The Resurgence of Chess

Historical Roots to Digital Phenomenon

Chess is a historical game with the history of the version popular today dating back to the 16th century and early iterations originating from the Indian game Chaturanga in the 600s AD. Despite this in the past decade Chess has had an astounding boom in popularity with the online platform chess.com boasting 200 million members. One of the reasons Chess is so popular can be credited to the fact that it is extremely simple to pick up but impossible to master. By the time both players have played 5 moves there are 5 million possible positions. However, this complexity has in the past pigeonholed Chess into having an image as a strategy game only for intellectuals. This modern resurgence of the game is different with many new players  being part of a shared demographic with video games. Because of websites such as Chess.com, chess has become something that is always at people’s fingertips as a video game whether it be on a phone or on a computer instead of paying attention in class.

How the Lockdown Fueled the Boom

There was a big correlation between the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown and the rise of online chess that is no coincidence. With everyone locked at home and searching for pastimes and new hobbies, online Chess was the perfect game. Players of Chess are assigned a rating and this rating gives a sense of progression that many can find addictive to try and raise. This meant that not only did the players of the game rise in lockdown but also the viewership of Chess content. Many Chess youtubers and streamers became stars as they gained millions of views and subscribers with both educational and personality based content. Even the best players in the world were drawn to broadcast their games and the world number 2 player Hikaru Nakamura claimed that he makes much more money as a content creator than as a Chess Grandmaster. 

But the biggest catalyst for the boom in popularity was the release of Netflix’s hit show “The Queens Gambit”. 62 million people watched the show within 28 days of its release and the story inspired many to try picking up the game for themselves. 

Social Revival and Chess as an e-sport

Even with the end of lockdown Chess didn’t drop in popularity and even kept growing as people discovered how great chess could be as a social game. People were excited to try playing against other people over the board and as a result Chess clubs around the world saw many new people becoming members. Chess has also kept its viewership as Chess.com has partnered with the biggest streaming service “Twitch” and many people tune in to Chess as an e-sport to see the best Grandmaster players compete in different tournaments. Other streamers such as “Gotham Chess” and the “Botez Sisters” although they are still high level players, continue to create more “fun-based” content that creates community for players of the game. Chess is a game that many describe as being filled with metaphors for life. Today, it fills both the roles of an educational strategy game and a competitive fun e-sport.

Written by Sean Furniss