At 9 pm EST tonight, Ethereum co-founder and figurehead Vitalik Buterin will face off towards chess streamer Nationwide Canadian Crew participant Alexandra Botez in an match occasion live-streamed on Twitch. 

The occasion took place following a sequence of matches and conversations held by members of the Ethereum-focused Bankless podcast and e-newsletter. After Vitalik participated in a handful of matches, Botez threw down the gauntlet:

Followers of the chess persona have warned Vitalik to be careful for her namesake “Botez Gambit” — a playful time period for when she by accident loses her queen. Jokes apart, the Canadian sports activities some severe accolades: she at the moment holds the title of Lady FIDE Grasp, and is a 5 time Canadian Nationwide Women Champion. 

Not all are counting out the 26 year-old Ethereum co-founder, nevertheless. Some have speculated that between pondering Derek Parfit and fixing scalability, Vitalik could be hiding some real chess chops:

Moreover, other than serving to construct the world’s largest good contract platform, Vitalik could be most notable because the inventor of a chess variant. In 2019 he debuted “1.58 dimensional chess,” performed on a pyramidal aircraft. 

And what would an Ethereum mindsport prizefight be with out on-chain prediction markets the place viewers may wager on the end result? Gamified prediction market Yieldwars is providing a marketplace for the match, with winner-take-all choices for both facet, whereas Omen Prediction Markets is providing weighted payouts.

To this point, the market believes that Vitalik goes to have a tough night. Pitched as “King versus Queen,” the Yieldwars market at the moment has totaled solely $500 in bets, with bettors healthily favoring Botez. Omen, in the meantime, has attracted over $650 in bets, as soon as once more closely skewing in the direction of the chess streamer.

One doable possibility for the overmatched founder? An irregular opening. The Cointelegraph weekend editorial crew humbly suggests the Orangutan.