Checkered Flags to Checkmates: Leclerc's Viral Moment And Chess's Pop Power
Frankly, chess has been rebranded - a place where cool meet the cerebral, thanks to Magnus Carlsen
When the Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton sat down to play e-chess at the F1 75 live event in London this week, the internet took note. A different strategic play but not remotely unusual, the unofficial battle of chess saw the seven times F1 World Champion take lead. From the surge of online chess during the pandemic to Twitch streams to meme culture, chess has made a remarkable leap from niche sport to a cultural juggernaut.
If you are a regular user of Reddit and a chess enthusiast, you might know of the hilarious memes blending intellect and irony. Whether it's the humourous Magnus Carlsen memes, the Horsey ruins chess memes, or the widespread 'stockfish' jokes (referencing the strong chess engine), memes are blending with the brainy, often attracting everyone from grandmasters to casual strollers. Even a recent Indian advertisement starring D. Gukesh and Vishwanathan Anand highlight the playful banter of World Champions. Frankly, chess has been rebranded - a place where cool meet the cerebral.
The Chess Drama, Magnus Carlsen, And The Internet Virality
While the game already had inroads online with platforms like Chess.com and Lichess reporting massive uptick in new users, Twitch seems to be bringing a newer audience to the game. With grandmasters like Hikaru Nakamura collaborating with non-chess streamers, the competitive sport has broken away from traditional mold of chess viewership.
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Today, chess tournaments are binge-worthy and an interactive source of entertainment resonating with Gen Z and millennials. So, this week's unofficial battle between the Ferrari duo is a small yet reflective moment signaling a nod to an old-game with new-world relevance.
Moreover, the allure of chess today also stems from the drama among chess players at competitions. In September 2022, for instance, Magnus Carlsen shocked the world of chess when he quit the tournament mid-season after losing to Niemann. Next?
A ton of headlines and even more speculations around Niemann cheating started surfacing on the internet. That meant, even if you didn't know how to play chess...even if you were living under a rock, the news was hard to avoid.
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From content creators to fans of the game, all were keen to know what went down, somehow leading to the online chess website gaining a large number of new members. (Sidenote: Netflix is coming out with a film on the grandmaster cheating scandal this year, are you excited?)
So, it was only expected that content creators from TikTok, Instagram and YouTube including comedian Samay Raina, Live Speedy, Gauri Chess, GothamChess, and Chess Base India started creating content. Besides, different formats of chess like superspeed chess, chess boxing, added to the buzz.
Oh wait! remember the recent controversy around Carlsen's jeans at FIDE World Rapid? Well, that pair of denim jeans is getting auctioned soon! Frankly, even without the grandmaster scandal and the dress code controversy, Carlsen's freshness and cheeky vibe is enough to have people glued to the screen. Not a joke to be a five-time chess world champion, after all!
So, although, Leclerc's chess cameo is just a break from his highspeed career in Formula 1 racing, perhaps, more such pop culture moments around the checkered board are coming this year and so on.