Andrea Botez responds to criticism after loss to comedian Samay Raina

Andrea Botez has responded to criticism following her defeat at Super PogChamps, after a blunder allowed Indian YouTuber and comedian Samay Raina to win a tie-breaker.

The event, hosted by Chess.com in early December 2025, featured content creators including Tyler1, Sonicfox, and FaZe Sparg0. Botez, a chess streamer and DJ, was among the tournament favourites, successfully dominating her group and advancing to the semi-finals against Raina.

Despite a nearly 300-point rating deficit, Raina forced a tie-breaker after splitting the initial games with Botez. In the deciding match, Andrea missed a free knight and fell victim to a discovered check that cost her queen, a critical blow that led to her defeat. Raina subsequently won the tournament by defeating Sardoche in the final.

The loss prompted online criticism, with some users mocking Botez and her sister Alexandra for their influence in the chess community. One post described Andrea as “a chess ‘influencer’ pushed and constantly marketed by Chess.com,” while another claimed the sisters “take advantage of lonely chess dorks.”

Andrea addressed the criticism on X, stating: “I make chess content, I’m not trying to be a Grandmaster… btw this was a fun charity event… for content. We built an entire brand on blundering queens, what point are you trying to make?” She referenced the ‘Botez gambit,’ a term coined after the sisters’ recurring queen losses.

Botez also noted that her $5,000 prize from the event would be donated to the Daniel Naroditsky memorial fund. Highlighting the level of competition, she said: “I myself trained three hours a day… Sardoche is now 2000 ELO. The competition was very real and scary.”

Andrea previously faced backlash in 2021 when GM Hikaru Nakamura criticised her for a joke question at the World Chess Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi.