SAMAY RAINA
From open mics in Pune to Madison Square Garden — the man who made chess cool in India.
7.4M+
YouTube Subs
1621
Chess Rating
MSG
Performed At
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WHO IS SAMAY RAINA
Born on October 26, 1997, in Jammu, Samay Raina grew up in a Kashmiri Pandit family — a community that had been displaced from the Kashmir Valley during the conflicts of the early 1990s. That experience of displacement, resilience, and rebuilding shaped the man he would become.
He enrolled in a print engineering program at PVG’s College of Engineering and Technology in Pune — a degree he later called “a waste of time.” His real education began the night of August 27, 2017, when he stepped onto an open mic stage for the first time and never looked back.
Today, Samay stands as one of India’s most recognisable faces in digital entertainment — a rare creator who has built credibility in two wildly different worlds: stand-up comedy and competitive chess. He’s the guy who got grandmasters laughing and made fans study the Sicilian Defence.
Known for his sharp dark humour, self-deprecating style, and genuinely unfiltered approach to everything, Samay doesn’t do polished. He does real — and that’s exactly why millions keep watching.
Born
October 26, 1997 — Jammu, India
Age
28 years old
Roots
Kashmiri Pandit community
Education
B.E. Print Engineering, PVG COET Pune
First Open Mic
August 27, 2017 — Pune
Chess Handle
BM Samayraina (Chess.com)
Known For
Dark humour, Chess streams, India’s Got Latent
Comedy Style
Observational · Dark · Unfiltered
THE JOURNEY
On August 27, 2017, Samay steps on a stage for the first time at an open mic in Pune. Despite studying engineering, he had found the real thing he wanted to do. He quickly becomes a regular on the Pune and Mumbai circuit, opening for established acts like Abhishek Upmanyu and Anirban Dasgupta.
FIRST OPEN MIC — PUNE
2017
Samay wins Amazon Prime Video’s Comicstaan Season 2, sharing the title and a prize of Rs 10 lakh with comedian Aakash Gupta. The win propels him from the underground comedy circuit onto a national stage, introducing his signature style to a mass audience for the first time.
COMICSTAAN 2 — CO-WINNER
2019
The pandemic shuts down live comedy. Fellow comedian Tanmay Bhat suggests Samay try streaming chess. He launches his YouTube channel in March 2020 and quickly creates “Comedians on Board” — a tournament series featuring comedian friends competing at chess. Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi joins and the internet goes wild.
THE CHESS ERA BEGINS
2020
Samay’s streams attract some of the biggest names in chess — Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Anish Giri, Teimour Radjabov, and Judit Polgar. He wins the $10,000 Botez Bullet Invitational, the only Indian competitor among international streamers, pocketing $4,000. He also plays in Comedy Premium League on Netflix.
GRANDMASTERS & WORLD CHAMPIONS
2021
In collaboration with ChessBase India and Nodwin Gaming, Samay organises the Chess Super League — a full-scale online chess league featuring top international and Indian grandmasters. Chess, for the first time, feels like a spectator sport in India.
CHESS SUPER LEAGUE
2022
In June 2024, Samay launches India’s Got Latent — an unscripted YouTube reality show where contestants display their most unusual and “latent” talents to celebrity judges. The show becomes a cultural phenomenon, with several episodes crossing 40 million views. An accompanying app tops both the App Store and Google Play within hours of launch.
INDIA’S GOT LATENT — LAUNCHED
2024
After India’s Got Latent is shut down amidst controversy in February 2025, Samay takes accountability, steps back, and then stages one of Indian comedy’s most remarkable comebacks. His “Still Alive and Unfiltered” tour sells out every city. He performs at Madison Square Garden in New York, becoming one of the youngest Indian comedians to do so. His debut special “Still Alive” drops on YouTube in March 2026.
STILL ALIVE — THE COMEBACK
2025–26
THE CHESS UNIVERSE
According to grandmasters Viswanathan Anand, Vidit Gujrathi, Anish Giri, and several others — Samay has been genuinely instrumental in making chess mainstream in India.
Comedians on Board
A chess tournament series (2020–2022) where India’s top comics faced off over a chessboard. Samay won the 4th and 5th tournaments himself.
World Champion Guests
Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Judit Polgar, Kramnik, Giri, Radjabov — Samay has hosted them all on his streams, with his trademark comedic chaos.
Botez Invitational Win
Won $4,000 at the $10,000 Botez Bullet Invitational on Chess.com in May 2021 — the only Indian streamer in the field of top international creators.
Chess Super League
Co-organised with ChessBase India and Nodwin Gaming, bringing grandmasters together in a full-scale competitive league format.
SuperPogChamps 2025
Won the SuperPogChamps tournament on Chess.com in December 2025, defeating 12 global influencers. Donated the entire $10,000 prize to Lidè Haiti.
BM Samayraina
Plays as “Blunder Master” on Chess.com with a rapid rating of 1621 (peak 1942). A self-aware handle for someone who once had a grandmaster as his personal trainer.
“Samay has been instrumental in popularising chess in India — his humour reaches audiences that chess never could have reached on its own.”
— GM Viswanathan Anand & GM Vidit Gujrathi (and several other grandmasters)
SHOWS & HIGHLIGHTS
2019
2020
2021
2021
2024
2025
2025
2026
2026
STILL ALIVE
In early 2025, India’s Got Latent — the show that had made Samay one of India’s fastest-growing YouTube channels — came crashing down. A controversial question asked by a panelist on a member-only episode triggered FIRs, public backlash, and an overwhelming wave of legal proceedings across multiple states.
Samay took all the episodes down from YouTube. In a brief post on X, he wrote that everything had become too much to handle — that his only goal had ever been to make people laugh. Then he went quiet for a long time.
What happened next surprised everyone. He didn’t disappear. He worked. On his 28th birthday in October 2025, he issued a heartfelt public apology. He announced a tour. And the tickets sold like nothing India had seen before — 40,000 in a single hour.
The “Still Alive” comedy special dropped on YouTube on April 7, 2026. No defence. No lengthy explanation. Just Samay being Samay — honest, funny, and entirely himself. The internet called it the comeback of 2026.
Feb 2025 — India’s Got Latent shut down after controversy. FIRs registered across states.
Oct 2025 — Public apology on his birthday. Committed to monthly fundraising events for disability causes.
Aug–Oct 2025 — “Still Alive and Unfiltered” India tour. Every city sold out. Multiple shows per day in some venues.
Dec 2025 — Won SuperPogChamps. Donated entire $10,000 prize to Lidè Haiti for girls’ education.
2026 — Performed at Madison Square Garden, New York. One of the youngest Indian comics to do so.
Apr 7, 2026 — “Still Alive” special released on YouTube. Became the most viewed stand-up comedy special on the platform.
JOIN THE SAMAY ARMY
Whether you came for the chess, stayed for the chaos, or just want to watch someone refuse to give up — welcome. This is your corner of the internet.
“From Jammu to Madison Square Garden — sometimes the waste of time leads to the only worthwhile thing you ever do.”
— Samay’s story, in a nutshell