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> Chess engines have been defeating humans for 20+ years (and are overwhelmingly stronger for a long time), but that hasn't diminished the interest in competiti

> Chess engines have been defeating humans for 20+ years (and are overwhelmingly stronger for a long time), but that hasn't diminished the interest in competitive chess Is that true? I feel like chess was a bigger deal in the past. Among my peers, poker and computer games seem a lot more popular.

Barrin92 7y ago
I've been an active chess player myself for a long time and for the last 8-10 years not just with the advance of engines but also online streaming there has been a lot of renewed interest. Saint Louis has become a big chess hub in the US, China has become a major player, Anand has rekindled interest in India, Carlsen in Europe and I would say today it is more popular than it has been in a long time, in particular in Asia. As to the direct influence of engines the other innovations aside, it has definitely forced players at the very top to re-evaluate the chess metagame, find weaknesses in traditional openings and shook up strategies. For the strongest players engine evaluation has become a useful tool providing new insights. When people watch chess tournaments these days on the internet most websites will provide parallel engine suggestions and commentators use engines to take hints for their commentary. In my opinion, engines have made the game more competitive at the pro-level and more accessible for casual viewers.
fiatjaf 7y ago
Well, I was never a grandmaster, but my amateur interest in Chess was killed completely after I realized it was impossible to beat computers. Then I switched to Go... and now I don't have a game to play anymore.
- Raidion 7y ago
  This seems weird, I don't know you would want to link your enjoyment with a game to it's unsolvability. Like don't you enjoy a game to enjoy a game? You can't beat Carlsen either, but you enjoyed the game at your level. Now computers are Carlsen +1, but how you enjoy the game shouldn't be affected. Especially since deep blue won in '97 and the game is still very alive and well, it hasn't been killed by computers but enhanced. Coupled with the multitude of good chess sites and resources out there, it's a better time than ever to enjoy the game.
  - Noos 7y ago
    effort has to be matched with reward, and chess takes a lot of effort to get good at beyond a certain level. It's actually a big issue with many things, the "middle" of artists, people who do sports, music, and more is hollowing out versus consumers and pros.
  - fiatjaf 7y ago
    I'll (probably) never beat Carlsten, but he _can_ be beaten. For some reason that seems to make a difference.
Jach 7y ago
The global population increased, and more people took up Chess, but they're further distributed, so locally it seems like it has cooled when globally it's more popular than ever.

Barrin92 7y ago

I've been an active chess player myself for a long time and for the last 8-10 years not just with the advance of engines but also online streaming there has been a lot of renewed interest. Saint Louis has become a big chess hub in the US, China has become a major player, Anand has rekindled interest in India, Carlsen in Europe and I would say today it is more popular than it has been in a long time, in particular in Asia. As to the direct influence of engines the other innovations aside, it has definitely forced players at the very top to re-evaluate the chess metagame, find weaknesses in traditional openings and shook up strategies. For the strongest players engine evaluation has become a useful tool providing new insights. When people watch chess tournaments these days on the internet most websites will provide parallel engine suggestions and commentators use engines to take hints for their commentary. In my opinion, engines have made the game more competitive at the pro-level and more accessible for casual viewers.

fiatjaf 7y ago

Well, I was never a grandmaster, but my amateur interest in Chess was killed completely after I realized it was impossible to beat computers. Then I switched to Go... and now I don't have a game to play anymore.

Raidion 7y ago
This seems weird, I don't know you would want to link your enjoyment with a game to it's unsolvability. Like don't you enjoy a game to enjoy a game? You can't beat Carlsen either, but you enjoyed the game at your level. Now computers are Carlsen +1, but how you enjoy the game shouldn't be affected. Especially since deep blue won in '97 and the game is still very alive and well, it hasn't been killed by computers but enhanced. Coupled with the multitude of good chess sites and resources out there, it's a better time than ever to enjoy the game.
- Noos 7y ago
  effort has to be matched with reward, and chess takes a lot of effort to get good at beyond a certain level. It's actually a big issue with many things, the "middle" of artists, people who do sports, music, and more is hollowing out versus consumers and pros.
- fiatjaf 7y ago
  I'll (probably) never beat Carlsten, but he _can_ be beaten. For some reason that seems to make a difference.

Jach 7y ago

The global population increased, and more people took up Chess, but they're further distributed, so locally it seems like it has cooled when globally it's more popular than ever.