Magnus Carlsen became world champion at just 22 years old

Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen won the World Chess Championship in 2013 at age 22, one of the youngest champions in history. He went on to dominate for a decade, peaking at an Elo rating (a modern measure of chess ability) of 2882—the highest ever recorded.

Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion, is a critic of authoritarian regimes

World champion from 1985 to 2000, Kasparov was politically outspoken during the Soviet era, clashing with authorities over censorship and restrictions. After retirement, he became a leading Russian dissident and fierce critic of Vladimir Putin, eventually fleeing the country in 2013.

IBM's supercomputer Deep Blue beat chess superstar Garry Kasparov in 1997, marking a pivotal moment in the development of artificial intelligence.

The Hans Niemann scandal rocked chess in 2023

In 2022, GM Hans Niemann was accused by Magnus Carlsen of cheating—a controversy that led to an internal Chess.com report alleging Niemann "likely cheated" more than 100 times in online games.

GothamChess built the largest online chess audience in the world

International Master Levy Rozman, known as GothamChess, has more than 6 million YouTube subscribers and billions of views. His mix of tutorials, commentary, and humor has introduced millions of new fans to the game in the digital era. In this video, he discusses his decision to challenge Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.

Bobby Fischer’s 1972 victory ended Soviet dominance of chess

In Reykjavik, American Bobby Fischer defeated Soviet champion Boris Spassky to claim the world title. The Cold War showdown drew global attention, breaking the USSR’s 24-year grip on the championship.

Hikaru Nakamura became a chess star both on the board and online

A five-time US champion, Hikaru Nakamura helped chess expand its popularity through streaming. His Twitch and YouTube audiences number in the millions, drawing younger fans and fueling the game’s surge in popularity worldwide.

The first official World Chess Championship was held in 1886

The inaugural world championship took place across New York, St. Louis and New Orleans in 1886, where Wilhelm Steinitz defeated Johannes Zukertort. Steinitz became the first recognized world champion, establishing the modern era of organized competitive chess.

There are about 1,300 active grandmasters worldwide today

The title of grandmaster, established by FIDE in 1950, is the highest honor in chess. As of 2025, roughly 2,000 players have achieved the permanent title—an elite group representing less than one percent of the world’s competitive chess players. Around 1,300 are active today.

Chess can be played at lightning-fast or classical speeds

Time controls shape how the game is played—from bullet matches under three minutes, to blitz games under 10, to classical contests lasting over an hour. Each format demands different skills, from rapid intuition to deep calculation.

The first chess game in space ended in a draw in 1970

Soviet cosmonauts Andriyan Nikolayev and Vitaly Sevastyanov played a game of chess against mission control while orbiting Earth aboard Soyuz 9 in 1970. The match ended in a draw—the first recorded game in space.

Chess is played by an estimated 600 million people worldwide

Chess remains one of the most popular games in history, with roughly 600 million players across the globe. The game thrives casually in homes, schools, and parks, while also sustaining robust online communities and professional tournaments.

The longest official chess game lasted 269 moves and over 20 hours

In 1989, Ivan Nikolić and Goran Arsović played a marathon 269-move match in Belgrade. Lasting more than 20 hours, the game ended in a draw.

Explore (digitally) the Computer History Museum

When IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer won its famous chess rematch with then world champion Garry Kasparov in May 1997, the victory was hailed far and wide as a triumph of artificial intelligence. But John McCarthy—the man who coined the term and pioneered the field of AI research—didn’t see it that way. An obituary about McCarthy—who passed in 2001—and his ideas.

José Raúl Capablanca lost only 34 games in his entire career

World champion from 1921 to 1927, Capablanca was famed for his near-invincible style and masterful endgames. His extraordinary record of just 34 lifetime losses across thousands of games earned him the nickname “The Human Chess Machine.”

Chess is played on an 8×8 board with 16 pieces per side

Chess begins with two players facing off on a checkered 64-square board. Each controls 16 pieces—king, queen, rooks, bishops, knights, and pawns—with the goal of checkmating the opposing king.

Ryan Sheckler won X Games gold at only 13 years old

In 2003, Ryan Sheckler won the skateboard park event at the X Games, becoming the youngest gold medalist in the competition’s history at just 13 years old.

An 1844 chess match via telegraph anticipated the board game's online popularity.

A Guardian writer turned midlife chess slump into an obsession

Journalist Stephen Moss embarked on a chess self-improvement journey described in "The Guardian." Not a how-to, but a reflection on loss, drive, and whether mastering chess can mean mastering oneself.

Relive Bobby Fischer’s Cold War victory with 'Drunk History'

Comedy Central’s "Drunk History" retells Bobby Fischer’s 1972 win over Boris Spassky with irreverent humor. The sketch hilariously highlights how a chess match became a Cold War spectacle, turning Fischer into an unlikely American celebrity.

Teenager Lamine Yamal, Spain's star footballer, was scouted at six years old.

A 14-year-old "human calculator" shatters six mathematical world records in one day

A teenage prodigy from Maharashtra, India named Aaryan Shukla set the record for the fastest time to mentally add 50 five-digit numbers. He did so in just 25.19 seconds–roughly equivalent to one addition every 0.5 seconds. The math whiz said he practices calculations for around five to six hours a day.

In 2001, Little League World Series pitcher Danny Almonte was a widely praised superstar until it was revealed he was 2 years older than his competitors.

Trade and conquest carried chess into Europe by the 11th century

After spreading through Persia, chess traveled along Islamic military and trade routes into North Africa and Moorish Spain by the 10th century. By the 11th century, it had taken root across much of Europe, flourishing in courts and monasteries.

Greta Thunberg addressed Davos at 16 years old

In 2019, 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg took the Davos stage to sharply criticize global leaders for failing to act on climate change, warning that incremental promises were meaningless without immediate, systemic action.

GZA of Wu-Tang Clan says chess taught him strategy in life and music

In a VICE interview, rapper GZA revealed how speed chess sharpened his mind on tour and shaped his creative strategy. Chess, for him, is more than a game—it’s his framework for life.

Before ChatGPT, OpenAI Five beat esports world champions

The bot won two back-to-back Dota 2 matches and developed a new skill of working as a teammate with humans, even though it had only been trained to beat other bots.

AlexNet was the AI tipping point that set the stage for ChatGPT

AlexNet is a neural network created in 2012 that laid the groundwork for modern AI models. Before AlexNet, the ideas behind neural networks existed, but the computational power to run them didn’t.

FIDE has governed international chess since 1924

The Fédération Internationale des Échecs was founded in Paris in 1924 to unify global chess rules and competitions. Today, it oversees world championships, regulates ratings, and serves as the official governing body for millions of players worldwide.

Chess unfolds in three phases: opening, middlegame, and endgame

Strong play requires adapting across phases: developing pieces and controlling the center in the opening, using tactics and strategy in the middlegame, and applying precise calculation and king activity to convert advantages in the endgame.

Tetris was launched in the US at Summer CES 1988

Tetris first appeared in the US at the 1988 Summer CES, where Henk Rogers—who would later publish and market the game—first encountered it. This interview revisits that moment, with creator Alexey Pajitnov and Rogers reflecting on how the game gained global recognition.

There are more chess game variations than observable atoms in the universe

Mathematician Claude Shannon estimated there are 10 to the 120th power variations of chess games possible. Known as the "Shannon number," this is more than the estimated number of atoms in the cosmos.

How a competition honoring a king's birthday uncovered history's first chaotic system

A committee established a contest for King Oscar II's 60th birthday, featuring four unsolved problems in mathematics, including one on proving the stability of a system of more than two objects held together by gravity. Focusing on three celestial objects, Henri Poincaré won the prize for his proof, which he later learned was incorrect and, upon correcting it, instead proved these systems to be unstable.

Chess traces its roots to chaturanga in sixth-century India

The earliest form of chess, known as chaturanga, emerged in India around the sixth century. The game simulated four divisions of the military—infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots—and laid the foundation for modern chess’ structure and strategy.

The tragic story of tennis upstart Monica Seles

At just 17, Monica Seles reached the top of the WTA, becoming the youngest player to do so at the time. She was expected to have a long career, but shortly after she turned 19, a deranged fan stabbed her in the back in the middle of a match. This Cult Tennis video explores the motivation of the fan who stabbed her, how he got away with it, and the impact on the rankings.

'Staunton design' became the universal chess set in 1849

Introduced in London in 1849, Staunton chess pieces featured simple, uniform shapes that made every piece easy to recognize. Endorsed by champion Howard Staunton, the design quickly became the international standard and remains the only style approved for tournament play.

Google invented the foundation of the AI movement—but ChatGPT was a shock

For years, Google was the cutting-edge of the AI world, including the development of the Transformer—the basis of contemporary AI chatbots. But since OpenAI debuted ChatGPT in 2022, the company was had to play catch-up. This is a four-hour deep dive into Google's AI history.

Mental health experts caution against youth sports betting

People in their early 20s represent the fastest-growing group of sports gamblers. That fact concerns mental health professionals, who warn that early exposure to gaming primes children’s brains to seek digital rewards.