Chess app bids to boost appeal and viewing experience
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Co-founders of chess app Take Take Take, Magnus Carlsen (left) and Mats Kristiansen.
PHOTO: TAKE TAKE TAKE
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SINGAPORE – Viewed as a battle of wits rather than brawn, chess has always struggled to attract a mass audience, despite having over 600 million players worldwide – more than 360,000 of whom play competitively, according to the International Chess Federation.
Efforts are under way to bridge the gap between fans and the elite players, and one day turn the game into a mass spectator sport.
Hoping to enhance the viewing experience for fans, world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen teamed up with fellow Norwegian Mats Kristiansen to develop free chess app Take Take Take, which offers real-time in-depth analysis of moves for games at the top level.
Speaking to The Straits Times over Zoom, the digital platform’s chief executive Kristiansen said: “Over the past 10 years, there’s been a ton of innovation from websites in terms of how to learn chess, how to get better at chess and puzzles...
“(But) I think we will raise the floor for the fans, and elevate them into more hardcore fans.
“So my dream is, in five years, I want there to be 20,000 people in the stadium, screaming the moves and cheering for whoever’s going to win that game and I actually think that chess can become a true spectator sport.”
At the ongoing World Chess Championship match between China’s defending champion Ding Liren and Indian challenger Gukesh Dommaraju at Resorts World Sentosa, the venue’s capacity is just 400 while there are over 20,000 people watching on streaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch.
Kristiansen said: “Websites and streaming platforms like chess.com are primarily built for playing chess, but we will build an app primarily for following chess.”
His aim is to help the casual players understand what is happening on the board without the jargon.
“I don’t think that if chess is becoming a sport, (that) it belongs only on TV, on YouTube or on Twitch,” added Kristiansen, who from young witnessed in Norway where chess was even broadcast on national TV because of Carlsen’s popularity.
“You need to see the players and their reactions and try and feel how they feel, but our app then helps to explain what they are thinking. If I don’t have time to follow a broadcast for four hours, I could just open the app and see the latest move and the (next) best move.”
The interface of the Take Take Take app which shows data such as head-to-head records and analysis.
PHOTO: TAKE TAKE TAKE
Fans can also rewind to view previous moves while a game is going on, instead of scrubbing through a video feed.
Kristiansen added that they are working on expanding the features on the app to include things such as score predictions and fantasy games, like those available for football and basketball.
The app will also see an expansion into other variations of chess, like freestyle, in 2025, he said.
Carlsen had said previously that he will not play at the world championship again
Kristiansen said: “I know that those who have played freestyle chess so far have been very excited about that.
“I think Carlsen and a few other chess players are in a position where they can actually say no to playing classical chess, because they are making such a big amount of money from sponsors and usually winning tournaments.
“Freestyle is a great addition to the chess calendar but personally, as an amateur, I find it even harder to follow. Take Take Take will broadcast and show freestyle chess, and that’s where we need to get a bit more into statistics to help the fans.”
