Basically chess is a respected game because unlike other board games the outcome is more dependent on skill rather than luck.
This one detail appeals the human psyche. Chess is logical, aesthetic, adventurous, and requires courage to make certain moves. All these things combine and make it a very respectable sport.
Not to forget that chess is shown as a sign of intelligence in movies and news. It has a royal background, long history, and people consider chess skills a sign of intelligence.
Whether a player is a grandmaster or a below 800-rated player, there is a sense of respect for game at every level.
4 Reasons Why Chess Is A Respected Game:
1. Easy to learn but hard to master
Chess is easy to learn. It hardly requires 5 minutes to get familiar with game rules and moving pieces. But it takes a lifetime to learn the mysteries of the game.
Mastering chess is so intellectually challenging that even super computers can’t solve the whole game.
2. 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!
How many people have watched the Queen’s Gambit?
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.
3. Chess is a Good Time Pass
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 fill you with happiness.
And even if you lose, it will still be a win win situation because of resurgence from a bad period.
4. The Pandemic
Chess has always been respected and enjoyed at all levels. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, it took a different level of adornment.
The whole dynamics of the game changed 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.
