Checkmate! How Chess Became the Fastest-Growing Sport on Youtube

The Incredible Economics of Chess

This might be the most interesting Instagram ad ever. But not because of what you think. It’s not Messi and Ronaldo. It’s also not the secret hidden message that the board position is from a real game. The most interesting detail might be the fact that they are playing chess at all—and everybody instantly knows what it represents. It’s the game of the kings.

Let us explain. While you might think that chess is this dusty, boring board game that old people play at the park, the following will surprise you. Chess is the fastest-growing sport on YouTube. One month after the iconic post that had Ronaldo and Messi playing chess, a guy alone had more than 200 million views on YouTube by talking about chess. More than the NBA or FIFA.

While everyone else is trying to go faster, flashier, and more spectacular in the fight for fans, how is it possible that a board game is outsmarting the biggest players in sport? The more we looked into it, and after talking to the expert himself, the more we realized what an incredible case study the rise of chess is. “Yeah…the numbers speak for themselves.”

Here’s how one of the oldest games in history is taking over the internet, creating new superstars and billion-dollar companies. Welcome to the incredible economics of chess.

The History – Maniacs, Murder and Marketing

Chess is arguably the most famous game in the world. More than 600 million people play it regularly. More than football or Minecraft. Chess has captivated minds for centuries in their quest for intellectual prowess and strategic domination. It originated over 1,500 years ago, born out of the Indian game known as chaturanga. Over the following centuries, chess spread throughout Asia and Europe, evolving and adapting until it reached its familiar form.

So chess has witnessed over a millennium of human struggles. During the Black Death epidemic, historical literature suggests that it provided solace and entertainment for those quarantined during that dark period. At other times, chess was said to be more than just the witness but the cause of human struggles.

The game faced accusations of being a catalyst for madness and even tragedy. Tales of players driven to insanity, suicide, and murder were linked to chess. Like the chilling story of the chessboard killer, a Soviet murderer obsessed with the game whose aim was to kill sixty-four people, the number of squares on a chessboard.

Despite these dark associations, chess has also had its moments of glory. One such moment came in 1972 during the World Chess Championship. The duel between Bobby Fischer, from the US, and Boris Spassky, from the Soviet Union, would change the game’s fate forever. The Cold War fueled the intense rivalry, and the world stopped and watched as the clash of their strategic minds unfolded. Almost overnight, chess exploded in popularity worldwide.

But the surge of interest during that time can be attributed not only to the players but also to the media. The Shelby Lyman show, hosted by a chess master to cover the match, unexpectedly became a sensation. It filled the airtime during the slow summer months and resonated with viewers, fueling the chess craze. However, as quickly as it arose, this wave of enthusiasm waned when Bobby Fischer retired from the game.

Until 2020. Seven hundred years after the Black Death, chess rose again. Partly because of another pandemic—but as we’ll soon explain, the true cause lies somewhere else.

The Boom – Netflix, YouTube & More

Take a look at the Google Trends chart for “chess.” We are not talking about just one boom but several. The first small one occurred with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. People suddenly had nothing to do, and chess filled the void.

However, the first big boom came with the release of the Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit.” It was the third most-watched series of 2020, captivating millions of households around the world—and getting people interested in chess. Sales of chess sets skyrocketed, with an increase of more than 1000% (1100%) in November and December.

Even more important than Netflix for the next wave was YouTube—to be precise, channels like GothamChess, Hikaru, or BotezLive. Besides these full-time chess creators, many big YouTubers and famous figures started playing chess.

When we spoke to GothamChess, he emphasized one particular form that made a difference: “We had specifically short-form content, so TikTok, YouTube shorts gaining hundreds of millions of views in a span of about 45 days and it’s hitting different demographics, it’s hitting different age groups, different people all over the world.”

It can be argued that no other sport benefited as much from the rise of short-form content as chess. Mix that with a full-blown cheating scandal featuring hilarious interviews and butt-plug theories…and you understand why chess peaked at the beginning of the year and ended up in pretty much every mainstream medium.

The Secret Behind the Rise

But besides Netflix, YouTube, and butt plugs, what makes chess itself so interesting to watch online? We can break it down into three reasons.

The first is best understood by opening Word or any other text editor. Did you ever notice you can type chess symbols? They are defined in the Unicode. So instead of using images, you can represent chess pieces with characters in a text editor and don’t need a graphic program. This is why some of the first computer games ever were chess games. They are easy to program without the need for design. As a result, chess has transitioned into esports, capturing the attention of a digital-savvy audience.

Secondly, chess is a game that is easy to learn but hard to master, making it highly accessible. “It’s the thing that a 40-year-old can enjoy with a 10-year-old and they’re on the same playing field. They’re the same strength at it. There’s no physical disparity at all; there’s no body motor skills involved. It’s just the same thing, so you could be as good as your parent. It’s really incredible; it’s ageless, it’s timeless, it’s borderless, and it’s a very low-budget game.” This is why millions of people were eager to learn and hungry for engaging content. And YouTube is THE platform for learning.

Lastly, chess has a unique quality. Unlike many other sports or games, it doesn’t necessarily become more enjoyable to watch as skill levels increase. “You would not walk to your local park and watch two random people play tennis against each other and be bad; it would look embarrassing. Like, ‘Oh my God, they’re so tired,’ or football. You wouldn’t watch people just be bad, but in chess, it’s hilarious watching two 400s play chess.”

Now that we’ve looked at the bigger picture, let’s deep dive by looking at two concrete examples: a player and a company.

The Player – Magnus Inc

In the world of chess, there is one name that stands above the rest: Magnus Carlsen. Widely regarded as the best chess player of all time, Carlsen has played a pivotal role in transforming the image of chess itself. His influence extends beyond the chessboard and into the world of fashion and popular media. He has attracted sponsorships from brands like G-Star, Mastercard, and Puma. He even has his own signature sneaker.

That ability to bridge the gap between chess and mainstream culture has brought new attention to the game—and money to his bank account. Back in the day, when Carlsen was just a chess prodigy at 16, his parents set up a company to manage his winnings. Their dream was simple: they wanted Magnus to be financially independent by age 25, in case he wanted to explore other ventures. Well, let’s just say Magnus surpassed that goal like a grandmaster.

In 2013, the same year Carlsen snagged the world champion title, he launched “Play Magnus.” One of the unique features of the app is that it lets you test your skills against Carlsen himself at different levels and ages, based on his vast database of recorded games. Imagine you could train your football skills by playing against simulations of Mbappe and Haaland…but back to chess.

The Company

In a fascinating turn of events, Play Magnus was acquired in August 2022, leading us to one of the most intriguing companies in the business of sports today: Chess.com. When starting a business, one of the first things you need is a domain. You can get that super cheap, for 12 euros a year. You can also spend 55,000 to buy an existing domain from a competitor, but that would be stupid if you can get one for way less, right? Well, it depends.

This was one of the first things the founders of Chess.com did in 2005. They acquired the domain name Chess.com for $55,000 from another chess startup that went bankrupt. It turned out to be the best business decision they ever made. From the very beginning, they had an unfair advantage. Whenever people were typing chess in the browser bar and hit enter, it would put the .com on there and take them to Chess.com. Every day, they were getting thousands of free visits. Signing up people at essentially no cost.

Today, Chess.com has a user base of over 100 million players and is witnessing 10 million games on its platform each day. Unlike the more traditional International Chess Federation, Chess.com has become the go-to hub for the chess community. Their strategy is to make the game more entertaining by focusing on rapid-style tournaments, introducing fun bots, and creating content.

For example, they joined forces with Netflix to recreate the gameplay of Beth Harmon, the protagonist of The Queen’s Gambit. Chess.com simulated Harmon’s chess mastery at different points in the series, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.

Thanks to staggering prize money, the Chess.com events also attract the best talent. It is difficult to put a number on the business of chess, but considering the fact that Chess.com is a private company and not backed by any VC, their rise to the top of the sport is impressive.

The Power of Content

Five years ago, if you had to place a bet on which sport would become the next big thing on YouTube, not many would have picked chess. It shows the incredible power of the right content in the right place. Who would have thought that the biggest star in this picture turns out to be the chessboard?