Introduction
Chess is one of the most popular board games in the world and it has been the board game of choice for millions of people since its introduction to society many centuries ago. Chess has it’s peaks in popularity as well as its troughs but has society ever completely lost their admiration for chess? Chess began as a game that was reserved primarily for royalty and then later in history for those that were wealthy and powerful until eventually it spread like wild fire to the masses. Today there are billions of people that know how to play chess however only a small percentage of this group actually plays chess regularly. It’s estimated that over 600 million people around the world are regular chess players according to statistics sourced from several prominent online chess gaming sites. It’s difficult to accurately measure the exact number of regular chess players around the globe due to the limited amount data that can be accessed from certain pockets of the global population.
Although a large portion of chess players play chess online an even larger portion of chess players do so offline which makes it difficult to measure exactly how popular chess is currently. The popularity of chess has been on the rise since the early 20th century with chess players like Bobby Fischer, Mikhail Tal, Mark Taimanov, Samuel Reshevsky, Brent Larsen, Boris Spassky, Tigran Petrosian, Jose Raul Capablanca, Mikhail Botvinnik, Alexander Alekhine, Viktor Korchnoi, Emmanuel Lasker, Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Nigel Short and many others bringing light to the excitement of chess. There has also been many catalytic events that have taken place since the early 20th century that has had a major impact on the availability and ultimately the popularity of chess. It’s unclear what is waiting around the corner for the global chess community at this juncture in history however it’s very likely that further advances in technology along with the greater use of social media will have an even bigger impact on how chess is viewed by the world at large.
Is Chess Making A Comeback?
Chess may very well be in the process of making a comeback into the spotlight as the number of people that play chess regularly has been steadily increasing over the last decade. Popular chess gaming sites like chess.com is a testament to this fact as they have seen an increase in registered accounts on their platform of over 200%. Over 100 million chess players have registered for an account on chess.com since 2020 and the popularity of chess in 2020 was further accelerated as a result of the global pandemic which saw many individuals who prior to the pandemic may not have had the time, inclination or the awareness of chess take up chess as a form of entertainment. Chess.com receives tens of thousands of new members every day and has also seen an increase in the number of active users on their website which reached 10 million in 2020 and has remained at this level consistently up until the present date. There are currently over 150 million registered accounts on chess.com alone and 4 million active users on Lichess.org which is the second most popular chess gaming site in the world. In addition to the global pandemic in 2020 there has also been other events that have lead to the increase in popularity of chess.
Popular movies like the Queen’s Gambit, the coldest game, Queen of Katwe, life of a King, the chess player, pawn sacrifice, Bobby Fischer against the world as well as many others has also influenced how many people view chess over the last ten years. Chess is often times associated with the class of intellectuals, nerds and introverts which usually deters most people from wanting to have any connection to the game of chess in order to avoid being branded with any of these labels and the negative connotations that come with them. Many of the popular chess movies that have been released over the last ten years have glamourised the life of a chess player and stripped many of the negative connotations that previously surrounded chess. The glamourisation of chess over the years has been one of the major components that’s resulted in different demographics of people taking up an interest in chess and ultimately the overall rise in popularity of chess. Some of other events that have lead to chess increasing in popularity around the world include the advancement of technology which includes the introduction of social media, streaming platforms and the improvement of and the increased accessibility of chess gaming sites like chess.com and Lichess.org.
How Technology Has Influenced The Popularity Of Chess
Technology has been pivotal in allowing greater levels of connectivity for people around the world and bringing more awareness to chess, without technology it’s likely that the popularity of chess around the world would be significantly lower. The internet enables those that would otherwise be unable to play chess due to a lack of access to chess board sets, chess coaches and opponents the ability to connect for free. Online chess gaming platforms have been accessible to the public since the early 90’s with the release of platforms such as Caissa.com in 1995 and the internet chess server in 1992 which was later commercialised and renamed the Internet Chess Club in 1995. Prior to the advent of online chess gaming platforms in the early 90’s chess players had to utilise chess computer programs such Sargon, REBEL and Colossus Chess which were first released in the late 70’s and early 80s so that chess players would be able to play chess on computers. The steady progression of technology beginning in the late 70’s up until the present date has resulted in more and better chess gaming sites and computer programs for chess players as well as an increase in the amount of chess Grandmasters around the world.
Chess gaming sites like chess.com, Lichess.org and chessarena.com as well as many others have essentially everything you need to train and study chess from beginner to advanced level concepts. Even without access to in person coaching and tutoring sessions with chess Grandmasters or titled chess players students of chess all over the world can enrol in chess courses, complete chess puzzles, watch high level chess games and challenge opponents any where in the world from the comfort of their homes. Before the internet chess players would need to have physical access to chess education which limited the number of people that could become a Grandmaster in chess due to a lack of resources. The increase in chess grandmasters around the world perfectly coincides with the availability of technology such as the internet, a great example of this is the fact that one of the youngest chess Grandmasters in history Judit Polgar achieved the Grandmaster title at age 15 in 1991. Before Judit Polgar the youngest ever chess Grandmaster was Bobby Fischer who achieved the Grandmaster title at age 15 in 1958 long before the internet was available to the general public. After the release of the internet in 1993 over 50 teenagers and over 300 adults achieved a grandmaster title in chess.
How Has Streaming And Video Sharing Platforms Influenced The Popularity Of Chess
Streaming and video sharing platforms like Twitch and YouTube have become very popular since 2020 especially for the consumption of chess related content. These sites allow experienced chess players to provide extremely valuable educational and entertaining content for students of chess all over the world at lightning speeds. Some of the most popular chess educators on YouTube and Twitch include Benjamin Finegold, Levy “GothamChess” Rozman, Alexandra and Andrea Botez, Hikaru Nakamura, Robert Ramirez, Igor Smirnov, Stjepan “Hanging Pawns” Tomic, Magnus Carlsen, Anna Cramling, Eric Rosen, Saint Louis Chess Club, Damian Lemos, Solomon Ruddell, Daniel Naroditsky and there any dozens more. Students of chess are able to learn almost everything there is to learn about chess such as chess openings, strategy and tactics, chess psychology, middle and endgame principles, checkmate patterns, pawn formations, skewers and pins, how to navigate challenging positions and much more. Contrary to most people’s assumptions about chess, learning how to play chess online can be very entertaining and a great way to strengthen the mind whilst also having fun regardless of your age. The global pandemic in 2020 was the great catalyst that resulted in chess players of all ages coming together online to learn and play chess on platforms like YouTube and Twitch as well as chess gaming sites like Chess.com, Lichess.org and Chessarena.com.
The biggest chess YouTube and Twitch channels have been able to amass millions of followers and subscribers, a great example of this is the GothamChess YouTube channel which is the largest chess based YouTube channel that currently has over 4 million subscribers, just under 2 billion video views and gains tens of thousands of subscribers on a monthly basis. Hikaru Nakamura’s YouTube Channel GMHikaru is the second largest chess based YouTube channel with over 2 million subscribers, over 600 million video views and gains tens of thousands of subscribers on a monthly basis. Alexandra and Andrea Botez’s YouTube channel BotezLive is the third largest chess based YouTube channel which has 1.4 million subscribers, over 500 million video views and gains tens of thousands of subscribers on a monthly basis. These statistics highlight the growing demand for chess based content around the world and the growing popularity of chess overall. Streaming and video sharing platforms such as YouTube and Twitch have had a massive influence on the overall popularity of chess and are likely to continue to attract new and dormant audiences to the game of chess for years to come. Online chess based content has also been widely accepted among the younger generation of chess players which is also likely to ensure that the current popularity of chess will continue to flourish into the future.
Has Chess Become a Popular Topic On Social Media
Today social media is one of the main sources of communication which gives people from all around the world the ability to connect with each other. The concept of going viral on social media is a reoccurring theme that content creators have aspired to achieve by creating content that has the ability to attract the attention of millions of people. The introduction of short form video content on platforms such as Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube has allowed content creators to do just that. Chess education and information has proved to be a topic that is both entertaining, catchy and trendy and highly likely to go viral on social media when delivered in the right way. Numerous online influencers have utilised social media, short form video content and the power of trending topics to teach chess and reach new and existing audiences with great success. Some may argue that social media has actually had a negative impact on chess and the way new students of chess perceive the game as well as the methods that should be implemented in order to improve. There are those that believe that content creators are leading those that are new to chess down a path towards failure by portraying chess as a game that can be learned without the proper training where flamboyancy takes precedence over tactical precision, strategy and skill.
The majority of the interest chess has received within the last few years is mainly due to content creators ability to discuss chess in an entertaining way and the general public’s genuine interest in chess which has been strengthened by movies such as the Queen’s Gambit. The release of the Queen’s Gambit in 2020 resulted in an increased interest in chess as well as an increase in the sales of chess board sets and chess books. The topic of chess was in a down trend after 2004 where it reached similar peaks in interest during the 2020 global pandemic which was likely due to the world chess championships that was taking place at the time. However unlike the rise in the popularity of chess in 2004 and then the decline which followed shortly after, chess has managed to remain at high levels of interest up until the present date which highlights the sustained and growing demand for chess worldwide. The topic of chess has almost 2 billion video views under the hashtag ChessTok on TikTok, on Instagram content creators have uploaded over 3 million chess related posts and numerous chess based Facebook pages have amassed hundreds of thousands of followers. Chess has certainly become a popular topic to discuss on social media and according to the statistics it’s likely to remain this way for many years to come.
Is Chess Becoming A Part Of Modern Culture And The Role Of The Mainstream Media
The relationship with chess the younger generations are beginning to build will likely result in chess becoming a major component of the culture in the future. Chess is currently making a major comeback in society and the mainstream media has been playing an essential role. Discussing events such as the world chess championships which occurs every two years in the media and the positive impact chess is making in schools around the world is very effective at drawing attention from the masses to chess. A large portion of the global population have already played chess at some point in their life and the amount of regular chess players are numbered in the hundreds of millions. These numbers are likely to increase in the future and are already steadily increasing in the present. One of the effects of the global pandemic and the limited ability to travel freely was the slowing down of society and the freedom to pursue home based entertainment which allowed the older generations to find the time to rekindle their passion for hobbies such as chess that took a back seat in their lives for years in some cases due to a lack of time. The knock on effect of this was the ability for older friends and family members to pass on this love of chess to the younger generations who ultimately embraced chess with open arms.
Unlike the older generations of chess players that mainly played chess on a physical chess board the younger generation having an affinity for technology seem to prefer to play chess online. Chess.com has seen huge spikes in the amount of registered accounts on their platform and have had to deal with their servers crashing on several occasions due to an enormous influx of users on their site. The mainstream media has interviewed popular chess players and chess content creators such as Nigel Short, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Levy Rozman in order to bring to light the mysteries surrounding chess and some of the reasons for chess rising in popularity which has further perpetuated the general public’s interest in chess. Although there are millions of people that have played chess at some point in time in their life there are still millions of adults who are aware of chess but have yet to transition into regular chess players. Discussing chess in the mainstream media will have much more of an impact on the older generations of the population who are more likely to consume traditional forms of media such as the news as opposed to the younger generations that are much more likely to consume alternative forms of media such as social media and podcasts.
Is Chess Becoming A Popular Profession
Becoming a professional chess player can be an extremely lucrative occupation as there are numerous ways chess players can make money such as winning championships, creating chess courses, tutoring and writing chess books. Chess players on video sharing and streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch are able to make thousands of dollars per month by uploading entertaining and informative videos in addition to the traditional ways chess players are able to make a living. The increase in the number of chess Grandmasters and titled chess players around the world due to the ease of access to chess education and the increased popularity of chess is likely to result in more individuals choosing to become professional chess players. The viability of making a decent level of income by pursuing chess as a career path is dependent on several factors which includes your level of experience playing chess and your Elo rating, your ability to learn and improve, the specific path taken to monetise your skills such as tutoring, writing chess books, creating chess courses or creating content for social media and like most businesses your ability to remain consistent and persistent when faced with obstacles and challenges along the way. Higher level chess players will undoubtedly find it much easier to secure a decent level of income as a chess player whereas lower rated chess players will be limited in the avenues that are available to them that can bring in a feasible level of income.
There are both pro’s and con’s to choosing chess as a profession and the increasing popularity of chess worldwide will add even more layers of difficulty to the equation. One of the biggest issues many professional chess players would encounter whilst trying to secure a decent income from chess was the lack of interest most people had for chess which limited the amount of money that could be made in chess however as chess is becoming more popular another issue that professional chess players are likely to encounter is a large increase in competition which could again have a negative impact on the amount of money that can be made. The main source of income professional chess players at the Grandmaster level can expect is in the form of championship game winnings, sponsorships, book sales tutoring and other creative endeavours. Chess players below the Grandmaster level usually have to be much more creative as championship game winnings and sponsorship deals may be difficult to come by even though they are the most lucrative sources of income as a chess player. The internet has made it much easier for chess players without exceptionally high levels of experience in chess to make a living by utilising platforms such as YouTube and Twitch to create content, self-publishing books on Amazon, creating courses using platforms such as Udemy, Thinkific and Teachable or creating content for podcasts and blog sites.
The Relationship Between Chess And Education
Chess is becoming much more popular in schools around the world and thousands of students are choosing to play chess during their breaks and after school. Several countries around the world have introduced the study of chess as part of their school curriculum which includes countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Mexico, Russia, Hungary, Georgia, Spain, India, China, Mongolia, Cuba, America and Norway. Some of the reasons for these countries including chess as a subject in their school curriculum includes to help students foster strategic thinking, to improve problem solving skills, to enhance memory, to develop focus and concentration skills and to enhance students cognitive development. It’s well known that playing chess has the ability to strengthen numerous cognitive functions in the brain and can be extremely advantageous when undertaking tasks that require strategy and tactics such as business and athletics. There is a strong relationship between chess and education and chess players are often associated with the class of intellectuals and deep thinkers. Introducing chess as part of school curriculums will have immense short and long term benefits for the countries that commit to developing their average citizens into regular chess players especially during the developmental ages in life. For instance, thinking like a chess player when working as a teacher will enable you to find innovative and creative ways to solve various problems in schools such as making lessons easier for students to comprehend or by simply having an increased level of patience.
Thinking like a chess player as a politician will enhance your ability to find creative solutions for issues within government legislation and policies, manage any allocated finances strategically in accordance with a well thought out budget and aid in the process of drafting treaties with other international entities. These are just a few examples of how cultivating the mental habits of a chess player from a young age can increase your effectiveness in various professions as an adult. Although playing chess can help individuals develop the fundamental skills that’s needed to succeed in professional settings, one of the main benefits of playing chess lies in it’s ability to foster the social skills that’s essential for tasks such as networking, building and maintaining personal relationships and self-accountability. Education is crucial for individuals to cultivate the practical skills that a society needs to function optimally as there will always be a need for scientists, mathematicians, tradesmen, entrepreneurs and doctors etcetera however social literacy is just as important or even more important than having the ability to perform well academically and professionally. Incorporating the study of chess as a part of education will allow students to benefit in all areas of life especially professionally and socially which will have positive long lasting effects reaching well into adulthood.
How The Increasing Popularity Of Chess Will Affect Society’s Mental Health
Chess rising in popularity will have significant positive benefits in the mental health of people around the world. There are numerous scientific studies on the impact playing chess can have in decreasing the likelihood of developing numerous neuro-degenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and ADHD as well as reversing the symptoms for people that have already developed such illnesses. The statement “prevention is better than the cure” is especially true in these cases as playing chess regularly starting from a young age and into adulthood will significantly decrease the likelihood of developing a range of neuro-degenerative diseases. Tens of millions of people around the world suffer from neuro-degenerative diseases and poor mental health which could have been prevented and in some cases treated by engaging in games like chess. Aside from being able to help prevent various mental health disorders chess is great for strengthening the minds of those who play it regularly, for example chess players tend to benefit from improved cognitive functions, improved academic performance, lower levels of stress, better social interactions, an increase in mindfulness, the ability to focus and concentrate for longer periods of time, the ability to draw from and utilise a large repertoire of life skills such as patience, perseverance, discipline and strategic thinking, superior community building skills, the opportunity to interact with different cultures and exchange wisdom and insights and much more.
Chess has the ability to improve an individuals decision making skills which will have a positive ripple effect in society. A society where chess is heavily promoted and played regularly by the average individual is likely to have low to non-existent levels of injustice, poverty, corruption, war, political instability, environmental degradation and social division. One of the main benefits of playing chess is that it teaches the importance of long term thinking, accountability and how to assess the consequences of each and every decision you make. Many of the issues that plague our society today stems from an inability to properly assess the risks associated with the decisions both individuals and communities choose to make. The societal issues that are partially caused by poor decision making creates a society that will ultimately suffer from poor mental health which then leads to a perpetual cycle of negativity that can only be broken with a radical change in how people think as individuals and as a collective. Countries where chess is being introduced to children in schools such as Armenia, Russia, Georgia, Mexico, Spain, China and Hungary will be of great interest to anyone studying the positive impact chess can have on a society going into the future as these countries are very likely to reveal just how beneficial the simple and underrated act of playing chess can be.
Conclusion
Chess is undoubtedly more popular today than it has ever been, more and more people are starting to play chess and the trend shows little signs of slowing down. Chess gaming sites like Lichess.org and chess.com have experienced an unprecedented increase in the amount of users that have registered on their platforms and chess content creators on sites like YouTube and Twitch have amassed millions of subscribers and followers which further highlights the growing interest in chess worldwide. Social media sites like Instagram and TikTok has also played a crucial role in the promotion of chess and is one of the main sources of chess related content for chess enthusiasts. The popularity of chess surged in 2020 during the global pandemic and the general public’s interest in chess was fuelled by the release of the popular Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit. Sales of chess board sets and books skyrocketed in 2020 reaching levels that haven’t been seen in years.
The global pandemic in 2020 was the catalyst that triggered many old time chess players to reignite their passion for chess and also caused large numbers of first time chess players to take up chess as a hobby. Chess has become especially popular among the younger generation and is likely to result in chess becoming a part of the fabric of society in the future. Technology has played an important role in the promotion and popularity of chess as it has allowed chess enthusiasts to gain access to the game without having to own a physical chess board and learn the game without having to partake in in person chess lessons. There has been a significant increase in the amount of chess grandmasters since the internet was made available to the public in the 1990s which may result in chess becoming a popular profession in the future. Numerous countries around the world have introduced chess in their schools as a field of study which will almost certainly have significant positive implications for society as a whole especially if the benefits of this strategy becomes apparent and other countries adopt this way of thinking.
