EP 441- WCM Hannah Sayce: The 24-year old Twitch Streamer on the Key Factors Behind Her Rapid Rise to the WCM Title

Jul 1, 2025

45:12

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In just a few years, 24-year-old Australian Twitch streamer Hannah Sayce went from playing casual online games during lockdown to earning the Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title and competing in international tournaments. Her post-lockdown rise has taken her from below 1000 to a 2300 Chess.com blitz rating. In this conversation, Hannah shares the highs and lows of her chess journey and the strategies behind her rapid improvement. Key turning points included learning to slow down at the board and forcing herself to embrace endgame study despite her resistance. Hannah’s rapid progress is inspiring to young girls and adult improvers alike—and it was fun to hear her story. Timestamps of topics discussed are below.

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0:02- What is Hannah’s approach to streaming and prepping for Titled Tuesdays.

Mentioned:

7:00- Overcoming the Nerves of OTB chess

12:00- We discuss Hannah’s chess improvement philosophy as originally laid out in her popular YouTube video, How I Went from 700 to 2200 in 2 Years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCBGNjddiTE

Specifically she touched these 7 themes: