![]() The Play Magnus Group, which was founded by reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen with the aim of expanding the chess community online, raised $30 million when it went public in October 2020 six months later, its value had surged to $152 million. Over the last couple of years, companies as varied as McDonalds, G-Fuel and Hennessy cognac have signed popular players to lucrative contracts. The growth of chess as an esport has meant that players can earn a living from online play and endorsements. The advent of ever-present online and mobile chess platforms has meant that players of all levels find a match any time, anywhere, and they have countless hours and games to watch at their fingertips so they can study the elite grandmasters at work.įor many of them, chess has become real work, in the sense that the many top players and streamers are now able to earn real money from their success. The more you play, the more you learn how to play. The rules of chess are simple it’s the endless possibilities that make the game so endlessly varied and fascinating. Pre-internet, if a person wanted to get better at chess, they could play against friends, join a club and read books about strategy. But chess claiming its spot as a king of the streaming, esporting world didn’t really start until after March 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown drove citizens across the world indoors – and online. ![]() Chess has been a player in that world since the beginning, with signing a deal with the interactive, live streaming service Twitch in 2017. It’s no secret that playing and, crucially, watching online games of all sorts has taken off over the past few years. A recent episode of the Netflix documentary series “ Explained” delved into the explosive growth of chess, narrated by devoted chess fan and actor Rainn Wilson.Ĭhess has been around for centuries, but it’s freshly trending popularity has been fueled by a multi-pronged strategy, requiring several pieces to fall into place – not unlike the alluring “ Queen’s Gambit ,” the novel-turned-Netflix series, which was released October 23, 2020, but still ended up the network’s third most-watched series of the year, beating out “Tiger King.” The website of the world’s largest online chess community,, reported 11.1 million new users from March 2020 to March 2021. That’s perhaps one of the reasons that the 1500-year-old board game has experienced such a massive resurgence the past few years, leaving other pandemic hobbies like bread-baking and gardening in the dirt. ![]() They’re both easy to learn, hard to master, and really, really fun to practice.
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