiers of the Lobby—The Pawn Lobby and the Knight Lobby. The difference is the number of Keens required to participate in either Lobby. Also, there is a lesser participants capacity in the Knight Lobby, hence a bigger prize structure. Lastly, the Transpose Assist is exclusive to the Knight Lobby.

3. Pack

Lobbies are not required in this mode. Instead, all the players who join this mode are packed into the Reckoning, and they have a shot at the 15 questions. This mode also has Assists. However, the prize structure is different from the Lobby mode, and this difference is emphasized below.

There are also two tiers of the Pack mode with a similar description as the Lobby mode.

Note: The pack mode does not have the Resign Assist.

4. Versus

Consider the Versus mode a customizable mode to be created by any member (who will be the administrator). This mode was created for members who would like to challenge players they already know. The Versus mode is customizable to determine how many players can participate in that session, how many Keens are required in that session, and how the prize structure will be arranged. 

Pods

To improve players’ chances of winning prizes from any of the chess trivia modes, we opted to limit the number of members who can compete in a session. And on that note, members will compete in groups/pods with a maximum of 15 participants. This means that several pods could operate all at the same time. 

Rating

Who would want to compete against a player who is very significantly better than them? NO ONE!

This is why we decided to build a rating system for our chess trivia! 

Rather than randomly competing with chess fans of different experience levels, you get to compete with players your own size. 

Hashtags

You receive these bonus points from being active on the LIVE trivia session. The hashtags accumulate in a leaderboard where you stand to win monthly prizes like chess sets, memberships, and so on. 

Here is a list of chess trivia activities to earn Hashtags;

• Join the live session – 2 Hashtags
• Make the Reckoning (Lobby mode) – 2 Hashtags
• Reach a checkpoint – 1 Hashtag
• Share your trivia result – 1 Hashtag
• Win the grand prize – 5 Hashtags

The questions

The questions on the Reckoning are a maximum of 15. They could either be picture questions or textual questions. For picture questions, you are asked a question based on an image. While for textual questions, you are simply asked a question using letters. 

These questions are answered by selecting one option amongst four options. One question will be correct (or the most correct), while others will be wrong (or least correct). With time, we plan to include more formats of attempting questions in our trivia. Also, you are directed to the source for reference and further studies for every correct answer that is not an on-board puzzle. After the trivia session, you can simply check the position on a chess engine to verify the solution to positional puzzles.

If you are playing on the Reckoning and get knocked out, you get to watch the progress of those still competing. This way, you get to learn more than your current capacity! 

How do I play the Trivia?

It is really simple to play the How Much You Know chess trivia. Follow this four-step process;

1. Obtain Keens

Keens can be obtained by;

• Uploading tournaments
• Playing against one another in the play zone
• Purchasing memberships
• Direct Keen purchase
• Referring members

2. Choose a Mode

• The selected mode determines the weight of the prize structure for that session.
• All modes commence at the same time in the same live session.

3. Wait for the Appointed Time

You will be temporarily entered into a pod when you pick a mode and join the live chess trivia session. At the appointed time, you will be required to accept a confirmation button to affirm that you are ready for the live session. 

For instance, you join the 9 PM session by 3 PM. The system acknowledges your entry, but the session is yet to commence, so you are required to confirm your participation at the moment the live session kickstarts.

4. Accept Prompt

At 9 PM (example), you get a 1-minute prompt to confirm your participation in that live session. If you accept the prompt, your Keens will be withdrawn, and you are officially in the contest! 

If you do not accept the prompt, you are ejected from the session and will have to wait till the next session. 

If You Miss A Question

If you miss a question, you will be presented with a choice to either leave the session or monitor the progress of players who are still in the session and learn from their attempts. 

Question Concepts

Our questions are created and vetted by experts and titled chess masters. The following are concepts from which the questions were crafted;

• Positional puzzles
• History
• Events/Tournaments
• Tactical and Strategic Theory
• Players
• Rules
• Terminologies

Prize Structure

The prize structure depends on the chess trivia mode, while the prize volume depends on the tier. 

Demo

There are no prizes attached to the demo. Consider it a dojo or a training facility! 

Lobby

Each question holds a prize, and depending on the tier, the prizes here are fixed across all sessions every day! 

Pack

Since all the participants get to attempt the questions in this mode, the prizes here depend on the participants’ performances. The performance is based on how far each participant goes in the Reckoning: how many points they scored. 

The prize structure is in percentages, and the podium prizes are 50%, 30%, 20%. A bit of mathematics goes into this mode’s prize system, especially when we have tied performances, but don’t worry! We’ve got you covered on that. 

Note that the total prize pot will fluctuate according to how many participants play in that pod and the tier of the mode. 

Versus

The prize system is determined by the administrator who creates the custom pod. They can select a maximum of 5 winners from a maximum of 25 participants. They can also create a winner-takes-all pod! The administrator makes the call! 

Aside from the Chess Trivia, What Else Can I do on Keenchess?

We have other cool features, which include;

1. Play Chess Solo and in Tournaments!

You get to play against players from around the world! You have rating points, achievements, and Keens at stake when you play 1V1 games! However, in tournaments, you compete for cash prizes! 

You can learn more about our play zone here.

2. View and Upload Real-time Tournaments!

Are you in a new city for a while and need a local tournament to play competitive chess and win prizes while you’re at it? Our user-generated calendar dives into the deepest parts of cities across the globe to seek tournaments for you. 

As our member, you also get to upload your tournaments on time for a wider reach! 

You can learn more about our calendar here.

3. Enjoy the blog!

We have interesting news updates worldwide and provide valuable articles to boost your knowledge and improve your chess skills.