Nemo Zhou Brings Chess and Poker Events to North Dallas
Champions Social Club’s Oct. 14-16 program includes a blitz chess challenge, private poker nights and a community meetup.
Chess Woman Grandmaster Nemo Zhou will visit Champions Social Club in North Dallas for a three-day run of chess and poker events from Oct. 14-16. The program includes a live chess challenge, two invite-only poker nights and a community poker meetup, with selected events broadcast online.
The opening event, Queen of the Hill, begins at 6 p.m. Oct. 14. CW33 reported that local players will be able to play live games against Zhou, compete for club credit and other prizes, and watch the action streamed on YouTube through Champions Club Live.
Champions’ event listing describes Queen of the Hill as social chess against Zhou, who also uses the name Nemsko. It uses a 3|2 blitz clock, meaning three minutes plus a two-second increment. Each player who wins becomes the new ruler, but each victory removes 10 seconds from that player’s clock for subsequent defenses.
Zhou will host an invite-only charity poker tournament on Oct. 15, involving athletes, television personalities, entertainers and social-media influencers. An invite-only cash game follows on Oct. 16.
The public-facing poker portion is scheduled for 8 p.m. Oct. 16 in the club’s poker room. Members can play alongside Zhou, meet other competitors and receive tableside food and beverage service. Champions’ events page separately lists a Nemo Meet Up Game on Oct. 16.
Zhou began streaming chess on Twitch in 2020 and built an international following. She holds the International Chess Federation’s Woman Grandmaster title, described by the coverage as the federation’s highest-ranking title exclusively for female players.
The visit fits Champions’ mix of competitive games and social gatherings. The club opened to the public May 14 after a $15 million renovation of the former III Forks steakhouse space, and has two poker areas: a larger room for regular member play, cash games and social tournaments, plus a smaller private room set up for competitive games and livestreaming.
Champions regularly hosts primarily no-limit hold’em cash games, with pot-limit Omaha and higher-limit games available based on demand. Under the Texas framework described by Local Profile, poker can operate when players are the only financial beneficiaries and an operator does not take a rake or profit from the cards themselves.
For a limited time, new Champions members can receive a complimentary year of social membership.
