With Singapore hosting the 2024 World Chess Championship, CNA explores how and why the sport is picking up momentum.
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“I was always enjoying the community. For me, chess was always a social thing. I had friends in the chess family but also outside … outside of chess, I always felt a bit more lonely than inside of chess.”Chess has seen a resurgence in Singapore, at both the elite level – for players such as Mr Luther – and at the recreational level, where the communal aspect of the game is the main draw.
What started as an open invitation to Mr Hirfan’s friends and acquaintances to hang out, drink tea and play chess has now produced a thriving group that meets at least twice a month. About three years since its inception, ACC has brought chess to places such as cafes, museums and music festivals. “Over the years ... there are people coming up to me or texting to ACC it’s nice for them to have found a place, a sense of belonging, really just chill with us and make new friends.”“In ACC itself, chess is actually just 20 per cent of the whole thing. The other 80 per cent is what surrounds it – it’s really the creative community that surrounds it that makes us who we are, always providing platforms for creatives, for musicians, for stuff like that,” he explained.
"Eventually the interest will also die down because not all chess players are super interested in improving their game significantly." “With chess, you have to predict, memorise a lot of moves … It builds memory, focus and decision-making. “With kids, their brains are still developing and so when they ‘lose' in life - be it at the playground or in chess, it can feel really huge.
In this Singapore prison, chess helps inmates leave the past behind – and go on to global tournaments “At that point, we said: ‘Maybe we should get a coach to teach him’ because clearly he’s already learnt whatever he can from us,” said Mdm Rohini. His goal is to become a grandmaster by age 12, which would make him one of the youngest in the world to achieve the feat.At the youth level, 1,606 players competed in the 75th National Schools Individual Chess Championship earlier this year.Given the numbers, an additional venue had to be booked for the competition, said Mr Goh.
Ironically, the pandemic benefited chess, said Mr Luther. With COVID-19 restrictions limiting various activities, many turned to the game. In Ashwath's case, being able to play online also helped speed up his chess development, said his mother. “A lot of working adults enjoy the adult chess league. Because there is no stress and the communal side of things is important,” said Mr Goh.
“More young people are playing chess. We have people like Magnus , undeniably a very cool person, and generally the profile of the best chess players in the world are younger,” he said.Mr Goh said that he has never seen chess as popular as it is now – and he has played it for 30 years. Norwegian Magnus Carlsen during the Global Chess League in Dubai United Arab Emirates, on Jul 1, 2023. What has been important is the constant availability of events for chess enthusiasts to participate in, said Mr Goh.
Reigning world champion, China’s Grandmaster Ding Liren, will take on Indian grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh in the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship match. “He definitely wants to be there and we’ve already got tickets for some of the matches and he’s really looking forward to it,” said Mdm Rohini. “It’s our job to make sure we can continue this momentum,” said Mr Goh. “We have to keep on doing more and more things, but in order to do that, we need support.”As more people pick up chess recreationally, it has created a positive effect at the elite level.
“This was a considerable success for a country like Singapore which is much much smaller than India, China and so on … It still manages to produce several players that are of a world calibre.”For one, parents in Singapore are willing to invest in their children’s chess dreams, he pointed out. In other countries, one trainer may instruct about 20 students, but the ratio is often one-to-one in Singapore, he added.
Mdm Rohini added that the federation has “done a lot” in having coaching classes and these have helped spur interest in younger children.
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