Jose Sanchez
Research expert covering society, economy, & politics for Latin America
Chess - statistics & facts
As one of the oldest recorded board games, it is often said that chess is easy to learn, but hard to master - appealing to both complete beginners and grandmasters alike. That said, an enduring debate persists: Is chess a game or sport? For some, the answer is both. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognizes chess as a sport, although it is not played at the Olympics, as do more than 100 countries worldwide. However, some nations do not share this sentiment. One of these is Great Britain, where, when surveyed in 2023, half of British respondents said that chess should not be recognized as a sport. This lack of recognition can cause issues such as reduced funding, lower participation, and slower development of professional chess. It is therefore unsurprising that nations like the United States, India, and China, which consider chess a sport, have some of the leading chess federations worldwide.
Magnus Carlsen stands out as one of the leading classical chess players globally, boasting the highest FIDE rating as of April 2024. Meanwhile, in the female category, Hou Yifan, a four-time World Chess Champion, held the highest FIDE rating as of the same date, establishing herself as the leading global female classical chess player. Beyond the pursuit of glory, the prospect of earning prize funds also incentivizes elite chess players to win matches. In 2023, reigning World Chess Champion Ding Liren emerged as the chess player with the highest winnings globally, earning over one million U.S. dollars.
Who are the leading chess players worldwide?
At the pinnacle of the chess world stand the revered grandmasters, the most elite of which consistently feature at the top of the chess rankings. One of the most well-respected ranking systems is published by the International Chess Federation, or La Fédération Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) - employing a variation of the Elo rating system to rank chess players worldwide.Magnus Carlsen stands out as one of the leading classical chess players globally, boasting the highest FIDE rating as of April 2024. Meanwhile, in the female category, Hou Yifan, a four-time World Chess Champion, held the highest FIDE rating as of the same date, establishing herself as the leading global female classical chess player. Beyond the pursuit of glory, the prospect of earning prize funds also incentivizes elite chess players to win matches. In 2023, reigning World Chess Champion Ding Liren emerged as the chess player with the highest winnings globally, earning over one million U.S. dollars.
How popular are online chess events?
In the digital age, chess has found a thriving platform online, attracting thousands of viewers to virtual battlegrounds. In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of live-streamed chess tournaments worldwide, particularly on platforms like Twitch. The growing popularity of chess is evident in the rising average global daily chess viewership on Twitch, which reached almost 8,000 viewers per day in 2023. The most viewed live-streamed chess event worldwide was the 2021 FIDE World Championship, which recorded a peak online viewership surpassing half a million, confirming its position as the most popular chess event to date. However, this figure may be usurped in 2024, with the World Chess Championship set to unfold in Toronto, Canada, where defending champion Ding Liren will face off against the winner of the Candidates Tournament, Gukesh D.
