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- There has been a surge of South Africans registering to play chess online.
- Online chess offers another avenue to practice against real players.
- Demand for physical chess boards took a hit because of the pandemic but is still on a growth trajectory.
- For more stories, visit the Tech and Trends homepage.
Online chess is becoming king in South Africa, as registrations for online sites have increased dramatically in recent years.
Sales of physical chess boards also seem to be recovering from a pandemic-induced slump.
An early version of the game of chess was developed in India in the 6th century.
It is one of the most popular games worldwide.
While chess has traditionally been played on a physical checkered board, playing chess on computers either against an opponent powered by artificial intelligence or against a human opponent connected through the internet has become commonplace.
Increasingly more players are registering to play chess online.
New account registrations on popular chess site Chess.com are set to breach 250 000 in 2023, an increase from less than 150 000 registrations in all of 2022.The head of public relations at Chess.com, Leon Watson, provided data to News24 showing the stark increase in new account registrations on the platform.
Former South Africa chess champion and director of goforchess Academy Clyde Wolpe said the prominence of online chess had increased access to practice opportunities for chess enthusiasts.
Online chess was "good for the expansion of chess because you can use it to practice anytime", said Wolpe.
He added there had been an improvement in the quality of chess since the arrival of the computer age.
The courses his chess academy runs used to be predominantly taken by young people, but Wolpe said these classes were becoming more diverse, with people of different ages.
He added:Physical chess sales
The owner of Chess Equipment, the largest manufacturer of chess equipment in Southern Africa, Malcolm Seagers, said sales of chess boards and pieces in South Africa were on a growth trajectory following a pandemic-induced slump.
Seagers added his company manufactured chess sets for the lower end of the market and more expensive sets were often made of wood and imported into the country.
His main clients are schools, universities, and chess clubs who order in bulk.
Seagers said selling chess sets was a recession-proof business, as people were determined to provide chess sets for their children even in tough economic conditions, and corporates or benefactors often purchased the sets to donate them.
He also reported growth in demand for physical chess sets, but said the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions were a major blow as bulk orders were not coming in.
He added:
Over the last six months, Seagers said, orders have picked up substantially.
"Prior to Covid it was a growth market, and it still is a growing market."
He added there were thousands of rural schools that were potential clients he would like to see served.
