The grand, historic but occasionally lampooned sport of chess believes its moment has come, after lockdown encouraged a rapid rise in the number of online players worldwide. Chess misses the Soviet Union and its capacity for intrigue, even if no one else does. In 2019, Ilya Merenzon, World Chess’s chief executive, floated the notion of launching chess clubs in major cities that would sell cocktails and cater to “hipster” chess lovers. Chess evangelists always claim there are 600 million active players worldwide, but the assertion is unproven. That number may know the moves, may even have played as children, but do they play now?

Source: The Guardian November 13, 2021 08:34 UTC