There are many sites out there that give chess players the chance to win money. However, these sites also allow you to play for fun and to improve your skills if you do not feel like gambling.
The Best Sites to Play Chess for Money
If you want to try and start earning money by playing chess, then you should sign up to one of the sites that we have listed below. These sites allow you play using your browser, but you also have the option, if you wish, of downloading their software. They all also provide great chess apps for Android and iOS devices, meaning that you can win money playing chess wherever you happen to be.
MBChess.com
In order to play chess for money on this site, you need to be over the age of 18. If you are younger than 18, you can still sign up with them, but you will only be able to play chess for the fun of it. This site encourages it subscribers to invite their family and friends so that they can play against each other for fun or for money.
Game Colony
On this site you can find a large community of chess fanatics from all over the world. This site was launched twenty years ago, so they are definitely doing something right to still be extremely popular. Here you can enter a tournament by paying a fee and then you can test your skills against some of the world’s best players, winning some decent cash prizes if you are successful. You can pay the entry fee using your PayPal account or your debit or credit card.
Chess Club (ICC)
When you sign up to this site, they will give you a free 30-day trial so that you can see whether it is your cup of tea. To start playing though, you have to download the free software for Android, iOS, Mac, Linux, and Windows.
This site only allows you to play for fun, meaning that children are allowed to join. So, why have we included this site on our list if you cannot play chess for money on it? Well, you can earn some extra money by convincing other people to sign up. Whenever someone buys a club membership because you referred them, you will be given points, which you can trade for money. Whatever money you earn will be sent to your PayPal account.
Chess.com
This site has a whopping 25 million users on it. Once you sign up, you can take advantage of some great training tools to become even better. Each day, this site hosts over one million games of chess and they have more than 100 staff members.
There are around 50 professional players employed by the site and they are paid to write quality content. So, when you sign up, you can read about new strategies from some of the best chess players in the world.
On this site, you can play for fun against talented players or you can enter one of the many tournaments and see if you can beat the best of the best and walk away with some cash.
Chess Cube
This site has a fantastic chess community and provides live games, forums, training videos, and lectures. There are close to 1,000 chess players on this site from all over the world. Not only can you play against like-minded people for fun, you can also pit your wits against them for cash prizes. There is also a chat option, so you can talk to people about everything to do with chess.
Playing for Money Does Not Come without Risks Though
Although playing chess for money is fun, there are some risks involved. For example, since the game is being played on the Internet, there is nothing that can stop cheats from prospering. For example, players might be playing against you while using Chessmaster. This is software that will follow all of your moves and then tell your opponent the best way to counter what you just did. Of course, some site chess sites have managed to block this program, but there are plenty of other options out there for those who are happy to cheat. This is why you should be really picky when you are choosing what chess site to play for money at.
The only time that you can be certain that your opponent is not trying to cheat you is when you are playing face-to-face. Also, it is unlikely that they will be cheating if you are playing for fun because the aim of playing for fun is to perfect your skills, so cheating would be rather pointless.