Chess is more popular than ever – why?

Chess is experiencing an incredible boom right now. It’s more popular than ever, not only as a physical board game, but virtually. On the streaming platform Twitch, thousands of users watch others play chess every month. On YouTube, chess channels like Gotham Chess inspire millions of followers with their videos. And the biggest online chess platform in the world, Chess.com, reports new user records.

But where did this chess boom come from? Here are five reasons that play an important role in the increasing popularity of chess.

1. The foundation: boredom during the pandemic

During the initial Covid lockdowns, many people don’t know what to do with themselves. Confined to their own four walls, many take refuge in escapist media consumption. Others, however, look for new things to do at home. Good old chess meets all the requirements for a perfect lockdown hobby.

It’s easy to learn, but difficult to master. The barriers to entry are low – all you need is a chessboard and pieces. If you play virtually, the hurdle is even lower. And if you play online, you can even socialise during lockdown, at least virtually.

With Covid, a foundation for the chess boom is laid. But the Game of Kings doesn’t gain its first surge in popularity until Netflix drops a record-breaking show in October of the same year.

2. The hype: The Queen’s Gambit

With the release of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, interest in the board game truly explodes. The miniseries centred on fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon breaks all Netflix records in October 2020 and becomes the most watched Netflix miniseries of all time within four weeks.

Through the series, even more people get a taste for chess. Worldwide Google searches for the keyword «chess» double overnight. Search queries for «how to play chess» reach a new high. The whole world has chess fever.

3. Sustainable growth: online chess platforms

Searches triggered by the «The Queen’s Gambit» hype mainly lead to online chess platforms. Numerous websites and apps offer not only the opportunity to compete against other players, but the possibility to easily learn the game at the same time.

Chess.com plays an important role in this, characterised by a particularly simple user experience. Besides online matches and teaching, the website scores with crisp chess puzzles and its own social network with forums, clubs and blogs.

About a month after the release of The Queen’s Gambit, the user base on the website has quintupled.

Even after the pandemic, success doesn’t flatten out – on the contrary. In December 2022, the platform reports a remarkable record: over 100 million users. In the last two years, the site has gained more new members than in the first 13 years of its existence.

Today, Chess.com isn’t just a catch-all for the increasing search volume and interest in chess. The platform itself has become a viral multiplier, generating new chess fans. It’s so popular that their servers are running into problems. In January 2023, the platform regularly goes down – no wonder, with over 31 million (!) games played per day.

4. Virality: a tidal wave of chess content on social media

Another important factor contributing to the sustainable growth of chess is content on video platforms. During the pandemic, more and more Twitch streamers and content creators take a liking to the board game. They establish chess in a gaming- and e-sports-savvy target group.

Particularly noteworthy are events like Pogchamps, where Twitch stars, all complete beginners, compete against each other in a tournament. Organised by Chess.com, the event is a resounding success, attracting stars from other fields in later editions – including rapper Logic and actor Rainn Wilson, known from The Office.

Pogchamps is followed by other chess events that attract an audience of millions. Most recently, Ludwig hosted an elaborately produced chess/boxing tournament involving various YouTube and Twitch stars:

In addition to such events, the number of entertaining and educational chess clips has also exploded since the pandemic. On YouTube, Instagram and TikTok especially, chess content creators generate millions of views. Proven greats from the chess world also take part. Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura is one of the biggest chess content creators around, with 2 million YouTube subscribers and 1.8 million Twitch followers.

Other chess content greats include the Botez sisters, Chessbrah, Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky and GothamChess. The latter has been experiencing exponential growth in views and new subscriptions for a few months now – and he’s not alone.

Chess content on socials, along with platforms like Chess.com, plays an important role in recruiting new players. The more educational content there is, the easier it is for newcomers to get started in the chess world. Chess platforms also benefit from this – they get more users. And the more new players there are, the more popular chess content becomes. There’s currently no end in sight to this spiral of virality.

5. The cherry on top: media coverage and advertisers

Away from chess on social media, the board game is also receiving more and more attention in traditional media. For example, in September 2022, the fraud scandal surrounding Hans Nieman triggers weeks of mainstream media coverage.

As a reminder, the best chess player in the world, grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, loses to the significantly lower-ranked Niemann at a tournament. Carlsen then accuses Niemann of fraud, prompting numerous articles, videos and conspiracy theories.

Advertisers are also jumping on the chess hype train. The Louis Vuitton campaign «Victory is a State of Mind» shows football legends Messi and Ronaldo in front of a chessboard. The photo is one of the most successful social media posts of the last year.

In short, chess has definitely arrived in the mainstream. Numerous content creators and chess portals such as Chess.com profit from news peaks and viral social media posts. There’s no end in sight to the chess madness.

The chess hype has fully taken us over too. At the Digitec Playground Cup Vol. 10, chess will be played for the first time. Registrations for the tournament are now open. You can play along or follow the tournament live on Twitch and YouTube.