In 2020, while the world was plunging into a time of uncertainty and isolation, one of the oldest board games known to man was amid one of its most popular revivals. With the release of Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit” and popular Twitch streamers challenging each other in front of thousands of viewers, the stars aligned in the first year of the pandemic for chess to experience an important surge in popularity.
At the helm of this charge towards mainstream popularity, was, and still is, Chess.com: The self-titled “largest online chess community with millions of active members representing every country on the planet.” According to their statistics, over 10 million chess games are played every day on their platform.
On Twitch.tv, their channel Chess TV welcomes 13,000 to 20,000 viewers whenever they host an online tournament featuring prominent members of the chess community. In general, chess as a game has an average of 80 channels streaming it consistently every day and has an audience peak on Tuesdays when the most accomplished chess celebrities compete in a weekly tournament called Titled Tuesday.
Chess.com has been able to take full advantage of the streaming and esports environment to keep pushing the 1,500-year-old game to new heights. Chess has become a staple of the Twitch landscape in the past few years, with professional and amateur tournaments racking thousands of viewers and GrandMasters becoming internet personalities through their streams.
Annenberg Media’s Esports & Gaming desk reached out to CEO and co-founder of Chess.com Erik Allebest to get his thoughts on the recent surge in popularity of chess online, its status on Twitch as a respected esport and the future of the discipline.
This interview was conducted via email and some answers were slightly altered for clarity and to avoid promotional messages.
How did you perceive the 2020 chess boom? Can you briefly describe the before and after for your company?
Over the past few years, and specifically since 2020, a series of things have helped generate a major spike in chess popularity.
A lot of that can be attributed to the product we’ve cultivated to attract more beginner players, but there has also been so much positive attention for chess through popular TV shows like “The Queen’s Gambit;” high-profile celebrities, streamers, and influencers sharing their interest in chess; the enormous increase in esports and gaming fandom; and the expansion of mobile gaming to make chess readily available to play anywhere. Overall, the concept of what it means to be a chess player is changing, and as a lifelong chess player myself, I can’t begin to tell you how cool that is to see.
Chess is arguably the most cognitively demanding game there is, and yet, we’re seeing more people playing the game because it’s all about their enjoyment. I think the expectation isn’t that you need to master the game, but instead just try it and have fun with it.
Chess is a piece of human history, and with that, we have a unique opportunity to expand the game even further by bringing fans and competitors closer to the game than ever before, and by making chess more engaging and accessible to everyone, everywhere, all the time.
At Chess.com, we’re excited every day by that challenge and opportunity to elevate the game to even greater heights and make it that much more of a global interest and obsession.
We see a strong emphasis on creating and promoting Twitch content both from your official channels and also from day-to-day users. How important is Twitch to your platform?
Twitch and livestreaming in general has helped us share chess with the world. When it comes to esports and gaming, Twitch is the go-to platform, and I think it has been an integral part of making chess a community, not just an individual game. Chess players are able to learn new skills and be a part of chess culture on Twitch.
Major chess grandmasters like Hikaru Nakamura have seen success on Twitch, furthering their careers and popularity. Hikaru has a following of over one million and is one of the best examples of a chess player who has become a successful content creator.
We see so many important tools and integrations in the works like the new Opera browser, a professional discord server, a lot of online guides, etc. What is your vision for the online chess community in the long term?
People have been playing chess for over 1,500 years, and yet, even today, it is still one of the fastest-growing games in the world.
With the rise in popularity of esports and livestream gaming, along with the advent of social media and more connected communities, chess sits in such a unique arena where it has the ability to pair so many aspects of our culture at once. It really is a game that can bring people together.
At Chess.com, we’re constantly looking at ways that we can grow chess and better connect our community of hundreds of millions of chess players. We plan to continue creating exceptional experiences that span content, events, competition and so much more.
We saw Chess League, many different online tournaments with professional set/casters/ production etc. What was the influence to both host online tournaments and cover real-life chess tournaments on Twitch?
We love chess and want to share it with our audience no matter how or where it’s being played. Streaming allows us to cover chess tournaments no matter what format they’re in. There’s something so exciting about rooting for your favorite player, even from afar, that makes members of the chess community feel more connected and excited about the game, so we will continue to follow chess wherever it goes and share it with our audience.
What is your goal when it comes to developing esports chess? You have already developed a proper league, many professional and non-professional tournaments (Pogchamps), and even tournaments for children now. What is the next step?
Much like the recent emergence of Formula 1′s popularity in the U.S., chess sits atop an incredibly exciting moment where it is gaining significant amounts of new players and fans every day. The key difference, though, is that our community is able to find deeper connections to the game that extend far beyond what traditional sports can offer.
Chess is a game for everyone, and it can be played anywhere, anytime, and against anyone. You set your own pace when it comes to chess. That’s not just about the time it takes to complete a game, but also the rate at which you want to learn or take lessons; follow professionals and their unique journeys; or simply take part in friendly, daily competition.
At Chess.com, we see countless ways that we can continue to increase engagement with the game and bring our community even closer together.