The two previously faced off in a livestreamed match, but this new video comes at a time for Raina, who’s slowly stepping back into regular content creation, post controversy.
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Aamir Khan may be known as Bollywood’s perfectionist, but apparently, he’s got a sharp chess game too, and in a surprising crossover, the actor recently beat stand-up comic and YouTube chess streamer Samay Raina in a friendly but competitive match.
This marks yet another chess collaboration between the two. Aamir Khan and Samay Raina previously faced off in a livestreamed match, but this new video comes at a particularly important time for Raina, who’s slowly stepping back into regular content creation following a dip in online activity, partly due to the ripples of controversy surrounding ‘India’s Got Talent’ spin-off ‘India’s Got Latent’.
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Aamir, in his usual calm and composed manner, quietly maneuvered his way to victory, while Samay kept the atmosphere light with his signature banter.
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For the uninitiated, Samay Raina isn’t just dabbling in chess for fun. He’s a serious enthusiast. On Chess.com, he plays under the handle ‘samayraina’ and has held a peak rapid rating of 1942. Currently, he clocks in at 1621, which is impressive by most casual player standards.
In 2021, he won the $10,000 Botez Bullet Invitational, an amateur bullet chess tournament hosted by popular streamers the Botez sisters. As the only Indian in the mix, Raina held his ground against international Twitch stars and walked away with $4,000.
More than just gameplay, Samay brought structure and entertainment to Indian chess. In collaboration with ChessBase India and Nodwin Gaming, he co-founded the ‘Chess Super League’, which brought together Grandmasters, International Masters, and upcoming Indian talents in a team-based format.
The ₹40 lakh prize pool attracted some of the brightest minds in chess, and the entire tournament streamed on Raina’s YouTube channel.
But it hasn’t all been wins and checkmates. Samay, along with other digital creators, has faced his share of bumps. One of the bigger shocks came when ‘India’s Got Latent’, a comedy reality show he started, found itself mired in controversy over offensive content.
Things escalated when podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia (aka BeerBiceps), a guest on a bonus episode, asked a highly inappropriate and offensive question involving a contestant’s parents, something that triggered widespread outrage.
A police complaint was filed against Allahbadia, accusing him of “promoting obscenity” and vulgar language.
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