The classic game chess has gained increasing popularity in recent years, even online. However, for a well-known chess site, the hype currently seems to be somewhat too much.
Those who have joined the chess hype in recent years may have come across the site chess.com. Here, chess enthusiasts can play, train, and interact with each other (via chess.com).
But currently, it seems that far too many people are doing just that.
According to a blog post from the site, on December 31, 2022, it recorded 7 million logged-in members in a single day for the first time in its history. Not even a month later, on January 20, that number had already reached ten million members in one day.
The numbers are reportedly increasing significantly. On only 5 days in January 2023, they did not set a new visitor record, and traffic to the site has nearly doubled since early December.
The mobile app of chess.com is also currently doing well. In the German iOS store, for example, it is ranked 1 in the free games, and in other countries, it holds high rankings as well. On January 20, 2023 alone, the site recorded 31,700,000 games played.
However, these actually strong numbers are mainly reflected in popular times but also in the form of server problems. This is something we see from new MMOs, for example – now chess has also been affected.
Why so many people are playing chess right now
Here’s what chess.com considers the reasons: In the post, the team behind the site explains what might be behind the hype.
In 2020 and 2021, things like lockdowns, but also the Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit” or the tournament series “Pogchamps” on Twitch created a real boom. Various successful creators participated, from Ludwig to Pokimane.
Today, many different factors are contributing to a revival of this boom. Chess.com cites the “most popular social media post of 2022,” in which footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi were shown with a chessboard.
A major cheating controversy in 2021 also drew many eyes to the chess world, and many celebrities are openly expressing their love for chess.
Furthermore, creators, streamers, coaches, and the general chess community are also cited as possible reasons, as well as the likelihood that many people received chess boards and similar items as gifts around the holidays – and are now developing a passion for it.
This is how the site wants to tackle the problems: Currently, too much data is being sent across the site. This includes games (the site counts an average of 16,000 chess moves per minute), but also things like interactions, chats, comments, account creation, and more.
Unfortunately, one cannot simply “push a button,” as the statement says, to improve the problems. A solution is being worked on, such as through better hardware and more powerful servers.
In addition, they want to improve various systems, but all of this takes time.
“Honestly, all of this is a huge mess. We know you are here to play chess and have fun, and how frustrating it is to receive a 502 error (database connection) or to lose a game because of it,” said the statement: “There has never been a more exciting time for chess fans, and that is exactly why it is so frustrating to have constant service outages.”
Short-term improvements are planned, even as soon as the end of the week – before larger changes are expected in two to three weeks.
What do you think about the chess boom? Have you found a passion for the game yourself? Let us know in the comments!
In the summer of 2022, a chess AI made headlines. More specifically, a robot – that broke a 7-year-old’s finger while playing.
