3 ways to earn money by playing chess

What are the ways to earn money from chess? I saw this question much time and now I will write a full detailed answer in form of an article.

Most of the beginner players only know earning money is possible by playing chess and coaching but they probably don’t know many other ways which are available and many players who are earning a decent amount of money through it.

If we compare chess to other big sports like cricket or football then we will see that there are very low prize funds in chess if you are not On the top 10 lists. Watch the following video of GM Hikaru Nakamura to see how much top grandmasters make.

Most of the grandmasters who is below 2600 make anywhere between $1500-$4000. If you are living in top countries then this is very less because expenses are very high but if you are a grandmaster from a developing country or underdeveloped countries then it is a very good amount of money.

But this case is for the grandmaster. But what if you are a 2200 or 1800 or even 1400 rated player? How you can earn money from chess? Let’s see some of the best ways to earn money through chess.

1- Playing chess

This is a very traditional way. By playing chess top players are earning a decent amount. But if you are rated below 2000 or below 2200 then most probably it is very difficult to win the prize and live a happy life.

There are many below tournaments but in which you have limitations. You cannot play and win each and every below tournament

If you are IM or GM and even sometimes a +2200 player then you can defiantly earn money through playing leagues that pay anywhere from $100-$1000 per game!

But these league tournaments happen only in European countries so if you are not from Europe then it is very difficult to travel for league tournaments.

As per my knowledge, Only grandmasters can survive by playing chess tournaments.

Coaching

Coaching is the best way to earn money to this date. Anyone can take coaching. Coaching is a different kind of skill. You can easily do coaching to your relatives, friends.

There are 2 types of coaching. Online coaching and offline coaching. Online coaching and offline coaching. Generally, offline coaching prices are 1.5x or 2x compare to online coaching.

if you are a rated player above 1400 then you will get few students easily. You can create your brochure and circulate it to your relative’s and friends’ circle. Most probably you will get your first 3-4 students very easily. 

There are many websites where you can list as a chess coach.

Following are major services

• Chess.com
• lichess
•  coaches

When you start coaching, Keep in mind that give your 100% efforts towards your students.

How much you can make through coaching?

Online coaching is becoming very popular nowadays. Following are the estimated charges for online coaching. You can take 1.5x or 2x for offline coaching.

This range is very wide I will say anywhere from $5 to $125. I have excluded 2700+ grandmasters because some of them take even more than 125$

In general, the grandmaster charges $30-$120. International Master charges $20-$50. Fide master charges $10-$25.

Most players whose rating is above 2000, charge $5-$20. Below 2000 rated player charge $3-$15.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing means you promote products and you get some commission when someone purchases their products.

Many chess websites offer affiliate programs where you can sign up and start earning commissions.

How you can do affiliate marketing?

• You can start your own chess blog and start promoting products.
• Start your youtube channel and start promoting products
• Start your Facebook page or Instagram page and start promoting products.

How much you can earn?

Affiliate marketing has a lot of potentials. If you focus on personal branding then affiliate marketing is very easy.

You have to create trust in viewers’ minds and then you can start earning.

Many affiliate programs give 30%-50% commission on each sale. Suppose you sell only 10 programs and each program cost 100$ then effectively you will earn $300-$500.

Affiliate marketing is a process. You continuously have to promote various products, post various things.

There are various youtube channels and blogs about affiliate marketing. You can watch videos and read blogs to set detailed knowledge.

  Some best affilate programms

• ichess
• chess.com
• the chess world
• chess24
• chessbase
• Amazon
• staunton chess