Outside the Smithsonian Museum of Art last summer, there was a large group of teenagers, just a few steps into the entrance staring at something very intently. If you hadn’t been told what was happening, you’d think it was a concert of some kind. But as I hovered around the huddle I saw the familiar 64 squares of a chess board sitting in between two child players.
Up until a few years ago, nobody would have stopped to watch – you’d be hard pressed to find young people interested in the game of chess. Now, with the popularity of Twitch livestreams and TikTok takedowns, it seems like everyone’s discussing common openings and mating patterns online; some, like the teens in DC, even carrying boards with them in the streets for impromptu matches. The chess world has experienced a shift, and young people are leading the charge. Of course, like many other Gen Z movements, the internet is the main character, with young people becoming the face of the game on TikTok and other streaming platforms.
While chess masters started streaming games back in 2015, many new players and stans hopped on the wagon after Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit in 2020. In the months that followed, more than 12.2 million players joined online playing sites like Chess.com and the sale of chess boards increased by 400%. As it turns out, Beth Harmon was the relatable chess character we needed: a fresh face in a game usually associated with old, white men. The show resonated heavily with young players, who are now connecting via Chess Twitch streams, which also aid in combatting the stuffy elitism often associated with the game.
Levy Rozman who runs GothamChess (a popular online chess YouTube account) showcases a series called Guess the ELO, in which he coaches and periodically roasts players that submit games, from “Subscriber Punched Me in the Head” to “29 minutes of Pain”. He also creates game recaps of big tournaments in the industry, like the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), Chess Olympiad and the World Chess Championship, making him the go-to for chess updates.
Then there’s 21 and 27-year-old sisters Andrea and Alexandra Botez, whose Twitch chess streams went viral for aptly merging the sport with lifestyle and entertainment content. Their YouTube page, BotezLive, features them playing competitively and recreationally, and humorously trash-talking each other. While roasting players in professional chess would be foul play, recreational chess is fair game. Andrea recently posted a photo on Twitter posing with a chessboard and a red solo cup. The caption read, “Not to brag or anything but last time I went to a party I mated a guy in 9 seconds.” It has nearly 50k likes.
If you’re on TikTok, chances are you’re familiar with Anna Cramling, the 21-year-old player holding a women’s FIDE master title. The chess celebrity streamer has released videos playing chess hustlers in cities like Paris and New York, and has over 50 million views on her YouTube channel. “I think there’s just a lot more opportunity for people new to the game to participate in the community now,” she says. “It can be kind of intimidating, seem stuffy or too intellectual, but I’m here to show people how welcoming it can be.”
When asked how younger generations are contributing to the sport’s newfound popularity, Anna says, “There’s a whole new generation of chess players streaming on Twitch or making videos on YouTube, so it really is the young people online who are reinvigorating the sport… Of course, the Queen’s Gambit got a lot of people in my generation interested, but chess has been around for a long time.”
Anna’s content is spread across YouTube, TikTok and Twitch, but the latter was integral to building her audience. “Because Twitch started as a platform popular with strategy gamers, there’s been a lot of natural audience crossover and community interaction,” she says, adding that there are more and more women players joining the platform. “The chess community is becoming more inclusive, albeit with a long way to go. I think that having female chess content creators is great, and hopefully what we do on the scene inspires more young girls to play chess.”