The press conference in Dubai ahead of the World Chess Championship is running 30 minutes late. However, that hasn’t quelled the feverish anticipation of the crowd of journalists clambering for a good spot to photograph Magnus Carlsen, the world’s best chess player.
He will face off against challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi across 14 games for an eye-watering prize fund of $2.24 million. Friday’s opening match was drawn as game two on Saturday.
Interest in chess spiked at the beginning of the pandemic, and again in October 2020 after the release of the Netflix series, “The Queen’s Gambit.” In the first three weeks after its debut, sales of chess sets went up by 87% in the US and sales of books about chess leaped 603%, according to marketing research company NPD Group.
Not since the 1970s, when American legend Bobby Fischer burst onto the scene, has the game captured the attention of the world like this. Is chess sexy again? It doesn’t matter for Carlsen, as he prepares to defend his title.
