Chess is so loved because compared to other board games the outcome is more dependent on skill rather than luck. Then there are factors like easy game rules, availability of playing it online anytime, and the fact that chess is shown as a sign of intelligence in movies and news making it a very adored game.
Also, chess appeals the human psyche because it’s logical, aesthetic, adventurous, and requires courage to make certain moves. All these things lead to an adrenaline rush that humans love experiencing.
It’s a game played and enjoyed at every level. Whether you are a grandmaster or a below 800-rated player, there is entertainment in chess for everyone.
When two players play chess, there is a mix of concentration, tension, and happiness on their faces. A powerful focus. Even the least skill level players can feel it.
But these are not the only reasons people love the game. The Queens Gambit series was also a big factor leading to love for chess among general population.
5 Top Reasons Why Chess Is So Loved:
1. Availability
To enjoy chess you do not need a lot of prerequisites. With the Internet getting common, chess is more accessible these days.
You can log in to any chess app and play the game with some unknown person from across the globe. This luxury was not available to people in the past.
The biggest benefit of online chess is that you get matched to play chess with players of your level. And as you improve or worsen your rating, the chess app algorithm will keep matching you with the players of your level.
You can also play online chess with friends and family plus there are tournaments every hour on these sites.
With so many options and availability, and the excitement chess creates, it surely is a lovely game to play.
2. Ease of Play
Chess is easy to learn. It hardly requires 5 minutes to get familiar with rules and moves. That’s how simple the game is but at the same time, it takes a lifetime to learn the mysteries of chess.
The game is intellectually challenging!
The ease part is that you can be sitting anywhere and gaming online. No need to meet your opponent in-person!
Unlike some other traditional sports, chess is at your fingertips and there is a ton of content available online to learn if you have the passion for the game.
Check out the most famous chess content creators on Youtube here.
Chess is also easy to play because there isn’t much physical movement involved. Your mind is in action and physically you can limit yourself to as little as moving the thumb on a mobile screen. Which can also make chess a very unhealthy sport.
Pro Tip: If you want to maintain the ease of play plus make the game healthy for yourself, do 5 pushups on every game lost, and don’t play the next game until those 5 pushups are done. I bet this will be a great gift of chess to your physical health.
3. The Queen’s Gambit Series
It was a TV series of 2020 sparking people’s interest in chess. The story revolves around a girl who love playing chess and ultimately becomes a chess champion in the end.
In that series, Netflix represented chess in a way that made the sport desirable to play. They very beautifully filmed the environment of a world chess championship match and all the other local and international tournaments.
The story revolves around an orphan girl with problems growing up. She love playing chess!
With self learning, she becomes stronger and stronger player each day and goes on and beats every top chess grandmaster in USA and becomes popular worldwide.
She wins the USA Championship in open category, followed by a win in the candidates tournament and ultimately becomes a chess world champion.
That show was also an encouragement for women to start playing chess because it will take them away from mental issues and create their identity that yes you can fight in a brain game in a sport dominated by men.
Take example from the real world, if Judit Polgar can make it to the top 10 players list in the world, then so can other women too.
With the success of Queen’s Gambit series, inquiries to buy a chessboard online became more common and all in all, it boomed the popularity of the game.
And since the series came in the middle of coronavirus pandemic, majority of the world was confined to their homes leading to enormous sales of chess equipment.
The story of girl who becomes a chess world champion ended up so popular that in the first three weeks of Queen’s Gambit debut, sales of chess sets went up by 87 percent, while sales of chess books went up 603 percent!
Is Queen’s Gambit successful?
Yes, it was a top hit. According to Netflix, The Queen’s Gambit series was watched in 62 million households in it’s trending days, making it a forever popular reference among chess commentators and lovers.
It was a bigger hit than any of the popular chess movies of the past. Even bigger than movies like “Pawn Sacrifice” made on the life of US and World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer and his famous games against Boris Spassky.
4. Chess is a Good Time Killer
Some say chess is a mentally stressful sport. But I know it from personal experience that chess is actually a game of self-improvement. It’s one more way to fulfill happiness!
Once you are past the first three weeks of playing chess, you are bound to fall in love with this great game.
With engine analysis, you will always learn something new.
If you are not in a good mood or tired of work, playing a game of chess can limit your frustration or even remove it totally.
It’s a refreshment sport and not a mentally torturing one.
If you are looking for enjoyment, don’t want to go out, and don’t want to scroll through the Internet or watch Netflix, then chess can be a good alternative.
One good sequence, one strong attack crushing your opponent, or one 90% plus accuracy game, and you will forget all your worries and stresses of life. It will ignite you with happiness.
And even if you lose, it will still be a win win situation because of resurgence from a bad period.
5. The Pandemic
Chess has always been loved and enjoyed playing. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, it took a different level of adornment.
The whole dynamics of popularity improved when different internet influencers started presenting the sport in their own styles attracting new chess audiences.
Also since there are health benefits of playing chess, the game can’t be ignored over other board games especially if you want to absolutely remove the chances of being lucky to win a game. It’s a game of skill. Plus a very healthy activity if someone is limited to indoors.
