Levy Rozman, a.k.a. Gotham Chess, receives standing ovation in Berlin

by Arne Kaehler
5/17/2025 – The Gotham Chess European Tour made a stop in Berlin on 15 May 2024, where over 400 guests experienced a unique chess event with Levy Rozman, Georgios Souleidis and Judit Polgar. In addition to show formats such as "Guess the Elo", blitz games and interviews, technical perfection and plenty of humour provided the best entertainment. The event ended with a standing ovation and the prospect of a new European tour in the coming years. | All photos: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
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Gotham Chess a welcomed guest in Berlin

After stops in Brussels, London, Prague and Vienna, it was finally Berlin's turn on 15 May 2024. At Urania Berlin, over 400 spectators experienced Levy Rozman live - supported by his guests Georgios Souleidis and Judit Polgar.

While the previous shows were almost always sold out, the chess-loving city of Berlin surprisingly fell short of expectations: some seats remained empty.

Over 400 spectators enjoyed an unforgettable evening!

The event began at 8:00 pm, but from 6:00 pm onwards, nearly 100 guests took their VIP seats. In this more exclusive setting, Levy answered questions from the audience. Additionally, each guest received a raffle number, which was drawn during the show - the lucky winner got to play a blitz game against Levy! The winner fought bravely but ultimately lost on time.

What luck! This fan got to play a blitz game live against Gotham Chess!

After further prize draws, all guests had the opportunity to queue up for an autograph or photo with the man himself.

During the Q&A, this guest asked whether Levy would play a game of chess with him at the deepest point underwater to set a new chess record. Rozman did not say no!

After a short break, the main event began. At that moment, I had a brief conversation (in German) with Thomas Weischede, the chairman of the Lasker Society, who had awarded Levy the 2025 Tartakower Prize the day before.

Shortly after 8:00 pm, the main show kicked off. The professional presenter Fiona Steil-Antoni charmingly hosted the two-hour programme, which included the following segments: Opening, interview with "The Big Greek" Georgios Souleidis, blitz game with Souleidis, "Guess the Elo", interview with Judit Polgar, "Hand & Brain" blitz with Polgar and two guests, and a concluding Q&A session with Levy.

Rozman once again proved himself a natural talent. His performance was entertaining, humorous and effortless. The interview with Georgios Souleidis was lively, with plenty of witty banter - they shared anecdotes, teased each other and generated lots of laughter.

A strong duo! The banter was a highlight of the evening.

Next was the blitz game - in Hamburg during the dress rehearsal, things had gone awry, but as Stefan Kastenmueller said at the time: "It was a wake-up call!"

This time, everything went smoothly. The entire setup - from sound to lighting to visual effects - was flawless.

The Big Greek quickly took the initiative, but ultimately fell under Levy's attack, losing his bishop and then the game

Next was "Guess the Elo", a format closely linked to Rozman's YouTube channel, which has already captivated millions of viewers. The games were entertaining, and the audience laughed at Levy's facial expressions and spontaneous reactions. It was particularly entertaining given the fact that the games were submitted by members of the audience. Some players, whose Elo was significantly underestimated by Levy - sometimes from 1600 down to under 1000 - were too embarrassed to reveal themselves afterwards.

Gotham Chess in despair! He had guessed this player's rating as 1800 instead of 911!

During the intermission, I had a brief conversation with the organiser and event initiator, Stefan Kastenmueller (in German):

In the second part, another star guest took the stage: Judit Polgar. Levy not only interviewed her on entertaining topics but also on the future of women's chess. He mentioned that his YouTube audience is no longer 99% male, but now "only" 89% - a small step towards attracting more female chess fans.

A great experience for the audience and for Levy himself - He got to welcome Judit Polgar in Berlin. In the background, you can see Judit's "Hand & Brain" partner.

During the subsequent "Hand & Brain" blitz, two young guests with an Elo rating of around 1600 participated. Judit and her partner built a strong position, but Levy equalised in the endgame and won on time.

In the final segment, Levy answered more questions from the audience.

At the end, all participants gathered once more on stage - and a standing ovation followed.

The audience was thrilled, and chess proved to be a true stage-worthy spectacle!

An evening that cast chess in a new, dazzling light. Many guests felt that every cent of the €60 ticket was worth it. Some even wished the show had lasted three hours instead of two.

Before Judit Polgar left in a taxi to the hotel, I managed to ask her a few questions:

With Georgios, I drove to Berlin and back to Hamburg – we had already arranged to have a little chat on the return journey:

There will be another European tour in 2026 or 2027. And it's something to look forward to - even if you know nothing about chess, as a friend of mine aptly remarked that evening.

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Topics: Gotham Chess, Levy Rozman
Arne Kaehler, a creative mind who is passionate about board games in general, was born in Hamburg and learned to play chess at a young age. By teaching chess to youth teams and creating chess-related videos on YouTube, Arne was able to expand this passion and has even created an online course for anyone who wants to learn how to play chess. Arne writes for the English and German news sites, but focuses mainly on content for the ChessBase media channels.